Real-time on-line ultrasonic monitoring for bubbles in ceramic ‘slip’ in pottery pipelines

Abstract

When casting ceramic items in potteries, liquid ‘slip’ is passed from a settling tank, through overhead pipelines, before being pumped manually into the moulds. It is not uncommon for bubbles to be introduced into the slip as it passes through the complex piping network, and indeed the presence of bubbles is a major source of financial loss to the ceramics industry worldwide. This is because the bubbles almost always remain undetected until after the ceramic items have been fired in a kiln, during which process bubbles expand and create unwanted holes in the pottery. Since there it is usually an interval of several hours between the injection of the slip into the moulds, and the inspection of the items after firing, such bubble generation goes undetected on the production line during the manufacture of hundreds or even thousands of ceramic units. Not only does this mean hours of wasted staff time, power consumption and production line time: the raw material which makes up these faulty items cannot even be recycled, as fired ceramic cannot be converted back into slip. Currently, the state-of-the-art method for detecting bubbles in the opaque ceramic slip is slow and invasive, can only be used off-line, and requires expertise which is rarely available. This paper describes the invention, engineering and in-factory testing across Europe of an ultrasonic system for real-time monitoring for the presence of bubbles in casting slip. It interprets changes in the scattering statistics accompanying the presence of the bubbles, the latter being detected through perturbations in the received signal when a narrow-band ultrasonic probing wave is transmitted through the slip. The device can be bolted onto the outside of the pipeline, or used in-line. It is automated, and requires no special expertise. The acoustic problems which had to be solved were severe, and included making the system capable of monitoring the slip regardless of the material of pipe (plastic, steel, etc.) and nature of the slip (which can be very variable). It must also be capable of detecting bubbles amongst the myriad solid particles and other species present in the flowing slip. The completed prototype was tested around several factories in Europe, and proved not only to be more versatile, but also more sensitive, than the state-of-the-art method.