| Mechatronics, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 21-34, February 1996.
|
| The feasibility of controlling power for efficient batch mixing |
Richard A. Layton, William R. Murray, and Joseph L. Garbini
|
Batch mixing is an established industrial process, historically practiced
in an open-loop manner. Batch-to-batch differences in the process that lead to small variations in torque applied to
the mix may result in significant variability in the finished product. A new closed-loop strategy for batch mixing is
proposed to make the batch mixing process robust to such variations through the application of feedback and control
principles. The new closed-loop strategy is based upon the hypothesis that the repeatability of mixing results can be
improved by holding constant the amount of work done on each batch and that mixing efficiency can be improved by
controlling power. The new strategy is applied in simulation to the specific case of mixing an ammonium nitrate
composite solid propellant. The benefits of the new closed-loop strategy as well as the feasibility of implementing
the strategy using common industrial components are demonstrated.
|
©1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.
|
| Return to list of publications |