Don’t Let Your Lubricants Lag Behind

Geoff Manley, Lubrication Engineering, Australia, explains how lubricant reliability can be improved by using a purpose-built lubrication storage and dispensing system.

Australia is a vast land and, while the economy may have once ridden on the sheep’s back, mining and associated minerals processing is now the largest industrial sector in the country.

Mine sites, whether underground or opencast, mining coal or any of the hard rock minerals, are often located in hot, arid regions of Australia and the working conditions at these facilities can be extremally harsh for both people and machinery.

As the Australian industry has worked hard to evolve, using the most modern equipment and the latest technologies, the expectation is that mine sites and the variety of equipment at these facilities will operate as required and do the job they are tasked to perform.

This means that machinery needs to operate for long hours in these challenging climates. Left unmanaged, this creates a significant increase in the likelihood of component failure, should certain, key issues not be addressed correctly.

Effective lubrication

Of all of the equipment used in the mining industry, it is the mobile sector that is at most risk of suffering damage, and subsequently loss of production. If a large haul truck or excavator cannot operate, the cost to the mine site is significant and immediately effects the production output. Reducing and ultimately stopping unplanned failures and outages is a key focus of all mining companies if they want to reduce their operating costs and increase profits.

To counter the risks around premature equipment failures and unplanned outages, it is now readily acknowledged that one of, if not the most important area of maintenance is effective lubrication. Any reduction in the performance of the lubricants being used will have a direct and almost immediate effect on the reliability of the mechanical asset in the field.

There is a wide range of issues that can affect the performance of a lubricant and the equipment it interacts with. Examples of these include cheap oils with: poor base oil quality, incorrect viscosity, poor viscosity index, inability to operate at higher temperatures leading to increased rates of oxidation, incompatibility with equipment including seals and coatings, aeration/foaming, water demulsibility, etc.

While the selection of the most appropriate lubricant for a particular application to manage the above risks is important, managing contamination is equally, if not more, important to the long term, trouble-free operation of the mobile asset.

For too long, lubricants have simply been considered as a commodity and not a critical component of the machine, and because of this they are not given the priority when trying to improve mechanical reliability. The truth is that every lubricant plays a major role in machinery function and longevity by: reducing friction and wear between moving parts, absorbing shock, reducing operating temperatures, minimising corrosion on metal surfaces, keeping contaminants out of the system, and sealing and protecting components.

Figure 1. isoPOD® e20 with storage space for intermediate bulk containers (IBCs).

Figure 2. Integrated pumps and filtration above bunded flooring.

Case study

In light of the above points, Lubrication Engineering was approached by a major iron ore miner, based in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, to assist with a solution to improve their lubrication practices in relation to their mobile plant. Specifically, they wanted to: Improve the general mechanical reliability of the mobile plant. Achieve and then maintain compliance with lubricant cleanliness standards. Improve up-time and overall operational efficiency.

The mobile equipment at the customer’s mine site operates for long hours in a generally harsh environment, so keeping a close eye on the condition of the lubricant in each machine and then proactively responding to any concerns was absolutely critical to meeting production targets. The client stressed that if one system or lubricant was not performing as required, then this could cause the whole machine to fail, which would be extremally costly.

Through a process of consultation, it was determined that an isoPOD® system from Lubrication Engineering

would be a critical component of the broader solution to the challenge presented. Lubrication Engineering ultimately recommended the e20 isoPOD in this instance because it is a purpose-built lubrication storage and dispensing system designed specifically for the external dispensing of lubricants directly into critical assets and mobile plant.

As the e20 unit is readily transportable, it provides a fast method of implementation that does not require significant site works, which reduces establishment costs. The unit was delivered to the site and placed in the field, close to the relevant work zone at the mine site. The ease of installation in the desired location, assisted by the reduced travel time back to the workshop for maintenance top ups on the mobile plant, significantly improved operational efficiency.

Another benefit to the customer’s mine was that the e20 isoPOD could be locked when not in use, meaning the lubricants could be safely and securely stored in a bunded container in the field where they were needed.

One of the most critical aspects of this improvement program was directly related to the site’s strict lubricant cleanliness standards. A key component of the e20 isoPOD design is that each stored lubricant passes through a high quality, high efficiency filter assembly. Knowing the target cleanliness level required by site allowed the filtration package to be specifically designed to meet the cleanliness targets for each oil. Particulate contamination was thus removed from the lubricant before it was pumped into the relevant system on each mobile plant item, ensuring compliance with the oil specification for cleanliness.

A further benefit of the isoPOD e20 unit in this case was that its design and construction provided a way of managing, and ultimately reducing, the risk of environmental impact due to spillage, as it is built with an integrated bunding, in compliance with the AS1940 2017 standard.

Conclusion

The implementation of the isoPOD e20 lubricant storage and dispensing system at the customer’s iron ore mine site has significantly improved the overall lubrication practices for the routine maintenance processes supporting the mobile plant. This has enabled them to move forward with more confidence, knowing that they now have a best practice regime in place that will help them achieve world-class machinery reliability. Having a well thought out lubrication reliability programme is critical to the effective running of a mobile plant. Lubricants play a major role in machinery function, and as such should be considered a critical component of the machine.

CHANGE YOUR MINE. THE RISE OF CONTINUOUS SURFACE MINING

It’s called: continuous surface mining. Using a machine like the

Vermeer Terrain Leveler® surface excavation machine (SEM) to perform continuous mining allows you to methodically mine or prep a site layer by layer — optimizing productivity and precision while eliminating many of the safety challenges and restrictions associated with drilling and blasting. Visit vermeer.com/changeyourmine to learn more.