DYNAMIC MATRIX CONTROL OF AN AUTOGENOUS GRINDING CIRCUIT

Autogenous grinding is characterized by non-linearities, time-varying dynamics and a high level of uncertainties, conditions which usually o riginate from the variability of the ore feed characteristics (hardnes s and grade). These characteristics make this grinding operation parti cularly appealing for some type of knowledge-based control. This paper discusses the application of the dynamic matrix control algorithm to an autogenous grinding operation. This control algorithm is a long-ran ge predictive control algorithm which has been successfully applied to other processes. The study was carried out using an empirical simulat or calibrated with industrial data. The simulation results were compar ed to those obtained using PID and learning controllers. The ability o f the dynamic matrix control to improve the efficiency of this complex and highly sensitive process is clearly demonstrated.