GB1443180A - Method and apapratus for controlling material feed rate - Google Patents

Abstract

1443180 Automatic control of conveyers BRITISH STEEL CORP 4 June 1974 [6 June 1973] 26940/73 Heading G3R In a system in which material is conveyed from a first container 3 to a second container 1 from which it is continuously discharged, the rate of discharge from the first is controlled in accordance with a determination of any deficit or excess weight of material in transit and the measured weight of material in the second container so as to maintain a desired value for the said weight in the second container. The discharge rate from 3 is is measured by a belt weigher 8 whose output on line 19 is compared at 18, Fig. 2 with the required discharge from 1 calculated according to the measured speed of 12 and related parameters and manually or automatically supplied at 20. Any difference (which indicates that an excess or deficit will ultimately occur) is supplied to a summer 21 directly and negatively via a delay 22 equal to the transit time of the material. The output of 21 is integrated at 23, a proportion of the output of which is fed back to 21 to eliminate drift. The output of integrator 23 is the excess or deficient weight of material in transit, and this is combined at 27 with the output of load cell weighers 13 on container 1. The output of 27 is compared at 29 with the desired value for the weight of 1 and any difference used to adjust the set value for a material feed controller 15 at container 3. In the embodiment, the material in 3 is ore, which is combined with coke from 4 and hot return fires from 5 to supply a sinter strand 12. The flows of coke and fires are controlled in known manner as a set ratio of the flow of ore.