Jiwei JWrada® PRO Industrial Radar Level Transmitters Applied in a Mining Project for High-Accuracy Bulk Solids Level Measurement
Project Background
With the rapid development of the global mining industry, infrastructure construction, and new energy sectors, the demand for ore, construction aggregates, coal, and various bulk solid materials continues to grow. To improve production efficiency and reduce operating costs, more mining companies are accelerating the development of smart mines and digital factories. As a critical component of mining automation systems, level monitoring in storage bins and hoppers directly affects production continuity, equipment utilization, and site safety management.
In modern mining operations, every stage—from ore extraction, crushing, and screening to conveying and storage—relies on surge bins, storage silos, and transfer hoppers for material management. Operators must continuously monitor material inventory levels to optimize production scheduling, improve equipment performance, and prevent costly downtime caused by overfilled or empty bins.
However, mining environments are among the most challenging applications for level measurement. Heavy dust, severe vibration, material impact, complex steel structures, and uneven material surfaces can significantly affect measurement performance. Traditional mechanical level indicators, plumb-bob level systems, and ultrasonic level sensors often suffer from poor accuracy, frequent maintenance requirements, and even equipment failure under these harsh conditions.
To achieve more stable, accurate, and intelligent level monitoring, a large mining company decided to upgrade its ore crushing and conveying system by introducing advanced industrial radar level measurement technology. After extensive field testing and multiple rounds of technical evaluation, Shenzhen Jiwei Automations’ self-developed JWrada® PRO Industrial Radar Level Transmitters were successfully selected for the project, providing reliable level monitoring for bulk solids applications in the mining industry.
Project Requirements Analysis
This project focused on level monitoring of stone surge bins and transfer hoppers within an ore crushing production line. As essential components of mining and mineral processing operations, these bins play a critical role in temporary material storage, feed balancing, and maintaining continuous production. Accurate level data is vital to ensuring the efficiency and safety of the entire production process.
The materials handled on site include:
- Limestone
- Granite
- Basalt
- Iron Ore
- Copper Ore
These materials typically feature large particle sizes, irregular surface profiles, poor flowability, and strong impact forces during loading and unloading operations. Such characteristics create significant challenges for conventional level measurement technologies.
In addition, the hoppers are located between crushers and conveyor systems and operate continuously under extremely demanding conditions. Ore crushing, transfer, and discharge processes generate large amounts of dust, creating a permanently dusty environment inside the bins. Mechanical vibration from crushers and conveyors is transmitted through steel structures to the storage bins. Large rocks falling into the bins create strong impacts that can affect instrument stability.
Furthermore, internal reinforcements, chutes, steel support structures, and other metal obstacles generate complex false echoes and multiple reflection paths. Noise and electromagnetic interference from motors, conveyors, and other heavy industrial equipment further increase measurement complexity.
Previously, the customer relied primarily on manual inspection and simple level detection methods to monitor inventory levels. These methods could not provide real-time level data and introduced significant safety risks. Operators were required to climb to elevated locations to inspect hopper conditions, resulting in low efficiency, high labor intensity, and increased risks associated with working at height.
Due to the inability to monitor inventory levels continuously, problems such as overfilled bins, material blockages, and empty-bin shutdowns frequently occurred, negatively affecting production continuity and increasing operational costs.
To improve automation and digitalization throughout the crushing process, the customer planned to deploy industrial radar level transmitters across multiple surge bins and transfer hoppers to achieve 24/7 real-time monitoring of material inventory and level changes.
With continuous access to accurate level data, operators can monitor inventory status in real time, adjust production schedules promptly, prevent material overflow, and avoid equipment downtime caused by insufficient material supply.
The customer also sought to implement automated process control through high-precision radar level measurement technology. By transmitting real-time level data to PLC, DCS, and SCADA systems, the control system can automatically start and stop conveyors, feeders, and related equipment based on hopper inventory levels, achieving intelligent process coordination and reducing manual intervention.
Additionally, the customer aimed to reduce manual inspections and minimize the need for personnel to enter hazardous areas or climb storage structures. All level data can now be displayed and managed centrally in the control room, enabling digitalized inventory management, equipment monitoring, and production scheduling while providing a solid data foundation for smart mining and intelligent mineral processing systems.
Why Choose Jiwei JWrada® PRO Radar Level Transmitters
After comprehensive comparisons and field tests against multiple international brands, the customer ultimately selected the Jiwei JWrada® PRO Series Industrial Radar Level Transmitters.
80GHz High-Frequency Millimeter-Wave Technology
The JWrada® PRO Series utilizes advanced 80GHz FMCW radar technology.
Compared with traditional 26GHz radar products, it offers significant advantages:
- Narrower beam angle
- More concentrated energy
- Stronger echo signals
- Superior interference immunity
Mining storage bins typically contain steel structures, support beams, and other internal obstacles. Conventional instruments often receive false echoes from these structures, resulting in unstable measurements.
Thanks to its ultra-narrow beam angle, JWrada® PRO precisely focuses on the material surface while avoiding surrounding obstacles, ensuring reliable level measurement even in complex hopper geometries.
Intelligent Echo Processing for Harsh Environments
Mining environments are characterized by high dust concentrations and severe vibration.
As crushed ore enters storage bins, large amounts of dust are generated while continuous mechanical vibration and material impact occur simultaneously. These conditions often cause false echoes, unstable readings, signal loss, and false alarms in traditional instruments.
To overcome these challenges, the JWrada® PRO Series incorporates Jiwei’s proprietary intelligent echo processing algorithm.
Core functions include:
- False echo learning
- Multi-layer echo separation
- Dynamic target tracking
- Interference signal filtering
These advanced capabilities enable the radar to accurately identify the true material surface even during continuous filling operations and under extremely dusty conditions.
In addition, the system can automatically distinguish target echoes from interference signals, allowing reliable tracking of changing material surfaces and providing dependable level data for crushing operations.
Combined with the integrated Bluetooth module and the Jiwei Smart Control App (JW Tools), engineers can remotely configure and monitor instruments while copying parameters from one device to multiple units, greatly improving commissioning efficiency.
Non-Contact Measurement Reduces Maintenance Costs
Traditional mechanical level measurement devices must physically contact the material.
Over time, they are prone to:
- Wear
- Jamming
- Material buildup
- Corrosion
As a result, maintenance requirements increase significantly, leading to costly shutdowns.
By contrast, the JWrada® PRO Series adopts a completely non-contact measurement principle.
The radar antenna is mounted on top of the hopper and never touches the material.
Even when measuring highly abrasive ores, crushed stone, and coarse bulk solids, the radar remains unaffected by material wear.
This design significantly reduces maintenance costs, extends instrument lifespan, and ensures long-term measurement reliability.
Bluetooth Wireless Commissioning Improves Project Efficiency
In mining applications, storage bins are often installed at elevated locations.
Traditional instrument commissioning typically requires:
- Climbing storage structures
- Opening instrument housings
- Using local buttons for configuration
- Connecting handheld communicators
This process is time-consuming and introduces safety risks.
The JWrada® PRO Series features an integrated Bluetooth 5.0 module.
Using the Jiwei Smart Control WeChat Mini Program and the international JW Tools App, engineers can perform:
- Parameter configuration
- Range adjustment
- Echo curve analysis
- Fault diagnostics
- Software upgrades
directly from a smartphone.
No housing opening is required.
Typical commissioning time is only about 2 minutes per instrument, significantly improving project implementation efficiency and reducing safety risks.
Illustration: JW Tools App enables wireless commissioning and remote monitoring of JWrada® radar level transmitters.
Batch Parameter Copying for Rapid Deployment
This project involved multiple level monitoring points.
To shorten commissioning time, Jiwei engineers first configured one instrument completely, including measuring range, echo settings, alarm thresholds, and output parameters.
Using the one-click parameter copy function within the Bluetooth app, all settings were quickly transferred to additional instruments.
This eliminated repetitive setup work, reduced human error, and ensured consistent performance across all measurement points.
For large-scale mining projects, this feature significantly reduces commissioning time, lowers labor costs, and improves overall deployment efficiency.
Operational Results
After commissioning, the project achieved outstanding results.
Operators can now continuously monitor hopper inventory levels and accurately track material changes in real time, preventing overflow and empty-bin shutdowns.
Production efficiency has improved substantially because conveyor and crushing equipment can automatically adjust operating conditions based on real-time level data.
The non-contact measurement principle has greatly reduced maintenance requirements by eliminating wear-related failures and minimizing downtime.
Safety management has also improved significantly because personnel no longer need to frequently climb storage bins for inspections, reducing risks associated with working at height.
In addition, level data is continuously transmitted to PLC, DCS, and SCADA systems, supporting centralized monitoring and helping the customer build an intelligent production management platform.
During operation, the customer highly praised the stability and reliability of the JWrada® PRO Series.
Key advantages recognized by the customer include:
- High measurement accuracy
- Excellent dust resistance
- Superior vibration resistance
- Easy installation
- Convenient Bluetooth commissioning
- Efficient parameter copying
- Long-term operational stability
Based on the successful project results, the customer plans to deploy Jiwei radar level transmitters in additional ore bins, aggregate silos, and transfer hoppers throughout the facility.
Conclusion
As smart mining and industrial digitalization continue to advance, traditional level measurement technologies are rapidly evolving toward higher accuracy, non-contact operation, and intelligent management.
With its 80GHz millimeter-wave technology, intelligent echo processing algorithms, Bluetooth wireless commissioning, and outstanding dust and interference resistance, the Jiwei JWrada® PRO Industrial Radar Level Transmitter has been successfully applied in mining, aggregates, cement, metallurgy, and bulk solids storage industries.
Moving forward, Shenzhen Jiwei Automations will continue advancing high-end radar level measurement technology and provide safer, more efficient, and more reliable level measurement solutions for the global mining industry.