How to prevent stall in pumps for highly viscous, flammable, and explosive fluids

Thread Content

The customer requested that an anti-idling device be installed on the machines at our company. The slurry is flammable and explosive (idling can introduce air, creating a risk of explosion), and it also has a high viscosity; if not cleaned regularly, it tends to form scale inside the pipes. For various flowmeters, they will become ineffective over time due to scaling. Customers have also used flow meters to prevent stall, but the lifespan of those flow meters was insufficient. Currently, customers use thermometers to monitor temperature changes inside the pipes; it is said that this method works fairly well, but there is a significant delay, and recalibration is required when the ambient temperature changes. After discussion within the company, it was decided that using a thermometer for control is feasible, but it is not timely enough, and the calibration frequency would be high. Secondly, it is necessary to check whether there are suitable pipe pressure gauges (I believe these are similar to flow meters and can also become ineffective due to scaling). Additionally, I found on the Internet special protectors for pumps that prevent the motor from running idle by monitoring changes in motor current; however, because of the high viscosity of the slurry, its flow can be intermittent, and in such cases these protectors might give incorrect readings and cause the pump to stop. I would like to ask the experts here whether there are any suitable testing methods to prevent the pump from running idle.