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Automation of a Pneumatic Cement Transport Installation Using PLC

Conference Paper · October 2018

DOI: 10.1109/ICATE.2018.8551374

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 Automation of a Pneumatic Cement Transport
Installation Using PLC
Corina Maria Diniş
Department of Electrical Engineering and Industrial Informatics
Politehnica University Timișoara
Hunedoara, Romania
corina.dinis@fih.upt.ro
Abstract— The paper proposes the use of the PLC for the
automation of a pneumatic cement transport installation. This
type of installation is used inside cement plants as part of the
cement production process and other products derived from it.
PLCs control installation replaces a classical control installation,
less reliable, with contacts and relays. For the control of the
pneumatic transport of the cement was using Zelio PLC and one
extension module, to increase the numbers of digital inputs and
outputs, connected to PLC. The program was developed in
function block diagram. Using PLC's controls, the installation
has been considerably simplified, and troubleshoot installations
are much easier.
Keywords—PLC, FBD, control, pneumatic transport, level sensors,
cement
I. INTRODUCTION
The cement business has been a rush of expansions,
acquisitions, and automations over the last decades. As in other
industries, the quality control standards have to be met in the
cement industry. The most important technological
developments in the cement industry took place in the last
century through technological improvements in various areas:
bagging, palletizing and packing automation, high efficiency
cooling technology, milling developments, high efficiency
separators, the bulk load facility, installation of roll press,
modern control algorithms with applications in cement
industry, and so on [1-4].
Pneumatic transport systems can be used for charging,
transporting, and unloading powders. These systems are
common in the cement industry because they are reliable and
less polluting. There are still control systems made with
contacts and relays (wired logic) that control such systems.
Most often used in practice there are automation systems
containing both wired logic and programmed logic [5].
In the last century a new approach was design to
automation systems using programmable logic controllers
(PLCs) that operate with a code write into a program memory.
Various sensors can be connected to PLCs inputs and different
actuators at their outputs, so that they can be implemented in
most industries, including the cement industry [6-8].
In industry, automated process control systems are a
conglomeration of electronic devices that provides stability,
accuracy, and, not least, performance. Operating systems can
have different implementations from power supplies to
XXX-X-XXXX-XXXX-X/XX/$XX.00 ©20XX IEEE
Gabriel Nicolae Popa
Department of Electrical Engineering and Industrial Informatics
Politehnica University Timișoara
Hunedoara, Romania
gabriel.popa@fih.upt.ro
machine tools [9-14]. By connecting the system to PLCs and
CPUs process, being a result of rapid technological progress,
most complex operations were solved. These PLCs besides
connections to instrumentation and sensors in the automation
process, should allow control of the whole process and to
communicate to the operator the process states by visual and
sounds signals and/or through a communications network to a
local computer. The PLCs feature allow automation operation
of the control unit to a high degree of flexibility by changing
and more convenient monitoring of basic parameters of the
process [15-17].
PLCs are structures for control of industrial process, whose
implementation was used to eliminate the wired logical
structures and to replace them with programmable logical
structures. The majority of PLCs can be programmed via PC,
but it is possible to be programmed manually with the console,
or in case of low capacity PLCs, using the buttons and display
on the front of them. The best method of reprogramming the
PLCs is using the PC, thanks to the possibility of building,
saving and debugging the programs. Intelligence of the PLCs
consist in the ability to detect different types of sensors, input
and/or output devices [6,18-20].
Zelio Logic smart relays (low capacity PLCs) - Schneider
Electric product - are use in small automation systems
comprising 10 to 40 inputs/outputs (digital and/or analogue).
These relays can be used both in domestic (light installations,
alarm, etc.), industrial applications (small machinery, irrigation,
pumping stations, etc.), and in the commercial (management of
lighting, ensuring the heating, air conditioning, etc.).
Programming can be done directly using the buttons on the
relays or on a PC using Zelio Soft with a programming cable,
with the possibility of programming in Function Block
Diagram (FBD) or in Ladder Diagram (LD) [21-23].
The paper presents the automation, made in a cement plant,
for the pneumatic transport of cement between the sectors of
the factory. Automation was done with a low capacity PLC and
an extension module to increase the numbers of digital inputs
and outputs.
II. CEMENT PNEUMATIC TRANSPORT INSTALLATION
This type of installation is used inside cement plants as part
of the cement production process and other products derived
from it (Fig.1). The pneumatic cement transport installation has
the following main components presented in Fig.2.
Fig. 1. Positioning in the production plant of the pneumatic transport of
cement.

• Silo for storage of the material to be transported;

• Pressurised container;
• Electro-pneumatic devices;
• Cabinet with electric control devices.

Fig. 3. The detailed components of the cement pneumatic transport system.

• Fluid valve/bleeder - this components are used only

Fig. 2. The main components of the cement pneumatic transport system.
In Fig.3, the components of the pneumatic transport
installation of the cement are described. The main features and
roles of the components of the pneumatic cement transport
system and the functional description of these components are
presented below:
• The silo of the installation - it has the role of storing the
material that comes from the production stream, to be
transferred to the pressurized cylinder (pressure pump)
for transportation;
• The maximum and minimum level sensors of the silo
are designed to signal the PLC, the level of material in
the silo, signals used for the automatic or manual
loading of the pressure pump with material;
• Pump decompression pipe - is designed to allow the air
pressure to be exhausted inside the pressure pump at the
top of the silo when the pump is depressurized if the
transport cycle stops or the pressure pump is
depressurized to reload the material;
• Decompression valve - to maintain or release the
pressure inside the pneumatically pressurized pump;
• Pneumatic valve for filling the pump, by opening it,
filling/refilling the pressure pump with silo material;
when the charging valve is open, by injecting
compressed air into the bottom of the silo cone in the
area between the silo and the pump, bubbling the
material from the bottom of the silo, making it flow
more fluidly, inside the pump;
• High pressure sensor - this is set to a 1.2 - 2 bar
threshold, during this time the electrical contact of this
sensor is closed, signaling the PLC that there is pressure
in the pump (cylinder);
• Low pressure sensor - set between 0.2-0.1 bar, for
example 0.2 bar. It closes the contact only when the
pressure inside the pressure pump drops below 0.2 bar,
indicating the PLC that there is no pressure inside the
cylinder;
• Pressure pump - the cylinder of the installation, which is
pressurized for pneumatic transport, the pressure inside
it, pushing the material from the pump to the bottom,
which is discharged through the drawer at the bottom;
• Maximum pump level sensor - is designed to signal to
the PLC that the pressure pump (cylinder) is full with
material;
• Minimum pump level sensor – it’s the role of signaling
the PLC, that the pressure pump is empty, there is no
material inside it;
• Pump Pressure Pump - it has the role of allowing the
compressed air to enter inside the cylinder (pressure
pump), which stands at the top of the pump, making the
internal working pressure of the installation (for
example 1.7 bar);
• Air Pneumatic Valve - it is a pneumatic assembly with
four electro-valves that allows proportional opening of
the drawer between 0 and 100% in four steps (25%,
 50%, 75%, and 100%) and, of course, the closed
position;
• The pneumatic drawer - is a mechanical assembly with a
drawer plate that slides on two runways, depending on
the PLC prescription, which controls the four
compressed air suction valves, the drawer has the
following positions: closed, open 25%, open 50%, open
75% or 100% open.

III. AUTOMATION OF CEMENT PNEUMATIC TRANSPORT

INSTALLATION WITH ZELIO PLC
The present application requires a large number of digital
inputs and outputs, so it was chose a Zelio SR3B261BD PLC,
24V DC type, with 10 digital inputs (1 logic, 24V DC) and 10
digital relay outputs, and SR3XT141BD extension module,
which has 8 digital inputs, 24 V DC, and 6 relay digital output,
24 V DC. To programming PLC was used FBD (Function
Block Diagram) language [24].
Using PLC type it will use hardware configuration from the
software (Zelio Soft 2). In application, it was choose from
Zelio 2 software, Zelio SR3B261BD PLC, SR3XT141BD
module extension (Fig.4), and FBD the programming language
(Fig.5).

Fig. 7. The digital inputs of the PLC and extension module.

Fig. 4. Configuring PLC and PLC extension in the software.

Fig. 5. Information regarding final hardware configuration PLC.

Fig. 6. Programmable buttons of the PLC.

In the Figs. 6-8 are shown programmable buttons, input and

output variables of the PLC used in the program. In the Fig.9 is
shown programming functions displayed information on the
PLC. Fig. 8. The digital outputs of the PLC and extension module.

Fig. 9. Programming functions displayed information on the front of PLC.
IV. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROGRAM IMPLEMENTED IN THE
ZELIO PLC
A. Operation in Automatic and Manual Modes
For the automatic mode of the pneumatic transport system,
the mode selection key must be in the “Automatic” position
(Fig.10). When the mode key is moved to the “Automatic”
position, the “Automatic” message will appear on the PLC
display, so that the user knows the operating mode of the
installation (Fig.10).
When the plant is in automatic mode, the cement powder
transport air is not set. In order to be able to start the
installation in automatic mode, it is necessary to set the
transport air flow beforehand. The transport air flow is set by
briefly pressing the four buttons of the PLC (Fig.11).
To start the pump, press the “Start automatically” button,
assuming all the conditions are met, the cement pumping cycle
will start automatically, turning on the automatic lamp on the
electric panel.
Fig. 10. Automatic operation of the pneumatic transport installation.
The air flow rate must be set before starting the installation
in automatic mode (before pressing the “Start Auto” button),
otherwise the button does not start, and the display of the PLC
shows “Transport air unset“. Once the transport air flow rate
has been set, the installation can be switched on automatically
mode and the air flow rate setting can be changed during
operation.
Fig. 11. Adjusting the air flow rate.
Considering that there is material in the pressure pump, so
the minimum level sensor is not activated, the transport air flow
rate has been set, then it will engage the pressurized air
pressure cylinder to the working pressure of 1.7 bar. When the
pressure inside the pump reaches 1.7 bar, the maximum
pressure sensor will close the ignition, the PLC deactivate the
pressure pump valve, and the internal pressure remains at 1.7
bar.
During the operation of the pump, due to the fact that the
level of material inside it decreases, it is evacuated from the
pump to achieve the transport, the pressure will also decrease.
With the pressure drop below 1.7 bar in the pump, the pressure
sensor contact will open and the PLC will command again the
opening of the compressed air valve to pressurize the pump,
thus keeping the pressure inside the pump constant, in the range
1.6-1.7 bar.
 When the installation is started automatically, the transport
air being set (25%, 50%, 75%, or 100%), the pneumatic drawer
of the pressure pump will open, leaving the cement in the form
of powder to fall into the transport pipe pneumatically, being
transported to the next destination within the cement plant.
Opening the pneumatic drawer for evacuating the material from
the pressure pump will be proportional to the air flow rate
setting, for example if the transport air has been set to 75%, the
drawer will open to 75%, so it is regulated by the amount of
pumped material (pneumatically carried) in the unit of time.
If during automatic transport, the material inside the
pressure pump ends (the minimum level sensor in the pump is
activated), the “Min. pump” is displayed. At this time it is
necessary to automatically recharge the pressure pump. This
load is as follows:
• Close the pneumatic drawer at the bottom of the pump;
• The pressure pump is depressurized by activating the
decompression electro-valve at the top of the pump, the
pressure inside the pump being discharged through a
pipe into the silo of the installation;
• When the pump is depressurized, the pressure inside it
will drop to 0 bar, at this moment the low pressure
sensor will close the contact by giving the pump load
condition (0.2 bar);
• After the pressure inside the pump has dropped below
0.2 bar and if there is material in the upper silo, the
pneumatic valve opens between the silo of the
installation and the pump, leaving the material to
descend from the silo in the pump;
• During charging with the pump material, the charge
valve fluid is activated intermittently. This air is blown
inside the connecting piece between the silo and the
pump by means of three jets mounted around it at an
angle of 120°;
• During filling, the material level inside the pump
increases until it reaches the maximum level sensor, the
pump load is considered to be completed and the PLC
stops charging automatically.
After the pump is again pressurized to 1.7 bar, the operating
cycle will be resumed automatically, i.e. the pneumatic drawer
at the bottom of the pump will open and the transport air flow
will increase to the set value, thus continuing automatic
transport.
If during pump loading, either in automatic or manual
mode, the minimum material level in the silo is reached, the
pump charging cycle will be interrupted even if the pump is not
fully charged. The operator will know of the anomaly, due to
the “Fault” lamp illuminated on the control panel and the “Min.
silo “displayed on the PLC display.
If the end of the material in the silo is done during the
pump's automatic recharging and if the level in the pump is
above the minimum level sensor, the pumping cycle will be
restarted automatically until the material inside the pump. At
this point, the PLC will not initialize the pump recharge cycle,
because it has the information that there is no material in the
silo and will display the message “Min. pump”. At this point
we will have the “Fault” light on and two indications on the
screen of the PLC: “Min. silo“ and “Min. pump“, the operator
being informed about the situation. Having these two failures,
the cement pumping cycle in automatic mode is disabled.
After reloading the material silo, pump filling can be done
either manually by pressing the “ Start filling pump” button or
by pressing the “ Automatic start” button, the PLC checks the
information from the system sensors, and because there is no
material in the pump and in silos, it will make the decision to
start the pump filling cycle and then resume the pumping cycle
manually.
In the manual material loading mode of pressure pump, the
mode selection key must be in the “ Manual” position, and the
minimum material level sensor in the silo must not be
activated. Manual pump loading can be done even if the pump
level has not reached the minimum level, but if the maximum
level sensor or the minimum level sensor is activated during
charging, the charging stops automatically.
All electro-pneumatic valves and electro-valves of the
installation can be handled manually, taking into account some
conditions such as:
• The key to select the operating mode of the installation
must be in the “Manual” position;
• For the opening of the truck loading valve, between the
silo and the pump, the pressure inside the pump must be
below 0.2 bar, etc.
B. Treating failures
At the start of the installation, the exhaust system of the
installation and the loading valve between the silo and the
pump must be in the “closed” position. After the installation
has been started, the drawer must be in the “open” position,
between 25% and 100%, depending on the air transport setting.
In the 0% position, the drawer is considered to be in the closed
position, and between the 25% and 100% positions it is
considered open, so the limiting (position sensors) of the
drawer are adjusted according to these physical values of the
drawer stroke. The position sensors for these two elements are
connected to the digital inputs of the PLC and the signalling of
the physical state of these sensors is made directly to the
signalling lamps at the 24 V DC voltage on the cabinet door
due to the low number of PLC digital outputs.
The emergency stop button stops the automatic operation of
the installation, automatically depressurizing the pressure
bottle. Also, the loading cycle in automatic and manual mode is
interrupted if the emergency stop button is pressed.
Fig. 12. Display of the fault condition due to the load limiting position limiters
and the installation drawer and display the emergency stop message.
 When the emergency stop button is pressed, the emergency
stop message (Fig.12) is displayed on the PLC display. The
program created in the PLC uses all the inputs and all digital
outputs of the PLC (Fig.13). The program was made in FBD
and are shows in Fig.14.
Fig. 13. Zelio SR3B261BD PLC and SR3XT141BD extension module.
Fig. 14. The sequences of program (in FBD) implemented in PLC.
V. CONCLUSIONS
PLCs are often found in industrial applications and, even, in
home applications. Due to the implementation in program of
the command logic, programs that can be performed in
different programming languages (instruction lists or graphics),
control diagrams can be created, debug, and test quickly
compared to old command systems (wiring diagrams) that
involved a considerable number conductors, electrical, and
electronic devices.
Although low-capacity PLCs have been designed to
monitor and control relatively independent applications (no
communications with other monitoring equipment), they have
now found applications in various industrial areas, such as the
cement industry. By using low-capacity PLCs, easy monitoring
and convenient control of the pneumatic transport installation
for cement is made.
In cement industry the process control system is use to
improve operational and energy efficiency. Using PLCs in
control of cement industry the energy efficiency can be
improve since it is a big consumer of electricity, oil, coal, and
natural gas. Also, the air pollution is diminished in condition
the cement industry is the third largest emitter of greenhouse
gases globally.
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