Elevator automated control system. Everyone knows that an elevator is a facility for storing large batches of grain and bringing it to a conditioned state. The elevator is a highly mechanized silo-type granary. The overestimated consumer demand for grain quality dictates high requirements for the operation of the complex as a whole. You can’t just take and fill the grain into a silo and expect that everything will be in order with it. And in order to guarantee its high quality - that is, a high price on the market - you need total control and management of each operation.
Let's look at how modern automation can be profitable ...
From a technological point of view, an elevator is a set of mechanisms and installations arranged in a certain sequence and interconnected by product transportation lines. During operation, mechanisms and installations are combined into routes to ensure the transfer of the product from source to destination. By combining them, you can build almost any desired sequence of transportation. The system will automatically adjust to the desire of the operator, check the correctness of his decision and execute with machine precision in order to deliver what is needed intact and with maximum efficiency.
If the elevator also implements grain cleaning and processing, the cleaning waste can be stored for further use as fuel. What should have just been thrown away and lost is put to great use. Rational use of all available resources is the key to success.
Many elevators in our country are still running outdated systems. They fulfill their role as long as the operator watches them and only as well as they fit the current equipment. It is no secret that many mechanisms are being replaced and improved. This entails changes in technological schemes, but systems hammered down before the initial design will no longer be able to respond qualitatively to these changes. And then control disappears, and operators need to constantly remember the behavior of the complex in some situations. Mistakes are inevitable, and this is a loss of money.
ARTESIA offers a modern and future-oriented solution — reliable and flexible industrial controllers. They remove the boundaries of the possibilities of modernization, allow you to implement a large number of necessary or desired tasks with minimal effort.
MODERN ELEVATOR AUTOMATIC CONTROL SYSTEM MUST PERFORM THE FOLLOWING FUNCTIONS:
- automation of laying product transportation routes, automated start and stop of routes;
- control over the integrity and correctness of the compilation of routes, blocking inaccessible and / or emergency routes;
- blocking the possibility of starting mechanisms by the operator in the wrong sequence;
- optimization of the load on the power grid by blocking the launch of several routes at the same time and diversifying the switching on of mechanisms in time - sparing start;
- previous start-up of aspiration installations when turning on the intent equipment, delaying the deactivation of aspiration to remove dust residues;
- automatic delayed stop of the route mechanisms after the product supply is stopped to remove grain residues from conveyors and bucket elevators;
- automatic shutdown of the product supply source when filling silos or bins;
- control of the operation of mechanisms and equipment of the elevator in automatic and manual (local and dispatcher) modes;
- individual adjustment of the operation of each mechanism, taking into account the recommendations of manufacturers and the practical experience of technologists - turn-on and turn-off delays, special working conditions;
- diagnostics of the state of mechanisms and installations, determination of malfunctions with decoding of the possible cause, blocking of faulty mechanisms;
- control of circuits for connecting limit switches and sensors, the status of automatic switches of installations;
- emergency warning signaling in case of a malfunction in the operation of process and auxiliary equipment, means of process control systems;
- load control of bucket elevators by current sensors of electric motors to ensure safe operation and safety of equipment;
- control of the operation of conveyors, sluice gates, bucket elevators according to the readings of the motor shaft speed sensors (counters-tachometers built into ASTUP);
- technological accounting of the pumped product according to the indications of automated scales;
- visualization of the state of the elevator complex on the screen of the control room with the provision of current and archived information, interactive display of the technological scheme, operational management tools, work reports;
- documenting the history of events for the analysis of technological processes;
- the ability to integrate into the enterprise management system (data transfer to 1C).
POSSIBLE TECHNOLOGICAL SCHEME OF ELEVATOR:
STRUCTURE OF THE AUTOMATIC CONTROL SYSTEM
The process control system of the production elevator has a two-level structure.
At the lower level (local automation level), the technological process is monitored and controlled using a set of sensors and actuators operating under the control of an industrial controller.
The local automation level includes field equipment - sensors and actuators, automation panels with control controllers and power equipment racks - contactors, circuit breakers and motor protection circuit breakers. This is the most reliable part of the control system. It will work and perform its tasks regardless of the state of the control room or the howling wind outside. And the wind there walks "God forbid" - as a high-rise structure and aerodynamics! If she notices the slightest hint of a malfunction, she will safely stop the complex and ask the operators for help. The system is smart, but the person is smarter, and it is not worth replacing it. But to help a person - as much as you want.
Since the tower is usually unheated, controller equipment with an operating temperature range of 20 ... + 50 0С is used and control panels are heated by built-in thermostats and heating elements.
Industrial Ethernet is used for communication between the control panels and the supervisory console.
At the supervisory level of the production elevator control, the operator monitors the complex entrusted to him and makes the right decisions, based on the information that the computer kindly provides him.
The interface is built on the principle of page-by-page display of information, where each page (mimic) corresponds to a certain logical (functional combination of devices, system functions) or technological (installation) node.
The basic unit is a mnemonic - a screen (page) containing visual information about the building, its individual elements, installations in the form of flow diagrams, data in the form of text, tables, graphs and controls - buttons, switches, selection lists, etc.
The Routes tab is used to set up routes and check their status. On this page, in a schematic form, possible combinations of equipment in minibuses are shown. On the left side are the sources (beginning) of the routes, on the right - receivers (end). Intermediate equipment is located between them, interconnected by transport highways. The direction of the product flows is controlled by diverter valves and motorized gate valves.
Highways of the transportation route are depicted as colored lines. If the current state of the valve at the beginning of the segment allows the product to pass through the pipeline (open valve, the valve is set to this segment), then the line is displayed in yellow, otherwise it is gray.
On the "Elevator" tab, a flow diagram of the sequence of placement of technological equipment and connections between them is shown in a conditional form.
The “Enable” button activates the pre-start sound alarm, and then activates the possibility of starting a route or a separate installation.
Each element of the diagram is interactive - it changes its appearance depending on the state, and also allows you to view information about the status of the installation. To do this, just left-click on the element that interests you. The window, depending on the type of equipment, will show the available list of characteristics and operating modes.
The "Silos" tab reflects the state of the silo floor of the silo buildings, namely the state of the conveyors, the position of the unloading trolleys, the registered movements of the trolleys.
At the top of the page, the silo cans are shown in a schematic form, numbered in accordance with the technological maps. Unloading carts move along the groups of cans. The number on the side of the cart indicates the number of the silo it is currently above.
The state of the diverter valves, the upper level in the silo and the product back-up are reflected for the silo above which the trolley is located.
Elevator automated control system. Results:
The elevator automated control system allowed:
- provide automatic control, monitoring and protection of the elevator complex
- optimize the operation of technological routes and control the movement of the product
- increase the reliability of the elevator by diagnosing and preventing emergency situations, reducing the likelihood of personnel errors
- reduce the downtime of the production complex through emergency situations using the early localization of the centers of accidents, the correct stop of emergency equipment and routes, the display of recommendations for eliminating the causes
- improve working conditions and productivity of operational personnel by visualizing the current state of all elevator equipment on the screen of the dispatching console, the availability of the necessary controls, recording and archiving information
Author: Alexander Stepanets.
