REAL-TIME MONITORING AND ESTIMATION SYSTEM FOR WEAR IN RUBBER LINERS AND LIFTER BARS UTILIZED IN ORE GRINDING MILLS

Abstract

The invention relates to a system that enables real-time monitoring of wear and tear occurring in rubber liners and lifter bars used in the internal structure of the ore grinding mills employed in the mining sector, in addition to obtaining estimations as to the replacement times of worn parts.

Claims

1-3. (canceled)

4. A system that enables real-time monitoring of wear and tear occurring in rubber liners and lifter bars used in an internal structure of ore grinding mills, in addition to obtaining estimations as to replacement times of worn parts by evaluating the estimations according to different ore types by employing artificial intelligence approaches, the system comprising: sensing modules positioned inside the rubber liners and the lifter bars that sense the wear and tear occurring over time in the rubber liners and lifter bars in the internal structure of the ore grinding mills, as well as temperature and pressure, wherein the sensing modules comprise electromechanical and acoustic sensors; data collection nodes positioned outside of a mill that reads measurement data from the sensing modules, wherein a command is transmitted and energy is provided to the sensing modules; a communication coordinator that transfers data from the data collection nodes to a cloud/internet, wherein the measurement data from the sensing modules are wirelessly transferred to the communication coordinator; a data collection monitoring and estimation center that stores data from the communication coordinator via the cloud/internet, and instantly monitors the data, and makes analyses and estimations with an artificial intelligence approach by using the data; and a reporting and user interface that allows users to access real-time monitoring data, analysis, and estimation results.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the communication coordinator utilizes a communication protocol according to locations of the ore grinding mills and relevant conditions of the ore grinding mills, and wherein the communication protocol comprises any of WiFi, Ethernet, ZigBee, LoRaWAN, cellular network, and satellite communication.

6. A method of operating a system that enables real-time monitoring of wear and tear occurring in rubber liners and lifter bars used in an internal structure of ore grinding mills, in addition to obtaining estimations as to replacement times of worn parts by evaluating the estimations according to different ore types by employing artificial intelligence approaches, the method comprising: instantly measuring wear level, temperature, and pressure in the rubber liners and the lifter bars by sensing modules; transferring data coming from the sensing modules to data collection nodes that are positioned outside of a mill; wirelessly transferring data read by the data collection nodes to a communication coordinator; transferring data received at the communication coordinator to a data collection monitoring and estimation center through a cloud/internet; storing and monitoring data gathered at the data collection monitoring and estimation center in real-time; creating estimation models based on monitored data with artificial intelligence approaches comprising time-series estimation models; estimating wear and tear of the rubber liners and lifter bars for different ores; and accessing data, analysis, and estimation results in the data collection monitoring and estimation center through a reporting and user interface.

Description

SHORT EXPLANATION OF FIGURES

[0033] The applications of the present invention that is briefly summarized above and addressed in detail below can be understood by referring to the sample applications depicted in the attached drawings of the invention. However, it must be stated that the attached drawings show only the typical applications of this invention and that since the invention allows other equally effective applications, its scope cannot be assumed to be limited.

[0034] In order to facilitate understanding, identical reference numbers are used to indicate identical elements in the FIGURES, where possible. The shapes are not drawn to scale and can be simplified for clarity. It is believed that the elements and features of an application can be usefully incorporated into other applications without further explanation.

[0035] FIG. 1: It is a schematic view of the system of the invention.

REFERENCE NUMBERS

[0036] 1. Sensing module [0037] 2. Data collection node [0038] 3. Communication coordinator [0039] 4. Cloud/internet [0040] 5. Data collection monitoring and estimation center [0041] 6. Reporting and user interface

DETAILED EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

[0042] The preferred alternatives in this detailed description of the system of the present disclosure are only intended for providing a better understanding of the subject matter and should not be construed in any restrictive sense.

[0043] The invention relates to a system that enables real-time monitoring of wear and tear occurring, over time, in rubber liners and lifter bars used in the internal structure of the ore grinding mills employed in the mining sector, in addition to obtaining accurate and realistic estimations about the wear.

[0044] The solution suggested with the invention is that an embedded system technology is developed with special sensing modules (1) to be placed inside the liners and lifter bars utilized in the mills and that wear, performance, and other parameters are instantly monitored and controlled with this system. The sensing modules (1) consist of electromechanical sensors, capacitive sensors, and acoustic sensors.

[0045] The invention consists of the sensing modules (1) that allow measuring wear level, temperature, and pressure of rubber liners. Data coming from the sensing modules (1) are transferred to the data collection nodes (2) placed outside of the mill in a wired or wireless manner, from there to the communication coordinator (3) in a wireless manner, and from there to the data collection monitoring and estimation center (5) with the help of the cloud/internet (4). Data and analysis results in the data collection monitoring and estimation center (5) can be accessed from the reporting and user interface (6).

[0046] Based on the data collected by the system, estimation models are created with artificial intelligence approaches, primarily time-series estimation models, and liner and lifter bar wear is estimated for different ores.

[0047] The wear level, temperature, and pressure of liners and lifter bars are measured by the sensing modules (1), which are a part of the system of the invention. Lifter bar temperature is measured within a range of −40° C. to +125° C. and with an accuracy of 1° C. by way of a semi-conductive temperature sensor placed on the motherboard in the sensing modules (1). Pressure on the lifter bar, on the other hand, is measured with a load cell and a low-noise high-profit amplifier. The obtained wear, temperature, and pressure data are transferred, in a wired or wireless manner, at the speed of 9600 bps by asynchronous series communication to the data collection nodes (2) with the data package determined by a microcontroller placed on the sensing modules (1).

[0048] There are four cables between the sensing modules (1) and the data collection nodes (2). Two of these are used to provide energy to the sensing modules (1), the command is conveyed to the sensing modules (1) with the third one, and the fourth one allows reading measurement data. The communication speed between the sensing modules (1) and the data collection nodes (2) is determined as 9600 bps. This speed may software-wise be altered between 110 bps and 115200 bps. Additionally, bidirectional wireless communication is also possible between the sensing modules (1) and the data collection nodes (2), if need be.

[0049] The data collection nodes (2) re-package measurement data obtained from all sensing modules (1) they are connected to and transfer to the communication coordinator (3) wirelessly. The data received by the communication coordinator (3) are uploaded to the cloud/internet (4) via Ethernet. The data obtained from the cloud/internet (4) are sent to the data collection monitoring and estimation center (5), and values such as wear, temperature, pressure are monitored real-time by way of the analysis of the relevant data; moreover, liner and lifter bar wear is estimated for different ores by using artificial intelligence. The reporting and user interface (6) is utilized to access the relevant monitoring data and analysis and estimation results.

[0050] Communication protocols employed in the system of the invention differ according to the locations of the ore grinding mills and their relevant conditions; and WiFi, Ethernet, ZigBee, LoRaWAN, cellular network (3G), and satellite communication are among the options.