Closed-loop control of a vibrant duct gravimetric feeder

In this work the control system for a gravimetric feeder with vibrant duct for polymer extrusion process has been designed. The plant considered in this paper is a blending machine that mixes up to six components: each component is measured by a dedicated vibrant duct. All components are mixed directly in the chambers of the extruder screw. The mass delivered by each meter is measured by a load cell. The control objectives are: accurate mass flow estimate on the basis of the weight; accurate mass flow regulation; minimum settling time; robustness of the controller parameters against the variation of material and structure of meter.