JPH0568324B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

(Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a kneading control system for controlling the kneading process of elastomers such as rubber, plastic, bitumen, and the like. (Prior art) In general, elastomers such as rubber, plastic, and bitumen are made by mixing various raw materials and fillers in a kneading machine under various temperature and time conditions to create a material (compound) with desired physical properties. ), but there are many types of elastomers, and it is necessary to determine the kneading control conditions for each type of elastomer. Conventionally, the above-mentioned elastomer kneading process has been controlled using kneading time and elastomer temperature as indicators. (Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the case of such conventional technology, when kneading the elastomer, not only the kneading time and the temperature of the elastomer, but also the rotational speed of the rotor of the kneader are complicatedly related, and the degree of kneading is determined. progresses. Therefore, when kneading time and elastomer temperature are used as indicators,
There was a problem in that the physical properties of the elastomer obtained by kneading inevitably varied, making it impossible to knead with consistent quality. Also,
In order to avoid insufficient kneading, kneading is sometimes performed excessively, resulting in problems of low productivity and waste of excess energy. Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, it has been proposed to use kneading power consumption as the energy given to the elastomer as an indicator of kneading instead of the kneading time and the temperature of the elastomer. However, in this case, the above-mentioned kneading power consumption is the total energy consumed by the kneader, and includes the mechanical energy required to rotate the rotor and the mechanical energy lost by the rotor drive system. It contains a lot of lost energy. Therefore, the kneading power consumption is larger than the energy actually applied to the elastomer, and much of the mechanical energy and loss energy therein depend on the rotation speed of the rotor. Therefore, the above-mentioned kneading power consumption cannot be said to accurately reflect the physical properties of the elastomer, and even in this case, the quality of the elastomer obtained through the kneading process varies, and the desired physical properties are not achieved. The problem is that elastomers are difficult to obtain. The present invention was made in order to solve the problems of the prior art, and its purpose is to obtain the desired physical properties by using the energy consumed by the elastomer as an index for kneading. It is an object of the present invention to provide an elastomer kneading control system that enables kneading of elastomers having the above-mentioned properties, improves productivity, saves energy, and stabilizes quality. (Means for Solving the Problems) Therefore, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a total energy consumption detection means for detecting the total energy consumed by a kneader for kneading elastomer. , a mechanical energy detection means for detecting the mechanical energy required for kneading, a lost energy detection means for detecting the lost energy without contributing to kneading, and data from each of these energy detection means are simultaneously input to produce an elastomer. calculation means for calculating the energy consumed by the total energy consumption by subtracting the mechanical energy and the loss energy;
The kneading control means controls the kneading machine based on the data of elastomer consumption energy outputted from the calculation means. (Example) The present invention will be explained below based on the illustrated example. In FIG. 1, 1 indicates a kneading machine,
This kneading machine 1 transmits the rotational driving force of a motor 2 to a rotor 4 via a transmission 3, and kneads an elastomer (not shown) by rotating the rotor 4. In the figure, 5 indicates a power source for rotating the motor 2. The elastomer kneading control system according to the present invention generally comprises total energy consumption detection means 6, mechanical energy detection means 7, loss energy detection means 8, calculation means 9, and kneading control means 10. . The total energy consumption detection means 6 includes the kneading machine 1
It consists of an integrating wattmeter 11 connected to a power source 5,
By integrating the electric power supplied to the kneader 1, the total energy consumed by the kneader 1 is detected. The mechanical energy detection means 7 also includes a torque detector 12 that detects the torque of the rotor 4 during kneading.
and an integrating power converter 13 that converts the output from the torque detector 12 into electric power and integrates it, and measures the torque of the rotor 4 to detect the mechanical energy required for kneading. . The loss energy detection device 8 detects the loss energy that is lost due to mechanical friction and does not contribute to kneading while the driving force of the motor 2 is transmitted to the rotor 4 via the transmission 3. It consists of an integrated wattmeter 14 connected to the motor 2, transmission 3, and rotor 4. The calculating means 9 is connected to the total energy consumption detecting means 6, the mechanical energy detecting means 7, and the loss energy detecting means 8, and uses the data of each of the energy detecting means 6, 7, and 8 to calculate the result of the elastomer. It calculates the energy consumed. i.e. total energy consumption
W _T includes elastomer consumption energy W _Q , mechanical energy W _F , and loss energy W _L , as shown in the following equation: W _T = W _Q + W _F + W _L. Therefore, this calculation means 9 calculates that when the mechanical energy W _F and the loss energy W _{L are subtracted from the total energy consumption W T as} shown in the following equation, W _Q = W _T − (W _F + W _L ) Therefore, the elastomer energy consumption _WQ has been calculated. After calculating the elastomer consumption energy _WQ , the calculation means 9 outputs the data to the kneading control means 10. The kneading control means 10 is comprised of a microcomputer, etc., which controls the kneading machine 1 based on the data of the elastomer consumption energy _WQ outputted from the calculation means 9. This kneading control means 10
By setting in advance the unit work value (the energy U _Q consumed by the elastomer per unit amount during elastomer kneading) for each kneading process as shown in Figure 2, actual operation can be easily achieved. When the unit work value reaches the set condition, the kneading machine 1 is controlled so that each process proceeds in sequence. Further, the kneading control means 10 is capable of setting conditions such as kneading time and elastomer temperature in addition to control based on unit work values. Various conditions such as the unit work value, kneading time, and elastomer temperature depending on the progress of kneading are displayed on the CRT monitor 15 as shown in FIG. In the above configuration, the elastomer kneading control system according to the present invention operates as follows. That is, when kneading elastomer in the kneader 1, when one process is started, the total energy consumption W _T is detected by the total energy consumption detection means 6, the mechanical energy detection means 7, and the loss energy detection means 8. , mechanical energy W _F and loss energy W _L are detected, respectively. Therefore, the data of each of these energies W _T , W _F , and W _L are constantly sent to the calculating means 9, and the calculating means 9 calculates the elastomer consumption energy W _Q. The data of this elastomer consumption energy _WQ is outputted from the calculation means 9 to the kneading control means 10, and in the kneading control means 10, the value of the elastomer consumption energy _UQ per unit amount is equal to the unit work value inputted in advance. It is compared whether When the value of the elastomer consumption energy _UQ becomes equal to the unit work value, the kneading control means 10 displays on the CRT monitor, prints out, or displays on the display panel of the kneading control means 10 that the process is completed. Give instructions to workers. In addition, each of the energy detection means 6, 7, 8, when one process is completed,
It is designed to be reset by a reset signal from the kneading control means 10. Next, a case in which the above elastomer kneading control system is actually operated will be explained together with a comparative example. First, the following formulations were used. Compounding agent Compounding amount Butadiene acrylonitrile rubber (JSRN220SH Japan Synthetic Rubber) 100 parts by weight SRF carbon (Tokai Carbon) 50 ZnO 5 Stearic acid 1 Dioctyl adipate 10 Sulfur 1 Vulcanization accelerator DM (Sumitomo Chemical) Filling rate 70% 2 Each of the above combinations As shown in FIG. 4, the order in which the agents are added is as follows: After the operation preparation process is completed, the butadiene acrylonitrile rubber is introduced into the kneading machine 1.
After kneading for a predetermined time, ~
The filler was added to perform kneading in the filler adding step. (Experiment example) In the filler injection process using the above compound,
Table 1 shows the results of comparing the total energy consumption W _T as a conventional index and the elastomer consumption energy W _Q of the present invention by kneading for a certain period of time while changing the rotor rotation speed of the kneader 1. The physical properties of the elastomer kneaded with the above compound are as follows:
Mooney viscosity ML ₁₊₄ (100°C) was measured.

[Table] However, U _T is the unit work (conventional management index) when the total energy consumption W _T is the standard.
U _Q indicates the unit work (management index of the present invention) based on the elastomer energy consumption W _Q. As is clear from Table 1 above, the unit work _UT as a conventional index increases as the rotational speed increases, whereas the value of Mooney viscosity increases. In other words, even when a large amount of total energy consumption is consumed, the viscosity of the elastomer remains high, indicating that kneading is not performed sufficiently and the total energy consumption W _T does not correspond to the physical properties of the elastomer. Recognize. On the other hand, the unit work U _Q decreases as the rotational speed increases, and the lower the elastomer energy consumption W _Q is, the _higher the viscosity of the elastomer becomes. It can be seen that this corresponds to physical properties. (Experimental example) Next, in the same way as in the experimental example above, in the filler injection process using the above compound, the rotor rotation speed and kneading time were varied to keep the unit work _UT constant. are shown in Table 2.

[Table] As is clear from Table 2 above, unit work
Even when U _T is constant, the viscosity of the kneaded elastomer changes depending on the rotor rotation speed and kneading time, and if the total energy consumption W _T is used as an index, the physical properties of the elastomer cannot be accurately determined. I understand that. On the other hand, if you look at the unit work _UQ ,
If the elastomer energy consumption W _Q is large, the elastomer's viscosity is low; conversely, if the elastomer energy consumption W _Q is small, the elastomer viscosity is high, and the elastomer consumption energy W _Q corresponds accurately to the physical properties of the elastomer. I know what you're doing. (Experimental example) Furthermore, in the filler injection process using the above-mentioned compound in the same manner as above, the rotation speed of the rotor is constant,
Table 3 shows the results when kneading was performed while changing the kneading temperature so that the unit work _UT remained constant.

[Table] As is clear from Table 3 above, as in Experimental Example 2, even when the unit work _UT is constant, the viscosity of the elastomer changes depending on the kneading temperature, and the total energy consumption W _T of the elastomer changes. It can be seen that this does not correspond to physical properties. On the other hand, if you look at the unit work _UQ ,
When the elastomer energy consumption W _Q is large _, the viscosity of the elastomer is low, and conversely, when the elastomer energy consumption W _Q is small, the elastomer viscosity is high. It can be seen that the correspondence is accurate. (Effect of the invention) The present invention consists of the above configuration and operation,
Since the elastomer kneading process is managed and controlled using the energy consumption of the elastomer as an index, the physical properties of the elastomer can be accurately determined. Therefore, by controlling the elastomer kneading process based on the energy consumption of the elastomer, it is possible to knead an elastomer that has the desired physical properties, and also to control the various conditions during kneading (environmental temperature, rotor rotation speed, material temperature). etc.), it is possible to obtain an elastomer with constant physical properties even if the properties change, and excessive kneading can be prevented, improving productivity, saving energy, and stabilizing quality.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the elastomer kneading control system according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the kneading process, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the kneading process.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a display on a CRT monitor, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of controlling the kneading process. Explanation of symbols: 1...Kneading machine, 6...Total energy consumption detection means, 7...Mechanical energy detection means, 8...Loss energy detection means, 9...Calculation means, 10...Kneading control means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Total energy consumption detection means for detecting the total energy consumed by the kneader for kneading elastomer; mechanical energy detection means for detecting the mechanical energy required for kneading; a loss energy detection means for detecting lost energy; and data from each of these energy detection means are simultaneously taken in; the energy consumed by the elastomer is subtracted from the total energy consumption by the mechanical energy and the loss energy; calculation means for calculating the
An elastomer kneading control system comprising a kneading control means for controlling a kneading machine based on data of elastomer consumption energy outputted from the calculation means.