7ML19985GE04
SITRANS LC500 – OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
Page 11
Oper
at
io
n & Applicat
io
n
In a non-conductive or irregular tank
Where the vessel contents are non-conductive:
•
a reference electrode parallel to the measurement electrode is required
•
the reference electrode must be grounded to the instrument
•
a stilling well can form the reference electrode.
Where the vessel contents are conductive:
•
the interface between the contents and the electrode insulation acts as the
reference electrode
•
a connection from the vessel contents to the instrument ground is required
•
a stilling well can provide a means of connecting the contents to the instrument
ground.
The stilling well
The stilling well is a metal tube concentric with the electrode, with vent openings to
facilitate level equalization. Its diameter is somewhat larger than that of the electrode,
depending on the application. The stilling well can either be integral to the SITRANS LC 500,
or it may be part of the tank
1
.
The SITRANS LC500 electrode
The SITRANS LC500 electrode, comprising a measurement section and an active shield
section, is the primary sensor of the system. It supplies the electrical capacitance value
of the measurement section relative to the environment (tank wall or stilling well).
The SITRANS LC500 patented Active-Shield Technology electrically isolates the
measurement section and prevents any non-measurement capacitance from interfering
with the measurement. (Capacitance changes could result from uncontrolled variations
occurring in the connection cable, process connection, and non-active parts of the
probe). This results in a better ratio of initial capacitance to total capacitance, resulting in
higher accuracy.
1.
The tank wall, or the stilling well if it is part of the tank, must be grounded.
