Setup:
- A dark chamber (Hermetically closed).
- In the chamber a circular disc is mounted on an electric motor. The disc is mounted horizontally in the chamber.
- The diameter of the disc is 2 meters (2 yards).
- Now the disc runs at about 25 rpm and a mix of sand and rocks is poured on the table.
- Due to centrifugal forces the sand/rock mixture starts to move outwards.
- While running there is also a dust/sandstorm present inside the chamber. The dust/sandstorm is so severe that one cannot see a hand in front of himself (with a torch).
Under those conditions I want to be able to measure the sand/rock flow on the table. I want to see what happens when and how the sand/rocks move towards the edge of the disc. I want to see how fast, I want to see if anything builds up etc etc. The perfect thing would be to install a video camera inside the chamber but due to the sandstorm this is virtually impossible to my opinion. Are there any sensors available giving a hight profile as an output? What about doppler, ultrasound, infrared and so on? What is the most promising sensor solution for this project?
To me, this sensor looks very interesting:
...but I'm afraid that this wont work because the laser light wont be able to penetrate my sandstorm.
Do you experts have any solutions for my problem?
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After measuring the material flow on the table, I need to measure how the particles move in the sandstorm - more precisely in what direction they are moving and at what velocities. What sensors would be suitable for that task?
PS: All sorts of equipment can be installed inside the chamber, such as flourescent light, regular light etc etc.
Thank you in advance, L. Jensen