Minerals 2018, 8(10), 469; https://doi.org/10.3390/min8100469
Design and Evaluation of an Expert System in a Crushing Plant
1
Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad CatĂłlica del Norte, 1270709 Antofagasta, Chile
2
Department of Metallurgical and Mining Engineering, Universidad CatĂłlica del Norte, 1270709 Antofagasta, Chile
3
Department of Civil, Environmental & Natural Resources Engineering, LuleĂĄ University of Technology, SE-971 87 LuleĂĄ, Sweden
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 1 September 2018 / Revised: 12 October 2018 / Accepted: 15 October 2018 / Published: 19 October 2018
(This article belongs to the Section Mineral Processing and Metallurgy)
Abstract
This document presents a proposal for designing an expert system in the Gabriela Mistral Division’s crushing plant belonging to Codelco (Chile) with the objective of maximizing stacked tonnage, allowing the improvement of operational variables that directly interact with the crushing process. In addition, this study considers the impact that occurs in both the process and operational continuity regarding the standardization of the system. In the first stage, a survey and analysis of historic operation data was carried out, which allowed the definition of benchmarking indicators. Subsequently, both modalities of operation were compared, monitoring processed tonnage and detentions related to operational failures. As a result, significant differences were observed in the performance of the critical line operating with expert control, with a 55% reduction in the detentions referred to operational failures. Added to this is the benefit of low cost and improved quality as the control provides an analysis of the variables in reduced time intervals, which is superior to human control. View Full-TextKeywords:
improvement; expert system; knowledge-based system; milling; crushing
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Leiva, C.A.; Arcos, K.V.; Poblete, D.A.; Serey, E.A.; Torres, C.M.; Ghorbani, Y. Design and Evaluation of an Expert System in a Crushing Plant. Minerals 2018, 8, 469.
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