Abstract:
The surge tank in a bulk tailings treatment plant aims to reject flow and density
disturbances. However, for large disturbances, there may be an inversion in the gain between
the water inflow and tank slurry density for a linearized model of the plant. The plant-model
ratio (PMR) is a method to diagnose model-plant mismatch (MPM), such as gain-inversion, in
the absence of disturbances. This article evaluates the influence of disturbances on the ability
of the PMR to diagnose MPM for the surge tank. If the disturbance is measured, as in the case
of the surge tank, the PMR is able to detect MPM such as gain-inversion. A controller can be
adapted according to the MPM information from the PMR diagnosis.
