New technology released for liquid level measurement 28 February 2013

Cambridge Consultants has launched an innovative, cost-effective device for accurately measuring liquid levels that requires no calibration.

Dubbed FELT (fringe effect level transducer), the technology is aimed at a wide variety of fluids, according to Dr Temoc Rodriguez, principal engineer at Cambridge Consultants.

He explains that FELT has no moving parts and is immune to temperature change. It is robust and not affected by interference due, for example, to metal objects, people or electrical noise. Further, the device does not require calibration, and its design enables the probe to be immune to changes in fluid composition.

FELT comprises three parallel low-cost, simple and customisable electrodes – one measurement electrode and two reference – with no direct contact between the electrodes and the fluid. An electric field is applied to the electrodes to measure the ratio of the charge between the measurement and reference and, as a result, determine a continuously accurate liquid level.

"We were surprised to discover there was still a need for innovation in this space for a ... relatively simple concept," stats Rodriguez.

"Through our work in a range of industries, we see a significant demand for this type of adaptable technology – in everything from consumer appliances and medical instruments to agricultural and large-scale industrial containers," he adds.

Rodriguez says the technology can affordably and accurately eliminate a range of problems by continuously measuring liquid levels and setting an alert when they reach a threshold.

"We found that other fluid measurement technologies with similar accuracy use radar or ultrasonics and are very expensive, while cheaper devices have accuracy issues and use probes that require careful calibration," states Rodriguez.

Brian Tinham

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