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measurIT technologies

Flow Measurement of Ground Water in Lignite Surface Mining

Reliable and precise measurement, not disturbed by cement lining and eventual deposits. Cost advantage as
compared with MIDs since not dependant of the nominal diameter. Easy installation and commissioning with
no pipework or downtimes required.

Measuring task Method Medium

? Flow measurement Ultrasound Ground water

Features Measuring task………………………………………...

Medium: drainage water (ground About 29 % of the electricity generated in Germany is obtained from
water from the lignite surface mining) domestic lignite (as in 2005). The most important lignite mining area is
Pipes: DN500 ... DN1000 located along the Rhine, between the three cities of Cologne, Aachen
and Mönchengladbach. 54.5 percent of the German lignite is mined
Material: steel here.
Exterior protective casing: The lignite is mined at the surface; i.e. in an open pit. Prerequisites for
approx. 3-5 mm (0.1-0.2 in) PE operating a pit mine are firm slopes and stable working levels for the
Interior pipe liner: mining equipment. This requires dewatering of water-carrying strata
approx. 10 mm (0.4 in) cement above the coal, including adequate reduction of the pressure level below
Measuring system: FLUXUS ADM the lowest coal seam. For this purpose, approx. 600 million cubic meters
7407 with M2N or K2N7 transducers of water are pumped out of more than a thousand wells in the Rhenish
(depending on nominal pipe coalfields every year. In order to minimize the impact of the dewatering
diameters) on nature, not more water than absolutely necessary is removed.
For control, quantities balancing as well as for pipe bursts detection, the
flow rates need to be recorded at many measuring points in the whole
drainage water network.

Ultrasonic clamp-on transducers are simply clamped
to the outside of the pipe and measure reliably up to
a diameter of 6 meters.
Solution…………………………………………………
A common method for flow measurement of water is the use of
magnetic-inductive meters. However, these are rather expensive for
large pipe diameters. Furthermore, the assembly is complicated and
often requires heavy equipment.
A simple and low-cost alternative is non-invasive flow measurement with
ultrasonic clamp-on technology. For this, the transducers are simply
clamped onto the existing pipes from the outside. No pipework and no
downtimes are required. Additionally, the non-invasive measuring
procedure is not affected by deposits that gradually accumulate in the
pipelines and that can cause major measuring errors when magnetic-
inductive flowmeters are used.

Advantages…………………………………………….
The housing and cables of the robust and waterproof
ultrasonic transducers are made of stainless steel.
Easy and low-cost installation and commissioning without pipework
and downtimes
Price advantage over magnetic-inductive flowmeters for larger
diameters
Wear-free measurement since the transducers are not directly in
contact with the media
Not disturbed by deposits
Flexible measuring system which can be employed at various
measuring points
Service and maintenance without dismantling the pipework

MeasurIT Technologies Ltd.

Craan, Craanford, email: info@measurIT.com Phone: +353 (0) 53 942 8962
Gorey, Co. Wexford, Ireland www.measurIT.com Fax: +353 (0) 53 942 8963