Automated system for coal spiral

摘要

An apparatus and method for sensor and control system, which automatically adjusts a product splitter position of a full-scale spiral. An electrical conductivity-based automation system is described and claimed herein and has been successfully developed and demonstrated as illustrated herein. The system includes a sensor and a microprocessor based and controlled servo or gear motor that is utilized to adjust the splitter of an operating coal/mineral spiral based on the readings of the sensor. The device as described and claimed herein converts a traditional coal spiral to an automated system for controlling the splitter thereby giving the spiral unit the ability to automatically adjust a key process variable, i.e., its splitter position, in real time as and when the feed coal or other mineral property changes to maintain the performance of the spiral at the optimum level.

主权项

1. An apparatus for controlling a splitter of a spiral concentrator comprising:
a spiral concentrator having a splitter attached at a discharge end of the spiral concentrator, where said splitter has a splitter position that is variable; a constituent solid density sensor sensing characteristics of a constituent solid density of a slurry channeled through the spiral concentrator where the slurry is selected from a group consisting of a mineral slurry and a coal slurry, and said sensor having a constituent solid density gradient output signal indicative of a constituent solid density gradient across a spiral trough of the spiral concentrator based on the sensed characteristics; a microcontroller configured to receive the constituent solid density gradient output signal indicative of the constituent solid density gradient across the spiral trough of the spiral concentrator and the microcontroller configured with program logic to interpret the constituent solid density gradient output signal indicative of the constituent solid density gradient and calculate a specific gravity of separation and correlate the specific gravity of separation to a splitter position along the spiral trough to achieve the specific gravity separation for the slurry channeled through the spiral concentrator and where said microcontroller having an output motor control signal representative of the splitter position; and a motor having a motor controller configured to receive the output motor control signal and controlling the motor to move a splitter to the splitter position along the spiral trough responsive to the motor control signal thereby separating the slurry channeled through the spiral concentrator at the specific gravity of separation.