Optimal dosing of bulk material using mass-flow estimation and DEM simulation

This paper presents a novel methodology for coarse and fine dosing of bulk material. The dosing system considered in this study is a rotary valve with six chambers driven by an asynchronous motor controlled by a frequency inverter. The approach for optimal coarse dosing is based on the mass-flow estimation for multiple chambers of the bulk material wherein a closed-loop control design is developed. For fine dosing, a Discrete Element Method simulation of the rotary valve system is implemented to estimate the mass flow for a single chamber of the rotary valve. The estimation of the mass flow per unit degree opening angle is expressed as a function with the help of artificial neural networks. Both the mass-flow estimation results are implemented in the control system of a Bulk Good Laboratory Plant and experimental results show good accuracy for optimal bulk dosing.