Machine hearing has begun to be used in the aluminum industry

Rusal was the first company to use machine hearing technology in alumina production. The mathematical algorithm helps to reduce equipment wear and power consumption.

Constant optimal loading of bauxite ore mills (raw materials for alumina production) is important for energy saving, high-quality grinding and safety of equipment, Rusal explained. When ore is underloaded, electricity is wasted on the rotation of the mill, and grinding balls instead of ore beat against the inner lining of the mill, leading to mutual wear. An overloaded bauxite mill, on the contrary, produces poor-quality coarse grinding, which reduces the efficiency of the next technological process and the yield of alumina.

The technology was developed by the Rusal Engineering and Technology Center. She has successfully passed the tests and is working on a small wet milling unit of the Rusal alumina plant Krasnoturinsk," the company said.

Vibro-acoustic sensors are installed on the supports of the mills, and the captured sounds undergo analog-to-digital conversion. The mathematical algorithm is trained to identify the exact relationship between the sound characteristics and the degree of loading of the mills and not to react to extraneous noise.

The company has also started evaluating the possibility of implementing the technology at the Achinsk Alumina Combine (AGC), the world's only alumina plant operating on a mixture of nepheline and limestone ores. Its grinding technology and mills generate vibro-acoustic signals different from bauxite mills, so the machine hearing system at the AGC will need individual tuning.