Why the Cement & Building Materials Industry Needs the SLDL53 3D Radar Level Scanner

SOLIDAT · SLDL53 3D Radar Level Scanner | Industry Application Series 3

Solution overview: The SLDL53 3D Radar Level Scanner - also referred to as a 3D Radar Level Meter, Radar Level Scanner or 3D Level Scanner - is both a bulk solids level sensor and a bulk solids volume measurement system that forms a silo inventory monitoring system. Using non-contact 3D level measurement, it performs 3D material surface mapping and 3D radar volume measurement across the whole surface and provides average/minimum/maximum level monitoring; it delivers reliable level measurement in dusty silos, supports silo wall build-up monitoring and silo bridging and ratholing monitoring, scales across multiple silos and yards with multi-scanner data fusion, and through ERP integration for silo inventory feeds a silo digital twin and smart inventory management.

The cement and building-materials industry handles large quantities of fine powders and granules - limestone, clay, fly ash, coal, cement clinker and finished cement, plus calcium carbonate, talc and glass batch. Dust is extremely fine and easily fluidized and deposited, clinker is hot, and stores are mostly tall steel or concrete silos whose inventory directly affects dispatch, trade settlement and continuous production. The SLDL53 3D radar level scanner is a high-precision bulk-solids level sensor for cement silo and clinker silo level and volume measurement.

Fig.1  Cement plant overview - stores run throughout the line, from limestone crushing to clinker and finished cement

1. Measurement Pain Points in Cement/Material Stores

• Fluidized, build-up-prone cement powder: After aeration and homogenizing the powder fluidizes; wall build-up and compacted cone bottoms cause large single-point errors.
• Hot, dusty clinker silos: Fresh clinker is hot with strong dust, exceeding the temperature and dust tolerance of ordinary instruments.
• Large steel silos hard to inventory: 10,000-tonne clinker/cement silos are wide with undulating surfaces, so one point cannot represent the store and trade-handover risk is high.
• Many product silos: Cement, fly ash, slag powder and calcium carbonate are stored separately, requiring accurate per-silo metering and centralized management.

Fig.2  50,000-tonne clinker steel silo - large diameter and high piles demand 3D inventory

Fig.3  3D material surface mapping and point-cloud inventory model generated in SoltaView (non-contact whole-surface scanning).

2. Targeted Capabilities of the SLDL53

• Whole-silo 3D imaging: 360 deg scanning reconstructs the cone top, cone bottom and off-centering of clinker/cement surfaces, with cement silo level and volume measurement accuracy up to about +/-2%.
• Build-up and compaction visualization: Clearly shows wall build-up, cone-bottom residue and fluidization voids to guide cleaning - silo wall build-up monitoring.
• Optional high-temperature type: The high-temperature version handles process temperatures to 180 deg C, suiting clinker silo level and volume measurement.
• Stable in fine powder: The terahertz wave penetrates cement, calcium carbonate and talc dust at 1 mm resolution, for stable cement powder silo continuous level monitoring.
• Custody-transfer metering: Volume x density outputs mass, giving trustworthy data for bulk dispatch, truck/ship loading and inventory audit.

Fig.4  Numbered cement/clinker steel silo farm - per-silo 3D inventory and centralized monitoring

Fig.5  Cement/fly-ash silos - multi-product powders stored in separate silos

3. Extended: Calcium Carbonate, Talc and Glass Raw Materials

In calcium carbonate (lime kiln, carbonation), talc (ore grinding, concentration) and glass (soda ash, dolomite, sand, cullet batch) production, raw-material, process and finished-powder silos face the same fine-dust and sticking problems. The SLDL53 continuously images irregular powder/solid surfaces, accurately calculates capacity and detects side-wall accumulation; glass raw material silo level monitoring is likewise covered by one solution across building-material lines.

Fig.6  Calcium carbonate processing - limestone, hydrated lime and carbonate powder silos

Fig.7  Glass production - batch silos in the raw-material workshop and furnace charging

4. Software, Integration and Selection

SoltaView provides 3D imaging, inventory/mass, trends and reports, supports HART, Modbus, TCP/IP, AUTBUS and Ethernet-APL, and connects via OPC UA/REST API to DCS, dispatch systems and ERP for ERP integration of silo inventory, supporting bulk shipment and custody transfer with smart inventory management.

Fig.8  SLDL53-10 Soltascan3D radar head (left) and controller (right), roof-mounted for non-contact 3D level and volume measurement.

5. Model Selection

Model	Key Features	Range / Scan	Typical Applications
SLDL53-10	Soltascan3D single head, 120-140GHz terahertz, point cloud + AI 3D modeling	120 m, 360 deg H / 110 deg V	Single / standard silos, bins & hoppers
SLDL53-20	Multi-head data fusion, up to 255 units networked, 5G/AUTBUS	120 m, scalable stitching	Large silo farms, multi-silo monitoring
SLDL53-30	6-radar parallel fast scanning, rapid inventory	300 m	Large open / circular stockyards, coal yards
SLDL53-40	Phased-array 3D radar, optional ceramic antenna, heavy dust	120 m, 90 deg V	Heavy-dust, severe-service silos
SLDL53-60	Sonic3DScan ultrasonic 3D, corrosive / foam media	Per application	Special media, ultrasonic-suited cases
SLDL53-70	Laserscan laser stockpile scanner, high-density point cloud	Large stockpiles	Coal/material inventory, stacker-reclaimer automation
SLDL53-80	StrlightScan conveyor belt 3D inspection	Online	Flow/volume/foreign object/belt misalignment/tear

Recommendation: SLDL53-10 /40 for clinker, finished-cement and homogenizing silos (high-temperature type where hot); SLDL53-20 network for large steel silos and silo farms; SLDL53-30 /70 for raw-material yards; SLDL53-10 for calcium carbonate, talc and glass powder silos; SLDL53-10 /30 for aggregate bin level and volume measurement.

About SOLIDAT

SOLIDAT Applied Technologies, a member of the SOLIDAT group, was founded in 1981, initially providing radar and vibration-analysis technology for the aerospace industry. In 1996 it acquired SOLID Scientific Research & Development, gaining advanced ultrasonic and sonar technology together with the MonoScan and SMARTSCAN trademarks; in 1999 it acquired SOLTA Advanced Technologies, gaining advanced radar technology and the SOLTASCAN trademark. After more than four decades, SOLIDAT has become a globally recognized high-technology intelligent-instrument group at the forefront of radar, ultrasonic, sonar and electromagnetic sensing.

The SLDL53 Soltascan3D 3D Radar Level Scanner is a bulk-solids level sensor and bulk-solids volume measurement system, widely applied in power, metallurgy, cement & building materials, coal & mining, grain & food, petrochemical & plastics, pulp & paper and biomass industries, forming a silo inventory monitoring system that delivers a "transparent silo, smart inventory and unattended operation".

Website: www.solidat.net  |  China Office: +86-10-86468485

Send us your silo dimensions, material, range and communication requirements; SOLIDAT engineers will provide a selection proposal and instrument layout drawing.