CSIRO Minerals has developed an acoustic emission monitoring and alarm system for use in coal handling and preparation plants, said to allow early alerts of separation problems.
The alarm system is designed primarily for use on dense medium cyclones. It alerts operators if it detects adverse running conditions, but also provides real-time information on product-to-reject rations and feed split.
According to the developers, this will be useful for fine-tuning operations to improve throughput, yield and quality.
The monitoring system uses sensors on the outer shell of the machinery to listen in on the high frequency vibrations during operations. This will allow it to gauge the conditions within the machine.
They can detect overload conditions, surging, discharge, feed blockages, sticky feed, and imbalances in the input.
Rio Tinto has said the system will be very useful in optimising coal plants. CSIRO took around a year to develop the commercial prototype, with a focus on making the sensors robust enough to work in the challenging plant environment over a long period of time.
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