Capacitance Level Control —

the end of an Era? Technology> Eclipse Guided RF Admittance/

Conditions Wave Radar Capacitance
>400F Yes Yes
Is it time to replace your troublesome >700 psi Yes Yes
e r <2 * Yes Yes
RF Capacitance/Admittance Changing r * e Yes No
Changing SG Yes Yes
Liquid Level Transmitters? Vapors Yes Yes
Foam Most No
by Boyce Carsella, Product Manager Turbulence Yes Yes
Magnetrol International certainly experienced this Buildup Most er)
No (high
first hand. To date we have Obstructions Yes Yes
Grounding to
RF Capacitance/Admittance is one of addressed the issue with No Yes
fluid required
training and support so users
Yes (high er)
the most flexible level measurement tech- Insulated coating
No
nologies ever developed. RF devices can can understand the correct required on probe
application and implementa- Leak Sources
be used in almost any type of media, and (pollution)
1 1

the probes are actually mechanical tion of this technology. Accuracy:

Training however does not <0.25% 1-2%
devices that serve an electronic function +/- % of Span

in the system. The probes can be made address usability issues, such Installation $ Low Low
High (must vary
of almost any material and, therefore, as the need to calibrate the Calibration $ Low
& verify level)
they are very flexible devices. They can devices in the vessel by mov- Hardware $ Low Low
handle very high temperatures and pres- ing and verifying the level * er = electrical dielectric of the process fluid.

sures and corrosive media. manually. In many cases this

Why then do some people refer to
capacitance level, as “the level technology
some people love to hate”?
It seems that with this flexibility comes
extreme application sensitivity as well. It's
not difficult to find people who have had
a capacitance application that did not
work properly. As a leading manufactur-
er of capacitance devices, Magnetrol has
is difficult, if not, impossible. The labor be confused with expensive, less efficient
involved in completing the task can cost through air radar, this technology uses a
more than the instrument itself. probe very similar to RF capacitance.
But rather than measuring a capaci-
What if there was a way to make tance change that can drift with some
all these problems disappear? process conditions, Eclipse Guided Wave
Recent advances in microwave technol- Radar measures the transit time of thou-
ogy have resulted in a level transmitter sands of microwave pulses transmitted
that has the look and functionality of RF down the probe and reflected by the
capacitance, but works on a very different process level.
principal — Guided Wave Radar. Not to

Eclipse Guided Wave Radar RF Admittance/Capacitance

24 Vdc, 4-20 mA
Loop Powered
24 Vdc, 4-20 mA
Loop Powered

Buildup of Significant
media has error due to
little effect buildup of
No media
level change media (high
needed for Media level dielectric)
calibration; must be
can be varied for
configured on Not affected proper Foam can cause
workbench by most foam calibration error (high dielectric)

No ground reference Stable ground reference

to tank wall is critical (tank wall)
is necessary

Variation in media Dielectric stability of

dielectric has no media is critical;
significant effect significant error if
on performance dielectric varies

Liquid level surface is detected measuring transit time Liquid level measured by change in capacitance
of pulses of microwave energy. between probe and tank wall.

Figure 1
 A more complete explanation is
included below, but first let's ask a few
questions comparing the two approaches:
Questions & Answers
Q: Capacitance calibration can be
expensive, difficult, and time consuming,
as you must move and verify the level in
the vessel. How do I calibrate Eclipse
GWR?
A: Eclipse GWR requires no level
movement to calibrate. You simply con-
figure it right on the bench, in a few min-
utes.
In many applications, startup is sim-
ply connecting the loop and walking
away. A simple menu-driven display lets
you change settings at anytime.
Q: A low and changing electrical dielec-
tric of the fluid causes a capacitance
transmitter to drift; how is Eclipse GWR
affected?
A: It is not. Capacitance measures total
dielectric effect over the length of the
probe, and any dielectric change adverse-
ly affects performance.
GWR on the other hand just meas-
ures the distance to level; a change in
impedance created by the dielectric of the
process medium on the probe. It does
not matter what the change is, only the
distance to it.
As a result it is not affected by media
changes, including specific gravity, and
electrical dielectric.
Q: A proper ground reference is some-
times difficult to accomplish, but critical
for reliable RF capacitance operation. Is
this a concern for GWR?
A: No, the microwave pulses are com-
pletely contained within the probe.
Further, neither plastic nor lined vessels
are a problem.
Q: Is Guided Wave Radar available as a
compact, two wire, loop powered device
like RF capacitance?
A: Yes, smart HART capability is avail-
able as well.
Q: Is it suitable for use in hazardous
areas?
A: Yes, it is CSA approved for both
intrinsically safe and explosion-proof
environments.
The essential differences between
Eclipse GWR and RF capacitance are
summarized in the table on page 1.
Figure 1 compares these two technologies
graphically.
Magnetrol’s
Eclipse
Guided Wave
Radar Level
Transmitter
How does this new Guided Wave
Radar technology work?
The recently introduced Guided Wave
Radar works in much the same way as
conventional through-air radar only more
efficiently. The basis for GWR is TDR,
or Time Domain Reflectometry.
TDR has been used for many years to
find cable breaks in underground and in-
wall cables. More than 200K pulses of
energy are developed by a TDR generator
and sent down the wave-guide (probe).
When the pulses meet a discontinuity,
a change in impedance due to a dielectric
change, a reflection is developed. An
engineered impedance change is devel-
oped in the top of the probe to generate a
fiducial pulse, or baseline reflection.
When the primary level reflection is
detected, it is compared to the fiducial
and the level of the media is then calcu-
lated.
High dielectric liquids (e.g. water)
develop a strong reflection while low
dielectric media (e.g. hydrocarbon) devel-
op a weaker reflection. The surface of
low dielectric media allows some of the
energy to continue down the probe until
it dissipates or is reflected by a higher
dielectric media.
This opens the possibility of interface
measurement — but that is a topic for
another day.
Is it proven?
Eclipse Guided Wave radar has been in
development and testing for about 3
years. It has been extensively tested, and
evaluated by major companies around the
world, and was finally released to the
market this summer. It is finding rapid
acceptance in the market place, due to its
problem solving nature, and cost effec-
tiveness.
Conclusion —
Is Capacitance now dead?
Capacitance level controls have been
around since the 1950’s and will probably
be around for some time to come; partic-
ularly as switches.
Transmitters, however, will experience
a steady decline in use as the market
becomes aware of the significant advan-
tages of Guided Wave Radar.
The choice is clear; install an Eclipse
Guided Wave Radar transmitter and
achieve superior performance over con-
ventional level measurement technologies
like RF capacitance and admittance
transmitters in a variety of difficult and
everyday applications.
Guided Wave Radar is calibration-free,
is not affected by process complications
such as: low and varying dielectric, vary-
ing specific gravity, vapors/foam/ turbu-
lence; and offers excellent performance at
a competitive price.
Reprinted with permission from
IPP&T magazine.
Copyright © 1999 IPP&T.
Magnetrol International, Inc.
5300 Belmont Road
Downers Grove, IL 60515
Phone: 630-969-4000
Fax: 630-969-9489
E-mail: info@magnetrol.com
www.magnetrol.com.
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