Industry-Leading Simulator Technology
Our virtual instrument is based on IDEAS dynamic simulation technology, a leader in the mining industry with a proven record of accurate simulation spanning over 25 years. Our models use the real engineering dimensions of your plant (pump curves, pipe diameters, elevations, etc.) to produce an accurate digital version of your plant. Behind every object is the best available academic literature, creating a physical model that behaves realistically under all operating conditions.
We read pump power, pump speed, and discharge pressure to synchronize the state of our model with the plant in real time. Because of the physical realism of our model, we are able to output slurry consistency and flow.
Backup Instrument Enables Consistent Automatic Control
The virtual instrument provides a reliable fallback measurement for automatic control if the field instrument stops reading correctly. Under normal conditions, the virtual instrument matches the flow or density measurement closely, typically with less than 5% RMS error. However, density instruments have notoriously poor performance under a variety of conditions, including low densities or losing calibration completely if the pipe goes empty. If that happens, control reverts to the virtual instrument, allowing loops to stay in automatic control.
Add Density Measurements Throughout The Process
The IDEAS Virtual Instrument relies only on the current state of the plant; no historical data is required. Unlike typical soft sensors or Big Data approaches, our instrument does not need to learn the process. The result is that we can provide accurate density measurements, even where there is no field instrument. One IDEAS Virtual Instrument installation can provide flow and consistency information wherever there is a pump with discharge pressure measurement and normal electrical feedback.