5. Flowmeters for solid products

Conventional devices for measuring the flow of solids involve depositing the material on a conveyor section and weighing this section using springs or strain gauges, for example . Weighing can be continuous or discontinuous, and the variations are numerous. One improvement consists in measuring the absorption of a gamma-ray beam through the material deposited on the conveyor, and deducing its thickness, then its integrated flow rate, knowing its speed of travel.

These devices are generally bulky. Instruments that could be described as "compact", with a much smaller footprint, include...