Automated online measurement of limestone particle size distributions using 3D range data

Fully automated online measurement of the size distribution of limestone particles on conveyor belt is presented based on 3D range data collected every minute during 13 h of production. The research establishes the necessary analysis and measurement capabilities to facilitate automatic control of rock crushing or particle agglomeration processes to improve both energy efficiency and product quality. 3D data from laser triangulation is used to provide high resolution data of the surface of the piled limestone particles. The 3D data is unaffected by color variation in the material and is not susceptible to scale or perspective distortion common in 2D imaging. Techniques are presented covering; sizing of particles, determination of non-overlapped and overlapped particles, and mapping of sizing results to distributions comparable to sieving. Detailed variations in the product sieve-size are shown with abrupt changes when the size range of the limestone particles is changed.