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Real-time on-line ultrasonic monitoring for bubbles in ceramic ‘slip’ in pottery pipelines

Real-time on-line ultrasonic monitoring for bubbles in ceramic ‘slip’ in pottery pipelines
Real-time on-line ultrasonic monitoring for bubbles in ceramic ‘slip’ in pottery pipelines
When casting ceramic items in potteries, liquid ‘slip’ is passed from a settling tank, through overhead pipelines, before being pumped manually into the moulds. It is not uncommon for bubbles to be introduced into the slip as it passes through the complex piping network, and indeed the presence of bubbles is a major source of financial loss to the ceramics industry worldwide. This is because the bubbles almost always remain undetected until after the ceramic items have been fired in a kiln, during which process bubbles expand and create unwanted holes in the pottery. Since there it is usually an interval of several hours between the injection of the slip into the moulds, and the inspection of the items after firing, such bubble generation goes undetected on the production line during the manufacture of hundreds or even thousands of ceramic units. Not only does this mean hours of wasted staff time, power consumption and production line time: the raw material which makes up these faulty items cannot even be recycled, as fired ceramic cannot be converted back into slip.
Currently, the state-of-the-art method for detecting bubbles in the opaque ceramic slip is slow and invasive, can only be used off-line, and requires expertise which is rarely available. This paper describes the invention, engineering and in-factory testing across Europe of an ultrasonic system for real-time monitoring for the presence of bubbles in casting slip. It interprets changes in the scattering statistics accompanying the presence of the bubbles, the latter being detected through perturbations in the received signal when a narrow-band ultrasonic probing wave is transmitted through the slip. The device can be bolted onto the outside of the pipeline, or used in-line. It is automated, and requires no special expertise. The acoustic problems which had to be solved were severe, and included making the system capable of monitoring the slip regardless of the material of pipe (plastic, steel, etc.) and nature of the slip (which can be very variable). It must also be capable of detecting bubbles amongst the myriad solid particles and other species present in the flowing slip. The completed prototype was tested around several factories in Europe, and proved not only to be more versatile, but also more sensitive, than the state-of-the-art method
bubbles, ultrasonic sensors, pottery, ceramic, slip, slurry, bubble detection
0041-624X
60-67
Yim, Geun Tae
ed614157-8def-4dab-8dad-72ee84eb261c
Leighton, Timothy G.
3e5262ce-1d7d-42eb-b013-fcc5c286bbae
Yim, Geun Tae
ed614157-8def-4dab-8dad-72ee84eb261c
Leighton, Timothy G.
3e5262ce-1d7d-42eb-b013-fcc5c286bbae

Yim, Geun Tae and Leighton, Timothy G. (2010) Real-time on-line ultrasonic monitoring for bubbles in ceramic ‘slip’ in pottery pipelines. Ultrasonics, 50 (1), 60-67. (doi:10.1016/j.ultras.2009.07.008).

Record type: Article

Abstract

When casting ceramic items in potteries, liquid ‘slip’ is passed from a settling tank, through overhead pipelines, before being pumped manually into the moulds. It is not uncommon for bubbles to be introduced into the slip as it passes through the complex piping network, and indeed the presence of bubbles is a major source of financial loss to the ceramics industry worldwide. This is because the bubbles almost always remain undetected until after the ceramic items have been fired in a kiln, during which process bubbles expand and create unwanted holes in the pottery. Since there it is usually an interval of several hours between the injection of the slip into the moulds, and the inspection of the items after firing, such bubble generation goes undetected on the production line during the manufacture of hundreds or even thousands of ceramic units. Not only does this mean hours of wasted staff time, power consumption and production line time: the raw material which makes up these faulty items cannot even be recycled, as fired ceramic cannot be converted back into slip.
Currently, the state-of-the-art method for detecting bubbles in the opaque ceramic slip is slow and invasive, can only be used off-line, and requires expertise which is rarely available. This paper describes the invention, engineering and in-factory testing across Europe of an ultrasonic system for real-time monitoring for the presence of bubbles in casting slip. It interprets changes in the scattering statistics accompanying the presence of the bubbles, the latter being detected through perturbations in the received signal when a narrow-band ultrasonic probing wave is transmitted through the slip. The device can be bolted onto the outside of the pipeline, or used in-line. It is automated, and requires no special expertise. The acoustic problems which had to be solved were severe, and included making the system capable of monitoring the slip regardless of the material of pipe (plastic, steel, etc.) and nature of the slip (which can be very variable). It must also be capable of detecting bubbles amongst the myriad solid particles and other species present in the flowing slip. The completed prototype was tested around several factories in Europe, and proved not only to be more versatile, but also more sensitive, than the state-of-the-art method

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More information

Published date: January 2010
Keywords: bubbles, ultrasonic sensors, pottery, ceramic, slip, slurry, bubble detection

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 79082
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/79082
ISSN: 0041-624X
PURE UUID: 26b35b15-bcd9-4cd9-98a0-122fd21adf4d
ORCID for Timothy G. Leighton: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-1649-8750

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 12 Mar 2010
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:37

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Author: Geun Tae Yim

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