System for bivariate supply of power voltage to an array of needle electrodes of a multi-electrode unit for electrothermal disinfection of feed mixtures

Abstract

The development of the power supply control system of a multi-electrode unit for electrothermal disinfection of feed mixtures used in animal farming is discussed. The influence of the distribution of internal heat sources in the working chamber of the unit on the degree of decontamination of pathogenic microorganisms is discussed. The technique of eliminating thermal inhomogeneity in the volume by cyclic switching between two alternative power supply schemes is analyzed. Illustrations of typical variants of electrode cluster placement in chambers of circular and square cross-section are presented, and the method of their division into groups is described. The algorithm of supplying voltage to separate groups of needle electrodes is considered. The variants of creating a control system based on hard logic chips and microcontroller are analyzed. Structural and schematic diagrams of the developed device with the description of functional blocks as well as the mechanism of their interaction are given. The work of the control system as a whole and its separate blocks: pulse-width modulator, clock pulse generator, switching device and output device are discussed. The electrical circuit diagram of the power module consisting of two two-cycle emitter repeaters and powerful power switches is presented. The peculiarities of its behavior when control signals are received from the control device are described. Time diagrams of operation of control system components and power module are discussed. The possibility of integration of the designed system with standard, widely-used types of proportional-integral and proportional-integral-derivative controllers or fuzzy logic algorithms is pointed out. The potential of the system for scaling up to a larger number of electrode groups and its use with different configurations of working chambers is considered.