Pressure transmitters that survive slurry hammer

Pressure transmitters on slurry duty fail in two ways: the wetted diaphragm abrades until it reads low, or a pressure transient overloads the sensor outright. Both are avoidable and neither is usually addressed at specification.

Diaphragm seals

A remote diaphragm seal isolates the transmitter from the process and moves the sacrificial surface to a component that is cheap to replace. On abrasive duty this is not optional. The trade-off is a slower response and a temperature-dependent offset from the fill fluid, both of which are manageable if they are known about at design.

Snubbers and orientation

A snubber damps the transient that arrives when a valve slams. It costs very little and it is the difference between a transmitter that lasts years and one that fails on a single event.

Orientation matters as much. A tapping that points down into a horizontal slurry line will pack with solids, and a packed tapping reads whatever the pack decides. Side-mounted, slightly above the horizontal centreline, with a flushing connection, is the arrangement that keeps working.