| 摘要 |
<p>Methods and apparatus for monitoring the flocculation state of particles in a suspension in which a field is applied to a region of the suspension and an electrical property of the suspension is monitored in both the presence and absence of the field. The relative change in the value of the property in the presence of the field with respect to its value in the absence of the field is used to monitor the level of flocculation. The field may be an electric, shear, magnetic, acoustic or gravitational field. Although various electrical properties may be monitored several examples of apparatus are disclosed which monitor the conductance of a region. In one embodiment the field is a shear field resulting from the flow of the suspension induced by a pump (65) through a tube (62) between carbon electrodes (60, 61). A conductivity measuring arrangement (67) measures the conductance of the path through the suspension between the electrodes (60, 61) in both the flow and no flow states and a processor (68) controls the pump (65) and records the conductance measured.</p> |
