PNEUMATIC CONVEYING SYSTEM AND METHOD USING OPTICAL FLOW CHARACTERIZATION DATA

摘要

A method includes optically interacting a flow of bulk material or powder in a pneumatic conveyor with an integrated computational element (“ICE”) configured to modify an electromagnetic radiation according to a characteristic of the flow of bulk material or powder. The method includes detecting the modified electromagnetic radiation with a detector, producing an output signal corresponding to the characteristic of the flow, and receiving and processing the output signal with a signal processor to yield a value for the characteristic of the flow. Also, the method includes modifying at least one of a flow rate or an air pressure in the pneumatic conveyor in response to the value of the characteristic of the flow. The bulk material or powder includes a dry cement or a dry cement component.