Reduction of hydroabrasive wear on turbine components through controlled shutdown at very high sediment concentrations
Continuous monitoring of suspended sediment
Monitoring of (continuous) reservoir flushing

Benefits

Continuous recording of the sediment load resolved into 5 grain size classes allows for efficient turbine maintenance
Cost reduction by minimising shutdown in case of very high sediment load
Easy installation of the sensor in the channel or pipe
Very low operating costs, as no calibration or time-consuming sampling with laboratory analysis is required
Detection of particles from a size of 10µm

Mineral suspended sediment in the drive water of hydropower plants causes massive wear on exposed turbine components. In order to minimise this damage, suspended sediment monitoring is necessary, which not only records the concentration of suspended sediment, but also provides information about the size distribution of the suspended sediment.

The NivuParQ 850 system by NIVUS measures the suspended sediment concentration in five size classes by evaluating the backscatter and attenuation of ultrasonic signals. The sensor can be easily installed in open channels or pipe systems.