Author:

Keywords:

Science & Technology, Technology, Automation & Control Systems, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Engineering, Electrical & Electronic, Computer Science, Engineering

Abstract:

A popular method for measuring mass flows of granular materials is to register the induced force on a circular chute. When properly designed, an accurate, friction independent and linear flow measurement is achieved, ready to install in agricultural machinery or process lines. Since this type of sensors is strongly subjected to wear and are installed on difficult accessible places, it is important to know when the sensor provides wrong measurements without interrupting the process. In this study, an off-line frequency domain procedure is designed to estimate wear on the chute suspension based on normal grain flow variations without extra excitation devices. The uncertainty bounds on the dynamic parameters are iteratively estimated based on a non-linear transformation between the parameter and pole/zero space. As alternative, a robust and stable method is presented to track the resonance frequency of the mechanical sensor and paddle rate of a feeding elevator on-line.