Implementation of Auto Coal

Sampling System

POWJS ZC423T: Project Work

By

Ramneet Singh

201235JS035

Project Work carried out at

JSW Energy Limited, Vijayanagar,
Bellary dist., Karnataka

BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE

PILANI (RAJASTHAN)

August 2015
 Implementation of Auto Coal
Sampling System

POWJS ZC423T: Project Work

by

Ramneet Singh

201235JS035

Project Work carried out at

JSW Energy Limited, Vijayanagar,

Bellary dist., Karnataka

Submitted in partial fulfillment of B.S. Engineering Technology /

Information Systems degree programme

Under the Supervision of

Mr. Patal Parag, Deputy Manager C&I 4x300MW

JSW Energy Limited, Vijayanagar,
Bellary dist., Karnataka

BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE

PILANI (RAJASTHAN)

AUGUST 2015
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project work “Implementation of Auto Coal

Sampling System” and submitted by Ramneet Singh having ID No.

201235JS035 for the partial fulfillment of the requirements of B.S. in Power

Engineering degree of BITS embodies the bonafide work done by him under

my supervision.

Signature of Supervisor

Place -

Date - Name, Designation & Organization

 Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani

Work-Integrated Learning Programmes Division

Second Semester 2014-2015

POWJS ZC423T: Project Work

ABSTRACT

BITS ID No. : 201235JS035

NAME OF THE STUDENT : RAMNEET SINGH

EMAIL ADDRESS : ramneet.singh@jsw.in

STUDENT’S EMPLOYING : JSW ENERGY LTD., VIJAYANAGAR

ORGANIZATION & LOCATION

SUPERVISOR’S NAME : Mr. PATAL PARAG

SUPERVISOR’S EMPLOYING : JSW ENERGY LTD., VIJAYANAGAR

ORGANIZATION & LOCATION

SUPERVISOR’S EMAIL ADDRESS: patal.parag@jsw.in

PROJECT WORK TITLE : IMPLEMENTATION OF AUTO COAL SAMPLING SYSTEM

Signature of the Supervisor

Signature of the Student

Name: RAMNEET SINGH Name: PATAL PARAG

Date: 31/08/2015 Date: 31/08/2015

Place: VIJAYANAGAR Place: VIJAYANAGAR

 ABSTRACT

JSW Energy was incorporated in 1994, which began its commercial operations

in 2000, with the commissioning of its first 260MW thermal power plant at

Vijayanagar, Karnataka. By managing operations, enhancing social and

economic benefits, minimizing environmental impact and employing cutting

age innovation, JSW Energy has consolidated its place at the top; operating

860MW IPP and 830MW captive power plant at Vijayanagar. JSW Energy is

one of the most efficient power generation companies in India.

Its plants are the industry benchmark for achieving high plant load factor,

which is a measure of efficient capacity utilization. The Vijayanagar plant was

awarded the Best operating Power Plant title by the Ministry of Power in 2012

for the fifth consecutive year.

In line with continual improvement and innovation initiations, i would like to

present my project: “Implementation Of Auto Coal Sampling System” to

improve & automate the coal sampling techniques/process & to reduce the

health & safety hazards to the personnel.

 AKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank the munificent employee of JSW

ENERGY, Vijayanagar for their assistance in providing their

valuable inputs for the project. My particular thanks to Mr.

Pradeep Biliki(Manager, C&I) for their liberal assistance to

my project.

I am very grateful to Mr. Patal Parag(Deputy Manager,

C&I) for taking the pain of elucidating me about the

project.
 Table of Contents

1 - Introduction Pg 1

1.1 – Present Sampling Technique Pg 1

1.2 - Risk/Hazard involved in present technique Pg 2

2 - Automation of Coal Sampling Pg 3

2.1 – Automated Sampling Technique Pg 3

2.2 - Benefits of Automatic coal sampling system Pg 4

3 – Specifications of Auto Coal Sampler Pg 5

3.1 Components of the Sampler Pg 5

3.2 Technical Specifications Pg 6

4 – Erection & Commissioning Pg 7

4.1 Erection work plan Pg 7

4.2 Commissioning work plan Pg 10

4.3 Tuning of System Pg 12

5 Protections & Interlocks Pg 14

Summary Pg 15

Literature References Pg16

 List of Figures

1.1 – Schematic Diagram of Conveyor Pg 2

4.1 – Front layout of Coal Sampler Room Pg 7

4.2 – Top layout of Coal Sampler Room Pg 7

4.3 – Scoop System across the conveyor belt Pg 8

4.4 – Sampler Room Equipment Location Pg 9

4.5 – Scoop Assembly Pg 10

4.6 – Jaw crusher & Vibro feeder Assembly Pg 11

4.7 – PLC panel with I/O cards & Relay panel Pg 12

 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Present Sampling Techniques

The plant is located in Toranagallu, near Bellary, Karnataka in the

Southern region of the India, about 40 km from Bellary and is operational,

supplying Electricity to the JSW steel & Karnataka state (KPCL).

BCN 2A, 2B, 3A & 3B are the feeder conveyor belts on the bunker floor to feed

Unit no. 1 to 4. Presently, to collect the coal sample an Operator has to stand

side near by the running conveyor & collect the sample by placing collecting

plate against the flow of coal after a known amount of coal passes on the belt

& to indicate, a siren signal is generated for the operator. The quantity &

quality of coal sample is not definite it’s mostly depends on the feed rate of

coal & operators intelligence. The raw coal which is coming on the conveyor is

of size approx. 50mm. The operator collect 50Kg of coal in a closed container

then it passes the collected sample through a divider with mesh size approx.

50mm which having two outlets i.e. sample outlet & other is reject outlet.

Again the sample outlet is fed into divider & continues till we get approx. 2Kg

of sample which was then packed in a jar & send to chemistry lab for further

analysis.

Page 1 of 16
 BCN 1B

BCN 3B
BCN 2B

BCN 1A

BCN 2A BCN 3A

Fig 1.1 Schematic Diagram of conveyor

1.2 Risk/Hazard involved in present technique

The following are the hazards/risks involved in manual coal sampling –

• As operator one has to stand near the running conveyor for collection of

sample there’s always a risk of misshapen persist.

• Operator is more prone to health hazard like asthma or breathing

problems due to direct contact to coal dust in the location.

• Operator has risk of getting skin infection/diseases due to continuous

contact with coal.

Page 2 of 16
 CHAPTER 2
AUTOMATION OF COAL SAMPLING

2.1 AUTOMATED SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

In automated sampling system it has been developed for online periodic

collection of coal sample across the cross – section of belt conveyor. The cross

belt sampler comprises of a rotating swing arm which moves in a rotary

motion & perpendicular to motion of coal flow over a conveyor. Sample coal of

size ≈ 50mm is extracted from the moving conveyor during the rotation &

released into a sample discharge area through there it goes to jaw crusher

where it crushed up to 3mm size, after that it goes to the sample divider

where sample material goes to the sample jar & discarded material goes back

to the conveyor.

Page 3 of 16
 2.2 Benefits of Automatic coal sampling system

The following are the benefits of automatic coal sampling system–

• As the system is fully automatic hence no operator intervention is

required, therefore no safety risk is present.

• No health hazard involved as operator has to collect only the final coal

sample processed by system.

The system is fully safe to operate & able to trip the system in case of

any abnormalities occurred.

Page 4 of 16
 CHAPTER 3
SPECIFICATIONS OF AUTO SAMPLER

3.1 Components of the Sampler

Based on the detailed study & technical correspondence received, suitable

vendor has been finalized for the implementation of the system. The complete

system has to be provided by it as per customized needs.

The main components of the system are –

a) A motor driven radial scoop mechanism to collect sample from the

conveyor belt.

b) A set of vibro feeders to stream line the flow of sample.

c) Jaw crusher to crush the raw sample into required size.

d) Sampler divider to take sample from the lot.

e) Bucket elevator to send back the discarded material back to conveyor.

f) A PLC system to monitor the process & run the system smoothly & trips

the system in case any abnormalities occur.

g) A collection system to collect the final sample for analysis.

Page 5 of 16
 3.2 Technical Specifications -

I. The system has been developed for belt width range of 450mm to
2100mmm.

II. It works well on belt capacity range from 100 TPH to 3500TPH.

III. It works on conveyor belt speed from 0.5m/s to 5m/s.

IV. Sample collection can be set through PLC as desired up to 65 samples

per hour.

V. Input supply requirement –

Three Phase 440V with neutral 50/60HZ for motor drives & 230VAC for PLC
panel.

VI. Jaw crusher input material size – 50mm & output material size can vary

from 0 – 30mm.

Page 6 of 16
 CHAPTER 4
ERECTION & COMMISSIONING

The complete Auto sampling system material has been arrived at site & after

survey & based on feasibility it has been decide to install the system at BCN 1A

belt conveyor to take the coal sample for analysis.

4.1 Erection work plan -

1. A sampler room has been constructed with dimensions 6250X5250X4000

mm for installation of jaw crusher, vibro – feeder, sample collection unit

& PLC panel.

Fig 4.1 Front Layout of Coal Sampler room

Page 7 of 16
 Fig 4.2 Top Layout of Coal Sampler room

2. Scoop system for collection of coal across the conveyor is erected.

Fig 4.3 Scoop System Across the Conveyor Belt

Page 8 of 16
3. Erection of vibro feeder, jaw crusher, bucket elevator has been done as

per joint consultation with vendor & JSW technical support team.

Fig 4.4 Sampler Room Equipment Location

Page 9 of 16
4. PLC panel has been erected & power supply made available to the panel.

5. Sample collection system has been installed.

4.2 Commissioning work plan -

1. Scoop motor run individually & trial taken & gap of <1 mm adjusted

between scoop ribbon pad & belt conveyor.

Fig 4.5 Scoop Assembly

Page 10 of 16
2. Jaw crusher trial taken & working fine & gap adjustment done for 3 mm.

Fig 4.6 Jaw Crusher & Vibro feeder Assembly

3. All 3 sets of vibro feeder trial taken individually & found normal.

4. PLC panel is power up with 230 volts AC, 50 HZ & PLC controller & I/O

cards healthiness checked.

Page 11 of 16
 Fig 4.7 PLC Panel with I/O Cards & Relay Panel

5. Bucket elevator trial taken & working fine.

4.3 Tuning of System –

The Auto Sampler System is well erected & commissioned in all respect.

Each & every section is commissioned fully & well tuned to deliver the final

sample as per the requirement with chemist.

After series of trial taken & based on joint consultation with Chemist &

Technical Support it is finalized to keep the One cycle of one hour with

frequency of four i.e. in every 15 minutes scoop will take the sample from

conveyor belt.

Page 12 of 16
If a conveyor belt has a coal flow rate of 1000 to 1200 TPH then in every

frequency scoop will take a sample approx 5 – 6 Kg & after completion of One

cycle it will give 1.5 to 2 Kg of coal sample for analysis & rest it will send back

to conveyor belt through bucket elevator.

Page 13 of 16
 CHAPTER 5
Protections & Interlocks

To run the Sampler system properly & with safety of personnel operating the

system in lieu with existing protection & interlocks of belt conveyor following

protections & interlocks have been made for the sampler system -

1. The sampler system starts automatically i.e. taking the sample from the

conveyor & processing of same when its PLC receive the signal of belt

conveyor running & material on belt i.e. coal is coming on the conveyor.

2. If scoop motor trips then an alarm will generate.

3. If jaw crusher trips then sampler system should trip.

4. If supply power fails then sampler system should trip.

5. If vibro feeder trips then sampler system should trip.

6. If bucket elevator trips then sampler system should trip.

7. If after cycle starts in PLC & coal on belt signal is not coming more than

15 minutes then PLC restart the cycle.

8. After every cycle completion the sample container changed

automatically.

Page 14 of 16
 Summary

It’s a well designed coal sampling system with negligible human interference.

This project gives an idea for alternative solution to prevent the personnel

from health hazards & unsafe practices & well quality improved output from

the process with continuous monitoring through protections & interlocks.

Page 15 of 16
Literature References:

i. Process control Instrumentation Technology, Curtis D. Johnson

ii. Lessons in Industrial Automation, Tony R. Kuphaldt

iii. Coal sampling & Analysis: Methods & Models, Alan Gleit

iv. Reference technical chapters from internet.

Page 16 of 16
Checklist of items for the Final Project Work Report
This checklist is to be attached as the last page of the report.
This checklist is to be duly completed, verified and signed by the student.
1. Is the final report neatly formatted with all the elements required Yes
for a technical Report?
2. Is the Cover page in proper format as given in Annexure A? Yes
3. Is the Title page (Inner cover page) in proper format? Yes
4. (a) Is the Certificate from the Supervisor in proper format? Yes
(b) Has it been signed by the Supervisor? Yes
5. Is the Abstract included in the report properly written within one page? Yes
Have the technical keywords been specified properly?
Yes
6. Is the title of your report appropriate? The title should be adequately Yes
descriptive, precise and must reflect scope of the actual work done.
Uncommon abbreviations / Acronyms should not be used in the title
7. Have you included the List of abbreviations / Acronyms? NA
8. Does the Report contain a summary of the literature survey? Yes
9. Does the Table of Contents include page numbers? Yes
(i). Are the Pages numbered properly? (Ch. 1 should start on Page # 1) Yes
(ii). Are the Figures numbered properly? (Figure Numbers and Figure
Titles should be at the bottom of the figures) Yes
(iii). Are the Tables numbered properly? (Table Numbers and Table Titles
should be at the top of the tables) NA
(iv). Are the Captions for the Figures and Tables proper? Yes
(v). Are the Appendices numbered properly? Are their titles appropriate NA
10. Is the conclusion of the Report based on discussion of the work? No
11. Are References or Bibliography given at the end of the Report? Yes
Have the References been cited properly inside the text of the Report?
Yes
Are all the references cited in the body of the report
Yes
12. Is the report format and content according to the guidelines? The report Yes
should not be a mere printout of a Power Point Presentation, or a user
manual. Source code of software need not be included in the report.

Declaration by Student:
I certify that I have properly verified all the items in this checklist and ensure that the report is
in proper format as specified in the course handout.

Place: Vijayanagar Signature of the Student

Date: 31-08-2015 Name: Ramneet Singh

ID No.: 201235JS035