Application of Optimization Method for Calibration and Maintenance of Power-Based Belt Scale
Journal article, 2021

Process optimization and improvement strategies applied in a crushing plant are coupled with the measurement of such improvements, and one of the indicators for improvements is the mass flow at different parts of the circuit. The estimation of the mass flow using conveyor belt power consumption allows for a cost-effective solution. The principle behind the estimation is that the power draw from a conveyor belt is dependent on the load on the conveyor, conveyor speed, geometrical design, and overall efficiency of the conveyor. Calibration of the power-based belt scale is carried out periodically to ensure the accuracy of the measurement. In practical implementation, certain conveyors are not directly accessible for calibration to the physical measurement as these conveyors have limited access or it is too costly to interrupt the ongoing production process. For addressing this limitation, a better strategy is needed to calibrate the efficiency of the power-based belt scale and maintain the reliability of such a system. This paper presents the application of an optimization method for a data collection system to calibrate and maintain accurate mass flow estimation. This includes calibration of variables such as the efficiency of the power-based belt scale. The optimization method uses an error minimization optimization formulation together with the mass balancing of the crushing plant to determine the efficiency of accessible and non-accessible conveyors. Furthermore, a correlation matrix is developed to monitor and detect deviations in the estimation for the mass flow. The methods are applied and discussed for operational data from a full-scale crushing plant.

sensor and measurement

optimization

data management

power-based belt scale

mass balance

calibration

instrumentation

correlation matrix

aggregate production

Author

Kanishk Bhadani

Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Product Development

Gauti Asbjörnsson

Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Product Development

Erik Hulthén

Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Product Development

Kristoffer Hofling

NCC AB

Magnus Evertsson

Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Product Development

Minerals

2075-163X (eISSN)

Vol. 11 4 412

Optimization of real processes for rock material production

Development Fund of the Swedish Construction Industry (SBUF) (13753), 2019-11-01 -- 2022-06-30.

Subject Categories

Mineral and Mine Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

Production Engineering, Human Work Science and Ergonomics

Driving Forces

Sustainable development

Areas of Advance

Production

DOI

10.3390/min11040412

More information

Latest update

3/14/2022