This paper considers the development of models for the optimal online tuning of PID controllers based on computational intelligence approaches that are applied to the operational processes of bulk reclaimers. In the first instance, the optimal gains of a PID controller are determined using a structured artificial neural network (ANN), and in the second instance, a fuzzy system is used to carry out online adjustment through a real-time gain scheduling scheme. The bulk resumption process consists of picking up the stored material in stacks and transporting it using conveyor belts for shipment. For the control system, a model based on data pertaining to the electric current in a bucket wheel motor (a device that picks up material) is estimated and compared with the load measured using a scale. The difference between the load estimated by the model and that measured by the scale is the error, and the proposed control system is designed to minimize it. The results of simulations show that the controller models performed better using structured ANNs and fuzzy logic than PID controllers tuned by the second Ziegler Nichols method, and the PID fuzzy controller proposed by Zhao and Tomizuka.
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