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1. INTRODUCTION
Developing and implementing automated monitoring,
control, and optimization systems for mineral-processing
applications require accurate online mass-flow measurements
from the processes. The mass-flow sensors currently used in
mineral-processing plants are designed to monitor the
production volumes of end products.
The belt scale is the most common online bulk material massflow sensor used in the mineral-processing. The belt scale
provides an accurate online mass-flow measurement from the
process if calibrated properly. However, the high price of the
sensor prevents the installation of multiple belt scales in a
single mineral-processing plant. In addition to the online
mass-flow measurements of the belt scales, offline mass-flow
measurements can also be done at the plants. Offline massflow sensors include wheel-loader scales and truck scales.
The high price, low measurement frequency and variable
measurement delays prevent the offline mass-flow sensors
from being used in automated process control.
271
10.3182/20130825-4-US-2038.00023
this work. The results of this work are divided into analytical
and operational evaluation sections.
2. METHODS
mPT
( Pelectrical
gh v
Pidle )ntot
v 2 ghdrop sin(D )
(4)
2.2 Linear-regression
A,
y' Bx
(1)
H material ( x)
A My
rS y
(5)
where x stands for index of the height measurement in crossdirection of the conveyor-belt. Individual material-height
profiles calculate the material mass-flow estimate mLP as
presented in equation 6. The material-height profiles are
scaled based on the belt-conveyor geometrics and velocity.
n
mLP
vU k x k y H material ( x)
(6)
x 1
(2)
Sx
BM x
H surface( x) H conveyor ( x) ,
(3)
272
0.1
Height [m]
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
30
1
20
0.8
0.6
10
Lenght [m]
H material ( x)
a2 x 2
H average (an x
an 1 x
n 1
...
(7)
RMSE
i 1
( xi
n
yi ' ) 2
(10)
(8)
vU k x k y H material ( x) ,
Width [m]
mUS
H material ( x)
a1 x a0 )
0, H material ( x) 0
0.4
0.2
(9)
x 1
where v is the velocity of the conveyor-belt, U is the bulkdensity estimate of the material, n is the measurement-width
resolution selected by the user, kx is the horizontal scaling
273
( xi
yi ' ) 2
( xi
1
y)2
i 1
n
i
(11)
B
63.95
2436400
11.87
57.89
A
201.48
11.19
6.20
24.95
RMSE (tons)
R-squared
Power transducer
0.011
Laser profilometer
Ultrasonic sensor
Strain gauge
274
Belt scale
Power transducer
350
300
250
200
2.6
3.2
Samples
3.4
3.6
3.8
5
x 10
Belt scale
Laser profilometer
350
2.8
300
250
200
2.6
2.8
3.2
Samples
3.4
3.6
3.8
5
x 10
400
Belt scale
Ultrasonic sensor
350
300
250
200
2.5
3.5
Samples
360
Belt scale
Strain gauge 3
340
x 10
320
300
280
260
240
220
200
180
2.6
2.8
3.2
Samples
3.4
3.6
3.8
5
x 10
4. CONCLUSION
Cumulative
error (%)
Power transducer
56,600 +/ 1,700
0.91 +/ 0.03
Laser profilometer
56,600 +/ 3,000
0.88 +/ 0.05
Ultrasonic sensor
58,600 +/ 3,000
4.45 +/ 0.24
275
Power
transducer
500
power
average over
length of the
belt-conveyor
electric cabinet
Laser
profilometer
15,000
volume
exact
exact
above conveyor
yes
Ultrasonic sensor
Strain gauge
Belt scale
500
height/volume
above conveyor
500
strain
average over
neighbouring
roller racks
roller rack
3,000-6,000
mass-flow
average over
neighbouring
roller racks
below conveyor
no
no
no
no
yes
yes
moderate
no
no
small
no
yes
moderate
Pidle , ntot
bulk density
bulk density
yes
yes
large
B, A (linearregression)
yes
yes
small
B, A (linearregression)
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