Simulation of power-draw and fill level for a semi-autogenous mill system

This poster presents a dynamic simulator of a semi-autogenous grinding operation deduced from first principles coupled to an online parameter estimation scheme able to simulate industrial operations for future control purposes. The proposed procedure for simulation purposes is as follows: Model equations are based on a conventional non-stationary population balance approach to develop the necessary dynamic model of the semi-autogenous mill operation. The presented models are able to predict the timeevolution of key operating variables such as product flow rate, level charge, power-draw, load position and others, as functions of other important variables such as mill rotational speed and fresh feed characteristics. The set of ordinary differential equations was solved using MATLAB/SIMULINK as a graphic programming platform, a useful tool for understanding the grinding process. Additionally, this work presents results using dynamic simulations from a 1200 t/h copper--ore mill showing the effectiveness of the system to track the dynamic behaviour of the variables.