Radar Based Solutions for Crushing andScreening Applications

Abstract: This project was carried out for a Company in the mining and construction business, and focused on the development of a radar based material monitoring solution for conveyor belts. A minor prestudy showed that there are possible customer values related to material monitoring solutions for equipment relevant for the Company, and that such solutions using radar possibly can fulfil the application requirements. The main focus of the project was chosen based on this prestudy. The methods used were mainly experiments with the developed prototype, and a study of literature. The prototype was developed with an aim to measure mass flow and to monitor the material surface for deviances. Millimeter-wave pulsed coherent radar sensors were used, and data processing approaches included Kalman filtering. Results showed that mass flow can be calculated using the tested senors and data processing models, as the calculated mass flow was well in line with a belt scale reference, but that additional data is needed to prove consistency in the results. Results also showed that trends in the material surface can be observed in the radar data, indicating the possibilities to detect deviances. From a technical perspective, results and the possibilities for further development and improvement show that radar based solutions can be used for applications relevant for the Company.