Batavia Concrete is located in Montgomery, IL and is just one of many concrete batch plants operated by Prairie Materials in northern Illinois. Like most concrete plants, Batavia uses cement and flyash as ingredients. They had no idea how much material they had left in the storage bins until a low or high level indicator provides a signal. They needed a better solution to make them more efficient.

Monitor Technologies LLC introduced the Flexar™ guided wave radar continuous level measurement system to Batavia Concrete in December 2005. This level sensing system was strategically acquired by Monitor during 2005 to add to its significant solution capability for powder and bulk solids applications. Flexar is proven technology combined with five decades of bulk solids experience and unique inventory management software solutions. Monitor knew it had the right solution for Batavia Concrete.

Batavia Concrete uses a multiple compartment batch plant manufactured by Erie Strayer of Erie, PA. Monitor Technologies and Erie Strayer have worked together for many years so Monitor was familiar with the batch plant and bin design. Chief application engineer for Monitor, Andy Bowman, decided to employ the Flexar technology and product to help Batavia Concrete. Fred Thompson, Regional Operations Manager of Batavia Concrete, has been satisfied with this solution ever since it was installed. Observations during filling cycles were very good right off. Flexar didn’t skip a beat, even with the heavy dust kicked up during pneumatic filling.

Flexar is a guided wave radar continuous level sensor. Distance/level is measured by the time-of-flight of the reflection of a microwave signal (transmitted down the wave-guide, which is a heavy-duty 0.3” diameter SS cable with 3.9 ton tensile strength) off the material surface. Cement and flyash both have relatively low dielectric constants and Flexar’s direct measuring mode was successful in providing real-time continuous updates of the material level during filling and draw-down.

Both Flexar units are installed with 34’ cable length. The 4-20mA signal from each Flexar unit is connected to a panel meter in the control room. Customer observations indicate accurate measurements and they are very happy. Fred Thompson reports that he desires to install Flexar units at other plants within his regional area of responsibility. He prefers the true continuous nature of Flexar guided wave radar units.

Monitor Technologies LLC is pleased to announce that its broad line of aerator devices solves a wide variety of bin flow problems, especially those associated with difficult to handle powders. Monitor's product line consists of the highly popular Rectangular Air Pad, Evasser and Flo-Pad products. These devices offer different shapes and pressure ratings and provide different methods of diffusing the air. With almost five decades of experience in bulk solids applications Monitor Technologies application engineers are highly qualified to recommend the most cost effective solution available.

The Air Pad, Evasser and Flo-pad products are excellent alternatives to using high impact pneumatic or electric vibrators that can be loud and cause damage to the bin and surrounding equipment. In fact, bin vibrators can pack material instead of fluidizing it to address the problem. Typically used in applications where the material flow into the bin is via pneumatic conveying, the entrained air in the material is evacuated during the settling of the powder material. Bin vibrators actually facilitate this de-aerating and can create packing flow problems. Using aerators, the source of the problem (de-aerated material) is addressed and a gentle and cost effective solution is ensured.

Monitor Technologies LLC is a leading supplier of level, flow, particle emission and aeration instrumentation for the worldwide powder and bulk solids market. The experience and market knowledge gained over almost five decades has earned Monitor a reputation for providing high quality, reliable product solutions. Monitor is located in Elburn, Illinois. Give us a call today and let us put our creative solutions to work for you!