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Alexandre G. Fonseca
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Instrumentação, Controle e Automação de Processos de Mineração, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto (UFOP) e Instituto Tecnológico Vale (ITV), Ouro Preto, MG e Vale S.A.
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Thomás V. B. Pinto
Instituto Tecnológico Vale (ITV), Ouro Preto, MG
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Kaike S. Albuquerque
Vale S.A.
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Robson A. Duarte
Vale S.A.
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Thiago A. M. Euzébio
Instituto Tecnológico Vale (ITV), Ouro Preto, MG
Keywords:
Screening, Crushing, Fuzzy Logic, Variability reduction, Efficiency gain
Abstract
Screening is a process that classifies particles by size. The mining industry uses this process by employing vibrating screens, mainly in crushing circuits. The objective is to separate a material stream into two fractions: coarse material (retained) and thin material (through). The coarse material fraction is fed to crushers to be comminuted (reduced particle size). When screening is inefficient, fine particles are carried along with the coarse particles, which overloads the crushing stage, causing productivity losses and even equipment damage. In the literature, it is common to find control works to increase the efficiency of crushers, but there is little about control systems to increase the efficiency of screens. This work presents a fuzzy control solution applied in a screening process formed by ten parallel lines, in a Vale iron ore beneficiation plant, in Canaã dos Carajás, PA. The results indicate an increase of 15.87% in the time in which the screens operate at greater efficiency.
