If you intend to measure the degree of a liquid easily and reliably, most people can do this using hydrostatic pressure measurement, e.g. with a submersible pressure transmitter or a so called level probe. The characteristic submersed application implicates a maximum exposure to the surrounding, mainly water-based medium, respectively to ?moisture?.
Exposure is not only limited to the wetted elements of the pressure sensor housing, but additionally to the entire immersed amount of the cable. Furthermore, beyond your directly immersed level probe parts, the cable, and specifically the cable end, are often exposed to moisture as a result of splash water, rain and condensation. That is true not only during operation, but a lot more during installation and commissioning, or when maintenance or retrofitting is necessary. Deplorable of the target application, whether in water and wastewater treatment or in tank monitoring, moisture ingress in to the cable ends of the submersible pressure transmitter can occur early and irreversibly with insufficient protection measures, and, in virtually all cases, result in premature failure of the instrument.
The ingress of moisture into the cable outlet and from there on downwards into the electronics of the particular level probe should be actively eliminated by preventive actions by an individual. To gauge the level with highest accuracy, the varying ambient pressure above the liquid media, that is also ?resting? on the liquid, must be compensated against the hydrostatic pressure acting on the pressure sensor (see article: hydrostatic level measurement).
Ventilation tube
Thus, it is logical that there is a constant risk of a moisture-related failure due to moisture ingress (both via the ventilation tube and through the specific cable itself) if there are no adequate protective measures. To compensate the ambient pressure ?resting? on the media, a ventilation tube runs from the sensor element within the level probe, through the cable and out from the level probe at the end of the cable. Due to capillary action within the ventialation tube useful for ambient pressure compensation, moisture can also be transported from the encompassing ambience right down to the sensor.
Thus not merely air, but additionally moisture penetrates in to the tube, hence the sensor inside the probe and the electronics around it is usually irreparably damaged. This may result in measurement errors and, in the worst case, even to failure of the particular level probe. To prevent any premature failure, the ingress of moisture in to the ventilation tube should be completely prevented. Additional protection against moisture penetration through the ventilation tube is provided by fitting an air-permeable, but water-impermeable filter element at the end of the vent tube.
bare wires
Not to be ignored is also the transport of the liquid through high-humidity loads across the only limitedly protected internals of the cable, e.g. along the wires, completely right down to the submersible pressure transmitter. As a respected manufacturer, WIKA uses appropriate structural design to prevent fluid transport, so far as possible, into the electronics of the submersible pressure transmitter. Due to molecular diffusion and capillary effects, a guaranteed one-hundred percent protection on the full lifetime of the submersible pressure transmitter, however, is never achievable.
It is therefore recommended that the cable is always terminated in a waterproof junction box with the appropriate IP protection (e.g. IP65) which is matched to the installation location. If this cable junction box is subjected to weather and varying temperature conditions, it is also recommended to pay attention to a controlled pressure equalisation in order to prevent the formation of condensation or perspiration water and pumping effects. To handle this technical requirement, as an accessory to a submersible pressure transmitter, it is possible to order a link box with an integrated air-permeable, water-impermeable membrane.
Ultimately, moisture ingress can occur not merely through the exposed end of the cable, but additionally through mechanical harm to the cable sheath or because of liquid diffusion due to improper chemical resistance of the cable material. In the article ?Selection criteria for preventing moisture-related failures of submersible pressure transmitters or level probes? this failure mode is described at length.
WIKA offers comprehensive solutions for the hydrostatic-pressure level measurement. For further assistance in selecting the submersible pressure transmitter most suitable for the application, please use our contact form.
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