Analysis of Granular Material Pulsation During Silo Flow Using ECT and FFT Analysis

G. Rybak, Z. Chaniecki, K. Grudzien, R. Banasiak, D.Sankowski

Institute of Applied Computer Science Lodz University of Technology, Poland kgrudzi@kis.p.lodz.pl

ABSTRACT

This paper presents application of Digital Signal Processing (DSP) to ECT data processing. Analysis in frequency domain, using FFT, allows to study the dynamic effects (resonance between granular material and silo construction) occurring during gravitational flow of granular material in silo. In order to conduct full exploration were applied FFT transformation to raw and reconstructed ECT data. In case of reconstructed data the image was divided into 5 rings for better visualization of resonance effect. The obtained spectrograms show range of changes of amplitude of material vibrations frequencies in time and also of predominant frequency. Results of ECT data processing were compared to accelerometer measurements.

Keywords silo flow, Electrical Capacitance Tomography, dynamic effects, Fourier Transform, frequency domain