Analysis and Implementation of Resonative Tuning Fork Sensor in Ash Hopper for Economical Ash Air Compressor Operation with Integrated IoT System

A compressed air system is vital for pneumatic equipment operation in any process plant, where ash handling is concerned. The current paper discusses the reduction of pneumatic air utilization and loading time of ash air compressors. A piezo sensor-based tuning fork resonator is used in the ash denseveyor, which senses the volume of the ash on it and accordingly vibrates in its natural frequency, denser the ash the resonance will be low, and vice versa. The conveying cycle of ash will be decided by the volume of the ash, the more transfer cycle, the more compressor loading, and consequently, it consumes more energy. The implemented system is then compared with the standard cycle time operated system and found more appropriate for energy conservation. Further, the output of the sensor is fed to the microcontroller module for IOT-based communication, to the remote control station for monitoring; a parallel voltage signal from the resonating sensor is catered to the voltage booster for compressor control circuit operation for loading and unloading of the compressor as per volume of the ash inside denseveyor.