On-line Non-Intrusive Measurement of Particle Size Distribution through Digital Imaging

This paper presents the latest development in the

design and implementation of an innovative optical

instrumentation system that can measure the size distribution

of particles in a pneumatic suspension. A low-cost CCD

camera is used to capture the images of particulate flow

field, which is illuminated by a low-cost laser sheet

generator. The particle size distribution is then determined

by processing the particle images through the use of novel

processing algorithms. Experimental results obtained on a

small scale particle flow test rig have demonstrated that the

system is capable of measuring the size distribution of

pneumatically conveyed particles with repeatability better

than 1% for a volumetric concentration up to 2%. A relative

comparison is made between the on-line imaging technique

and the widely