The World’s First Portable Moisture and Permeability Meter. In today’s fast-paced industrial landscape, efficiency, precision, and cost-saving are key drivers of success.
The latest innovation in paper machine technology brings a significant breakthrough by combining multiple functionalities into a single, portable instrument. This world’s first portable device incorporates a moisture and permeability meter, designed to offer unprecedented benefits in terms of performance, safety, and cost reduction.
A Leap Forward in Efficiency
One of the standout features of this portable instrument is its dual functionality: it not only measures moisture levels but also evaluates permeability in real-time. The combination of these critical metrics allows operators to monitor paper machine processes more effectively, improving operational efficiency.
What makes this device even more remarkable is its ability to measure these two parameters in half the time typically required by traditional methods, effectively reducing production downtime and increasing throughput.
The device is built with safety in mind. Featuring double safety mechanisms, it ensures secure operation in a variety of industrial environments. Additionally, it significantly lowers both investment costs and maintenance needs—two factors that can often be barriers to innovation in the industry.
Exclusive Software for Precision Monitoring
This portable instrument doesn’t just collect data—it interprets it in real-time. With its exclusive on-board FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) and felt 3D mapping software, the device eliminates the need for external position detecting systems. The software offers precise monitoring of the felt’s condition, allowing for immediate adjustments in production processes.
Additionally, the device incorporates a unique “clogging” algorithm to detect felt wear and clogging, helping operators maintain peak performance. This feature makes it an invaluable tool for proactive maintenance, ensuring paper machines are always operating at optimal levels.
The device is also equipped with personalized and accurate calibration curves, allowing users to compare readings with other standard instruments. This ensures consistency and reliability in measurements, further enhancing the instrument’s value across different operations.
Cost-Saving Opportunities
The real economic advantage of this portable moisture and permeability meter is its potential for cost savings. For paper machines, the majority of costs in the press section are linked to the operation of vacuum pumps, sealing water, press roll drives, and felt cleaning systems. Optimizing the uhle boxes, which play a crucial role in maintaining vacuum levels, can yield significant savings by reducing unnecessary power consumption and improving operational efficiency.
Maintaining the proper levels of moisture and permeability is key to ensuring optimal dewatering efficiency. By accurately monitoring these parameters, the device helps to extend the lifetime of the felt and provides operators with the data needed to schedule replacements effectively, preventing premature wear and minimizing downtime. In addition to its technological capabilities, the instrument adheres to strict health and safety
Cost Saving Case Study
Monitoring machine clothing allows dewatering optimization. Nip dewatering in favor of Uhle box dewatering, leads to considerable savings on energy in drives and vacuum systems. Diagnostic tools play a key role in defining the correct level of saturation of the felt and therefore the machine process parameter can be adjusted accordingly , in order to reproduce the optimal conditions.
PermFlowDUO was used to determine the water removal at each of the two uhle boxes. It was found that, while the first uhle box removed between 700 l/min to 1400 l/min of water in the ranges of vacuums normally encountered, the 2nd uhle box was removing only 20-30 additional water. This is shown in Figure 4.
Surprisingly to the mill, the 2nd uhle box was generating similar rates of drag load, but was accomplishing very little. It was determined that we could likely run without the 2nd uhle box and achieve identical results. Similarly, measurements at the high end of the range of vacuum on uhle box 1 were beginning to show that they were asymptotic, showing little additional gain from higher levels of vacuum.
Moisture Profiles at High and Moderate Vacuum Levels
Figure 5 uses the 3D mapping software to compare moisture profiles of the felt when the uhle box was set at 33Kpa (top), vs. at 18Kpa (bottom). There was a significant increase in felt water content at the lower level, but felt uniformity was positively impacted. The vertical axis is gsm of water, the y axis is felt width in meters, and the x axis is felt length.
Case Study 1, Summary of Results:
Through the trial work it was determined that the blowers could run to the uhle box at 50% of capacity without affecting the sheet moisture. This reduction in vacuum results in a 2% reduction in drive load, or 45 KW/hr. The extra vacuum from the blower was then able to be diverted to the vacuum pick-up roll and the liquid ring pump was shut down completely. The elimination of the liquid ring pump contributes an additional 190 KW/hr., for a total annual savings of 1900 MW hrs. /year! Torque (Drive) Reduction as a Function of Blower Amperage
Conclusion
Felt monitoring through the measurement of water content and permeability is a powerful tool in optimizing paper machine operations. From ensuring optimal dewatering in the press section to extending felt life and enabling energy-saving measures, this approach leads to more efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective production processes. By leveraging these insights, manufacturers can achieve greater overall performance, lower operating costs, and enhanced product quality—ensuring that their operations remain competitive in a demanding industry