Drives & control systems -precision bulk handling

Dry bulk handling is en route to becoming a precision science with a level of control previously undreamt of, thanks to 20 years of research and development into digital non-contact torque monitoring.

Dry bulk handling is following many other industrial processes that have been redeveloped from a ‘black art’ to a highly accurate and controlled procedure.
A generation ago much of industry was in the hands of time- served artisans who relied on their many years experience to tweak and tease operations to ensure a good result. Usually they were unable to explain why they made the decisions they did, but the results generally turned out okay!

While the idea of horny-handed sons of toil is all very romantic, it is hardly the stuff of modern industry where precision has to be the watchword — where margins and timetables are so tight that everything must be controlled to within very demanding tolerances.

Computers have of course been crucial to this advancement, and it is developing the ability for them to ‘see’ what is actually going on and constantly retune the process that is the heart of the matter.
“Technically we call this real time data collection,” says Tony Ingham of Sensor Technology Ltd, one of the companies at the forefront of current developments. “It’s the eyes and ears of the computerized system that constantly monitor what is going on. With that information flowing, the computer can then do its bit.”
Real-time data is collected by having sensors monitoring the critical variables of an industrial process. This is fed straight to a computer which can perform a number of tasks related to the process. For instance, it can optimize one variable against another, convert raw data to useful information, or summate data for complex analysis.
However, some critical data can be hard to collect, and that is where Senor Technology’s research into torque monitoring comes in. Nearly all machines are driven by a motor through a rotating shaft, and monitoring the torque, speed and power in this can provide masses of useful information.
“Consider a screw conveyor or auger,” explains Ingham. “If this is rotating empty, it requires little power from its drive shaft. If it is half full, it requires rather more, and if it is completely full it needs a lot more.”
“The same goes for speed - the faster, the more power consumed. And the denser the material being conveyed, the more power required.”
“So by constantly measuring the torque in the driveshaft, we can determine the volume and weight of material conveyed.”
This is vitally important for say filling a ship’s hold, and if this information is combined with more real time data, the process becomes highly controllable.
But measuring torque is far harder than you may first imagine. Because the shaft is rotating wires attached to it would wind up and snap, so a special way of monitoring it is required. The traditional solution is to use slip rings, but these are expensive, difficult to set up and far too delicate in use for most industrial applications.
Sensor Technology stumbled on a solution to this problem some years ago when working on a project for the automotive industry and has been steadily transferring the technology to other industries ever since. Ingham gives the basic principles: “Our technology, called TorqSense, effectively senses and measures the sound waves generated by a rotating shaft and converts them to a torque measurement. Additionally, we don’t need physical contact with the SAW, just a radio frequency, RF, pickup close by.”
TorqSense torque sensors actually use two tiny Surface Acoustic Wave devices or SAWs made of ceramic piezoelectric material containing frequency resonating combs. These are glued onto the drive shaft at 90° to one another. As the torque increases the combs expand or contract proportionally to the torque being applied. In effect the combs act similarly to strain gauges but measure changes in resonant frequency.
The adjacent RF pickup emits radio waves towards the SAWs, which are then reflected back. The change in frequency of the reflected waves identifies the current torque.
This arrangement means there is no need to supply power to the SAWs, so the sensor is non-contact and wireless.
“TorqSense measurement together with the digital outputs it offers is often the only practical way to measure torque and integrate it into an industrial environment. And once you are collecting torque data this way, you are well on the way to sophisticated real-time control of complex process.”
TorqSense is already in use in many liquid handling applications, in mixers, in the nuclear industry, for testing aerospace components, running drug trials. It is applicable to all sizes, from dispensing active pharmaceutical ingredients, through stirring industrial quantities of cook-chilled curries, to modelling storm and flood water flows.

“Dry bulk handling is traditionally thought to be harder to monitor,” says Ingham. “But using TorqSense puts it on exactly the same footing as many well-established processes.”

Vale utilizes iSAM’s 3D stockyard management and automation system

Vale has decided to implement iSAM’s state-of-the-art 3-D stockyard management and automation system at its new VMMP iron ore hub in Malaysia.
The system will control the entire stockyard with initially one stacker, one reclaimer and three combined stacker/reclaimer using 3-D laser scanners for pile profiling and RTK GPS for positioning.
ABB will supply the overall automation system for the entire port and stockyard. The iSAM 3D automation will be seamlessly integrated into the ABB solution thanks to an already existing cooperation agreement between the two companies.
iSAM has been founded in 1983 by Dr. Ju¨rgen Hellmich in Mu¨lheim an der Ruhr, Germany and has focused on advanced automation systems from the beginning. Today the iSAM Group has nearly 100 employees in four global offices in North America,Asia-Pacific and Europe servicing customers in more
than 20 countries. iSAM holds several patents in the bulk handling industry and
was the first company using GPS and 3-D vision technology for bulk handling automation. With an installed base of more than 40 fully automated machines, including 25 stacker/reclaimers and the world’s first operator-less grab ship unloader, the company has broad experience handling nearly all grades of coal, iron ore and similar bulk materials.

Apart from Vale and several smaller port operators major international ports like

Hansaport, Hamburg, Germany;
EMO, Rotterdam, the Netherlands;
ILVA,Taranto, Italy
Westshore,Vancouver, Canada
Fortescue, Port Hedland, Australia

have already decided to implement iSAM’s technology.

Low friction for long travels: new roller energy chains offer cost-effective possibilities to achieve even more solutions for an economic energy supply by igus

Following the success of the P4 roller energy chain, igus has introduced two new roller energy chains as the ideal solution for long travels. They are part of the constantly growing modular system for all types of movement. If the travel is too long for a purely sliding application, and a robust P4 roller energy chain is over-dimensioned due to its filling weight and its dynamic, igus can now offer two alternative energy chains based on the proven e-chain families ‘E4.1’ and ‘E2/000’.

require an especially long service life.

ALL-ROUNDER IN A LARGE MODULAR RANGE
According to igus, the ‘E2/000’ chain series is an all-rounder from the modular range encompassing

EFFICIENT ENERGY SUPPLY TOOLBOX FOR ANY MOVEMENT
The ‘E4.1’ energy chain range combines the best design features of various original e-chain series — outer and inner brackets for flexibility and straightforward installation, an interlocking ‘tongue and groove’ for stability and a damping stop system for smooth running. In addition, the ‘E4.1’ has 30% larger gliding surfaces than its predecessor — for long travel applications. These are completely integrated, so cannot be lost; loud additional gliding shoes are not required.
Now even the longest travels can be achieved with energy efficiency using the new ‘E4.1’ roller e-chain. The system runs very smoothly due to an equal pitch of the roller and standard chain links. Therefore, the rollers significantly contribute to a silent operation. Built-in ‘ramps’ provide for a more silent run of the rollers when they run over each other. As the friction between the upper run and the lower run is reduced significantly by the roller links, drive power reductions up to 75%
almost 80,000 parts. It combines sturdiness with easy and versatile installation, high stability with quiet running,
long cable service life with a multitude of attachment possibilities. The chains can be opened very quickly through hinged crossbars that can be opened both to the left and right and on both the inner and outer radii, and can be swivelled through 180°. All you need to open them is a screwdriver or the recently developed chain opener, which radically reduces installation time. They are easily closed by hand. The key features of the crossbars include their very high holding force of up to 700N depending on the series, thus guaranteeing safe and secure operation.
The new light weight roller chain series 3500R is based on the proven two-piece energy chain family ‘E2/000’.With this innovation, travels with low additional loads can be cost- effectively achieved. The known advantages of the design — safe, silent, durable and abrasion-resistant — are maintained. The energy chain, which can be opened from the external radius, is particularly variable due to its modular interior separation. Easy to install, it is particularly suitable for horizontal applications. The modular design of the roller chain link allows the use of all widths of the standard series 3500. The roller system with low friction does not only save drive energy, it is especially energy-efficient compared to sliding solutions. Travels up to 150m at speeds up to 4m/s can be reached more economically. All energy chains of the series 3500R are part of the comprehensive modular system, they are available at short notice and when required completely ready-to install.