4/7/2014 Automating efficiency

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Construction
Mining
Automating efficiency
Chasing deadlines and optimizing cost of operations are perhaps the most discussed
issues in the construction industry today. High efficiency and higher productivity has
become the centre of this discussion and all project managers are looking for finding
means to curb rising costs. At Metso we preempt the needs and design our offerings to
align solutions that matter the most. Our latest offering in PLC (Programmable Logic
Controller) based automation system for NW Series Portable Crushing Plants delivers
higher efficiency that not only produces consistent quality & quantity of end products
but also lowers the operating cost.
Why automation?
Production of crushed aggregates at first glance appears to be a simple and basic
process. However, a competitive market environment requires plant owners to achieve
highest productivity at lowest cost per ton. Ever increasing demand for high quality
aggregates has increased flow sheet complexity when continuous upgrading of
crushing plant operation is necessary to derive maximum profitability. This will
continue to be the major challenge for crushing plant owners.
Metsos offering in Plant automation is a proven tool to ensure that crushers operate as
close to ideal parameters as possible. When operated correctly, significant
improvement in production and operating cost including liner utilization can be
obtained. Automation has certain cost saving advantages as well. Costs incurred for
manpower and energy consumption are key concerns for the producer. Reduction in
manpower, energy consumption, consistent material flow and reduced idle time are
advantages that automation has to offer. Improvement in product and quality of
aggregate is inevitable. Continuous monitoring & control of power consumption,
material levels in cavities, motor current of crushers, status of motors and many more
are possible through PLC based automation. Semi-skilled operators can operate the
PLC based automation system with ease, reasons being user friendly interface. The
operating modes for a plant or a section can be selectively made automatic or manual.
Flexibility, expandability and modularity are key-features of the PLC based automation
system.
The crushing circuit

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Facia of NW 300 TPH PLC.
A crushing circuit, simply put consists of a series of unit equipment connected with
material conveying and storage units for producing the final output. Regulated
consistent feed and feeding conditions are required for plants operational efficiency
and consistent product quality. Therefore, automation in crusher and crushing plant is
necessary to bring a routine to the process and adjusting, monitoring and controlling
without the need for human interference.
By todays standards, most automation systems contain PLC based systems integrated
with touch screen based MMIs (Man Machine Interface) which have replaced the
traditional concept of using push buttons, lamps, switches and meters with touch
screen based graphical depiction of the same. Automation for process optimization is
measured in terms of product quality and productivity; lower operating costs with
higher yields are achieved with the PLC based automation. The introduction of PLC
based automation also allows flexibility in making modifications in the plant operational
logic like sequential start/stop, time delays etc without changing the wiring
configuration of the control panel.
Pioneering crushing plant automation
In earlier versions of electrical control, the processes were sequenced by hard-wired
interlocks (using wires to define inter-dependence of equipment). There was no
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intelligence associated. Operator had to physically operate the switches (switch them
ON /OFF) as per the flow required and equipments had to be started individually and
manually hence giving rise to wastage of time. Also operator was required at each
station for operating the plant. There was no concept of closed loop system control at
all.
Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) based automation systems for the crushing
plants will change the concept completely. The PLC is basically a microprocessor based
controller which can be programmed as per the requirement of the process flow
without changing the design parameters of the electrical panels. Minimal human
intervention is required to operate the PLC based automation systems. The intelligence
is centralized and complete information about feedback, commands and process
parameters of all processes in the plant can be monitored.
Metso has introduced this solution for NW300TPH 3-stage plant in the first phase. In a
NW300TPH 3-stage plant, there are 5 PLCs and 5 HMIs in each plant. Each section can
work independently as well as on an Ethernet network sharing data with each other. A
number of features like mode selection, auto/manual, frequency referencing to
vibrating feeder in closed loop and open loop options, adjustable inter-equipment
starting/stopping time delays, adjustable inter-section stating /stopping delays etc can
be modified. The operator can control the whole plant or any equipment at a time.
Electrical Layout of Automation for NW Series Portable Plants.
The above diagram illustrates the whole PLC system that shows the inter relation of
the HMIs and the other components within the system.
The HMI is an interface of the operator with the PLC. It is a touch screen that allows
easy selection of modes, start or stop of individual feeders in manual / maintenance
mode, input parameters like percentage reference to the vibrating feeders, depiction
of status (whether ON/OFF or TRIPPED). The HMI also gives the reason for the tripping
of the equipment. The touch screen in other unit equipment also sends the data put in
by the operator and prompts the PLC to progress accordingly. Although all the sections
have HMI, the HMI on the primary section, is a 7.5 screen connected to the PLCs of all
sections via Ethernet hence allowing the user to control the whole plant from the
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primary section. The HMIs on the other sections are of 5.7 and control the local
individual sections only.
Components of PLC based Automation system
Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) - The VFD is responsible for controlling RPM (Rotations
Per Minute) of the AC (Alternate Current) motor of the vibrating feeders hence
controlling the feed to the cavity or to the next equipment; the AC motor of vibrating
feeder and the Grizzly Feeder are fed by VFD to control the frequency of vibration by
controlling the RPM of the AC motors. It can control the RPMs of the feeder motor by
varying the frequency of its vibrations. The communication in VFD is on two wired
MODBUS protocol thus eliminating messy wires. A display system is present on the
VFD that helps to parameterize, diagnose and monitor the condition of the drive.
Ultrasonic level sensor - These devices are present on the hopper and crusher cavity
to sense the level of rocks in the cavity. This sensor gives feedback to the PLC that in
turn controls the frequency reference to the VFD hence the feed rate of vibrating
feeder hence making a closed loop system. This increases efficiency, in the way that in
case the level of material in the feeder is at the peak then it will adjust the vibrating
frequency of the feeder accordingly hence eliminating any chances of crusher choking
and causing the plant to stop. Also the PLC has been programmed so as to maintain a
consistent flow of material when these sensors are in line.
Power Analyzer - The power analyzer is a meter in the facade of the PLC that
measures parameters related to power during the functioning of the plant. Some of the
parameters are voltage, wattage, kilowatt-hour, apparent power KVA, (Kilo Volt
Ampere) frequency, power factor etc. This is too is devoid of messy wires owing to
MODBUS protocol. The communicated information is also displayed on the HMI and
SCADA.
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Systems (SCADA) - The SCADA is basically a
computer loaded with dedicated software that communicates with the PLCs on
Ethernet protocol, basic function being to control and supervise the operations in the
process from a remote location. Processing details of the 5 PLCs are shown on the
SCADA station. This informs the user how the plant is performing and also if there is
any breakdown in any part, the area and the reason for breakdown shall be flashed.
There are other features like time based alarms logging, fault logging, data logging-
plant yield on daily, monthly basis, the running hours of crushers, their idle times & on-
load times, and many more.
In the second phase Metso would introduce the similar automation system for 200 TPH
3-stage plants. The versatility of this automation design would be applicable to both the
modular as well as portable plants. Not only this, any kind of flow sheet can be
adapted to this automation system with minimal efforts enabling a single design to
cater to all the needs of the crushing industry.
The PLC based automation system will not only guarantee reduced production time
but also a higher productivity both in terms of quantity and quality. The offering comes
optional for all customers and is poised to gain importance with ever increasing
pressures in project execution and the best part is that we can offer this to the existing
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plants also. The times are challenging and we will continue to work towards maximizing
customers profitability with such offerings in future as well, says Sanjay Prasad, GM
Contracting Solutions, Metso India.
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