Development, research and optimization of weight measuring system

The main task of the research is to improve technical and economic indicators of weight measuring system and to increase the efficiency of its research on the basis of cost-optimal planning of experiments. A system with a measuring tray has been developed, and it is different from existing systems with a possibility to control inclination angle of a tray, moisture content and temperature of a bulk substance, what provides better accuracy of mass measurement. The researches of weight measuring system were performed using the following methods of cost-optimal experiment planning: taboo search, particle swarm method, exhaustive search, Gray code based method. It gave possibility to reduce cost of implementing the experiment. To perform the research of weight measuring system, a plan of a full-factor experiment was selected, which was optimized for the cost of its implementation by using a method based on the Gray code. In the result of research, mathematical models in coded and natural values of factors were obtained. They characterize the dependence of the measurement acceptable error on such indicators as the angle of the measuring tray, the humidity of the bulk material, the coefficient of friction of the bulk material in motion. Using a mathematical model, rational values of the design parameters of the weight measuring system were obtained, which provide high accuracy (measurement acceptable error does not exceed 0.20%): the angle of the weight measuring tray α = 41.9°; humidity of loose material W = 14%; the coefficient of friction of the bulk material in motion fd  = 0.70. The developed weight measuring system can be widely used for dosing of bulk materials in various technological productions.