Control theory applications when describing centrifugal concentration processes for mineral raw materials

Abstract

The article discusses an approach aimed at developing an application methodology for the principles and models used in the theory of process control automation. The problems solved in the article are as follows: to try and represent the gravity concentration process (centrifugal concentration) in the form of a transfer function and to establish its parameters. In this case, the limited amount of data obtained in the course of the experiments is the main limitation for building models in the form of differential equations. An original processing and application methodology is proposed for the averaged data used when designing the model. This approach may be applicable to other ore preparation and processing stages as it involves equipment operation using the black box principle. The study is based on replacement of instantaneous characteristics of the input stream with their averaged values and subsequent integration, allowing the creation of a numerical model that coincides with the actual data. Transfer functions and their parameters for tailings and concentrate were established separately. MatLAB software with the Simulink package was used to verify the calculations. As a result, the transfer function was found for a KC-CVD6 device used at a gold deposit and satisfactory simulation results were obtained. The work uses automatic systems identification, system analysis, and mathematical modeling methods, namely, numerical solutions of differential equations using the MatLAB desktop environment with the Simulink package.