Distributed control at the Kidd Creek grinding plant. Part II: Implementation

CIM Bulletin, Vol. 90, No. 1008, 1997

A. Desbiens, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Université Laval, Ste-Foy, Quebec, F. Flament, Algosys Inc., Ste-Foy, Quebec, A. Pomerleau, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Université Laval, Ste-Foy, Quebec

During the summer of 1994, a new PIDbased control strategy was installed on line B of the grinding circuit at the Kidd Creek Division of Falconbridge Ltd. Part I of this paper described the methodology used to select the appropriate control strategy using a phenomenological dynamic simulator. Part II presents the implementation of the control strategy. Prior to the controller installation, it was necessary to solve various problems related to the process, such as a cyclic behaviour of the rod mill feed tonnage, a problem related to the mill water source and the calibration of the flowmeters. Once these problems were solved, the control strategy was accomplished in two steps. Step 1 corresponds to the installation of control loops to regulate the pump box level and the cyclone overflow density. Step 2 describes the implementation of a loop to control the cyclone feed density. According to Part I, a loop to control the circulating load is also part of the original design. However, reasons are given to explain the rejection of this loop. For both steps, technical procedures such as filtering, process identification and controller tuning are detailed. Finally, the operator’s interface is briefly described.

Keywords: Mineral processing, Grinding circuits.