Ultrasonic control of the level of the heterogeneous surface medium in mining

Abstract

Topical One of the major problems of controlling the level of ore or moving fluid (slurry) is recording the reflected signal. Due to evident heterogeneity of the reflecting surface, dispersion of an ultrasonic wave greatly attenuates the reflected signal making it difficult to detect it against random noises. In this case, the only way to solve this problem is application of acoustic reflectors. To analyze this issue, a scheme of the conventional reflector with a radiator-receiver is under study. Efficiency of the acoustic reflector in recording the reflected signal is evaluated. The design of developed recording devices for ultrasonic control over fluid and solid media with heterogeneous surfaces allows increasing their accuracy and reliability due to receiving and transmitting a low-level signal in industrial noises. Industrial testing indicates that the developed ultrasonic device controlling lumpiness of ore materials produces a measuring error of under 1.5%, while efficiency of technological aggregates produced by the ultrasonic method based on measuring the level of the slurry in technological chutes of concentration plants can be evaluated with the ±1% error.