Reducing Conveyor Downtime

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Reducing Conveyor Downtime

REDUCING CONVEYOR DOWNTIME BY USING ADDRESSABLE PULL CORD SWITCHES

BELT CONVEYORS: Vain of Cement Industry
When we take picture of cement industries we find most of conveyors moving around plants. It starts from mines to crushers, raw mills to silos, Clinker house to bagging plants every where we find conveyors. Raw material as well as finished product is conveyed on belt conveyors. Conveyors of kilometers of length are spread over the plants carrying material to the destination. These conveyors are as important as roads to cities without which life of these industries will come to standstill. We have seen single conveyors having kilometers of length. Many cement industries are expanding their capacities where single conveyor length will reach up to 10 kilometers.

CONVEYOR SAFETY:
As many conveyors run over the plants, continuous monitoring of these conveyors by operators is not possible. However, when any problem is observed by the operator or maintenance person, he requires the belt to stop instantly. Also plant safety norms demand safety devices for persons working in the plant. Few devices are also used as demand of process like Zero speed switches (sequential staring of conveyors), Chute Block devices (Jamming of Chute). Many devices are used for conveyor safety: 1. Pull Cord Switch 2. Belt Sway Switch

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3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Zero Speed Switch Heavy Duty Limit Switch Belt Loading Monitor Belt Damage Detector Chute Block Devices Boot Level Detectors

Out of above devices, population of first three devices is dense. Pull cord switches are commissioned on both sides of conveyors keeping gap of 30 meters. Belt Sway switches are installed at the same interval on both sides. One zero speed switch is used per conveyor. For conveyor length of 1 km, about 30 pairs of belt sway and pull cord switches are used. In the case of emergency first Pull Cord Switch is operated and conveyor is stopped. Many times for doing maintenance work on conveyor, pull cord switch is pulled and then reset manually when work is over allowing start of conveyor. Hence pull cord switches should always be kept in operation.

CONVENTIONAL SWITCH WIRING:

Presently NC contact of all Pull Cord Switches and Belt Sway Switches are taken in series (refer to Fig. 1). When any switch is operated the contact opens and conveyor is tripped off. However, in this system the control room operator can not detect the location of operated switch. (Fig. 1).

DIFFUCULTIES IN FINDING LOCATION OF OPERATED SWITCH

A conveyor has to run 24 hours and 365 days. It also has to run in rainy season, in cold weather andin the summer. Conveyors which run from mines to plant some times pass through forests, cross tunnel and hillsides. Many times it is very difficult to locate operated switch as the location is remote. Following difficulties are faced by the operator. The switch location is remote and it is at a distance As these switches are mounted on the sides of conveyor, mostly gets covered with dust and dirt and hence are not clearly visible. The outside environment is aggressive for example heavy rain, summer heat or cold. Operator pulls multiple switches and forgets to reset all. Switch is seen OK from outside but inside contacts are erratic. Location of some belt sway creates repeat tripping problem. The belt switch is mounted such that the belt sways for a short period, operating the switch and takes its normal position, making very difficult for operator to locate the faulty location. It is observed may times practically some safety switches are bypassed due to production pressure. In rainy season switches are filled with water and hence are in bypassed condition, contacts of these switches gets rusted making it difficult to locate exact operated switch. Cable open fault is still difficult to locate.

LOSS INCURRED IN CONVENTIONAL WAY

1. Loss of important run time. Production gets hampered and heavy losses are incurred. 2. It is tedious to go to the field in aggressive environment like heavy rain and to locate the operated switch. Time is wasted. 3. Many times multiple switches are operated and operator has to make rounds to reset all switches. 4. Loss of safety due to unwanted bypass and inconvenient reset methods.

CONVENTIONAL METHODS OF OPERATED SWITCH DETECTION AND ITS LIMITATIONS

1. Lay individual cable pair from every switch to control room: Heavy cable cost, cable termination cost. Multiple inputs of PLC are consumed

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2. Make group of multiple conveyors switches and lay a pair per group to control room : Even though it localizes the fault have drawback of extra cable cost and termination cost 3. Use switches with local indication like lamp, flag so that the operated switch is visible from distance: Additional pair of cable is required for lamp. The lamps are not visible in daylight. Lamps get covered by dust and become invisible. Above this, operator has to go to site to locate the operated switch. 4. Diode Plate : By using diode plate and using 8 core cable it is possible to detect max 64 switches. This system carries drawback of increased cost of multiple core cable as well of block of multiple inputs of PLC.

ADDITIONAL COST INVOLVED IN CONVENTIONAL METHODS:

1. Multi core cable are required for operated pull cord switch indication 2. Wiring cost also increases as multiple conductors are wired increasing cost of lugging, glanding and termination. 3. Multiple I/O s of DCS or PLCs are used increasing cost.

ADVANCED AND INTELLIGENT METHOD OF DETECTION:

Addressable safety switches with trip indicator units are available As technology gets advanced find its way to solve the difficulties faced by existing system. Use of loop powered embedded circuit chips makes it possible to detect operated switch instantly and reliably. Number of cables are reduced, reducing cost of cable without loosing safety.

WORKING PRINCIPLE
Small communication card is wired across potential free contact of every switch. The communication card always interacts with Trip Indicator which is located in control room or in panel. When any switch is operated the card communicates its number to Trip Indicator. The Trip indicator indicates the number of operated switch as well as it actuates relay. Contacts of this relay are to be used for tripping the conveyor. Trip Indicator can also communicates with DCS by MODBUS communication/ binary methods for logging of fault./ location detection of operated safety switch in control room.

WIRING FOR TRIP INDICATOR

(Fig. 2)

ADVANTAGES OF TRIP INDICATOR: Most advanced method of locating operated Switch No restriction on conveyor length Reduces downtime and increases production Centralized fault indication system for complete plant is now possible. Instant indication, instant tripping Communication through two core cable only Less cable cost and cable laying cost. No special type of cable is requires. Interchangeable Communicating card Indication Cable fault on Trip Indicator. Easy to use and operator friendly, Continuous Watch possible through Scada / pc software Emergency bypass / reset possible from control Room with supervisory password RS485 MODBUS RTU SLAVE O/P for DCS connectivity Miniature size of communication cards

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Fail safe circuit ensures plant safety Effective cost saving due to cable saving and down time reduction Communication through Group is possible for small size multiple conveyors Various models for almost all variety of conveyors available Special models with : a) Scrolling b) Optional Adapter Unit for hardware tripping ROLL CALL feature for additional safety due to which absent safety switch / communication Card locations are detected

LIMITATIONS : Requires experienced person for commissioning (however only once) Initial cost for Trip Indication system can be a limiting factor for small length of conveyor where only 3 to 4 switches are used. However if multiple conveyors are grouped the Indicator System becomes viable. Also some economical models are available with less features for small conveyors ( Nearest operated Switch Detector) In case of failure of supply to Trip Indicator the conveyor is tripped. Actually is demand for fail safe system. The Trip indicator should always be in operation for starting the conveyor. FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS: Developments are going on for the following: Loop Redundant Systems for Redundant PLCS Wireless Trip Indicator One centralized system for complete plant

CONCLUSION :
By using advanced embedded technology monitoring of complete plant safety switches is possible economically as well as reliably. It saves cost and is reliable and intelligent. Figs. 3 to 6 show: Pull Cord Switch; Communication Cards; Trip Indicator; Trip Indicator Panel ___________________ About Authors: Ravi Parale, Director - R & D and Sanjay Belhe, Director - Marketing Protocontrol Instruments ( I ) Pvt.Ltd EL 31/1, Electronic Zone, MIDC Bhosari, Pune : 411026 Ph : 0091 20 27125198, 27125197, 32324545 Mr. Belhe is director of Protocontrol Instruments (I) Pvt.Ltd. He has more than 26 years experience in safety switches and control instruments. The company is a leading supplier of safety and control switches and instruments like Pull Cord, Belt Sway, Zero Speed, Heavy Duty switches. Protocontrol also offer complete level management solution for bulk material handling system. Protocontrol is pioneer in developing and promoting concept of product Addressable safety switch with Trip Indicator which is first of is kind over the industry. This product is in operation at many cement, steel and power plants.

For more information, please visit: http://www.bulk-online.com/Co/205864.htm http://www.google.com/search?hl=de&c...e&lr=&aq=f&oq= _______ Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: Conventional Switch Wiring Wiring for Trip Indicator Pull Cord Switch Communications Cards Trip Indicator

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Fig. 6: Trip Indicator Panel

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