Level Measurement and verification – systems for liquids and solids

Level measurement is ubiquitous in many industrial sectors as diverse as food processing, chemicals and petrochemicals, water treatment, energy and raw materials. Its complexity stems from the diversity of conditions of use, the physico-chemical properties of the products to be measured, and safety and, where applicable, legislative constraints (legal metrology for commercial transactions). Level measurement is used in automation management (process engineering), monitoring (water management, alarm triggering) and analysis of physico-chemical data during measurement campaigns.

In a first article [R 2 010] "Level measurement and control – Introduction", the basic concepts needed to understand level measurement methods were presented. Some methods can be applied to the measurement of levels of liquids as well as solids. These are presented here. Subsequently, methods specific to liquid levels will be introduced in article [R 2 012] "Level measurement and control – Liquid-specific systems", followed by those applicable only to solid levels in article [R 2 013] "Level measurement and control – Solid-specific systems". Finally, article [R 2 014] "Comparison of level measurement and detection methods" includes comparative tables of the techniques presented in the other four articles. They provide a useful tool for selecting the most appropriate method(s) for each particular case.

The "For further information" section of [R 2 010] contains a comprehensive table of manufacturers of measurement and detection equipment.