Australian Bulk Handling Review November - December 2023 by Prime Creative Media

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VOLUME 28, ISSUE 6 | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

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In this issue: Managing maintenance Silo solutions Troubleshooting pneumatics

COMMITTED TO FINDING INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS

With highly innovative bulk materials handling solutions in over 60 countries, Transmin is committed to providing innovative solutions to the mining and processing industries. From plant to port, we service our diverse worldwide client base across mining operations handling Iron Ore, Gold, Copper, Lithium, Rare Earths and many other commodities.

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CONTENTS NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

6 Industry news

28 Aussie brand set for strong future

40 Catching up with the neighbours

12 The one-stop shop

32 Impactful vibes

42 American automation in Australia

14 Packaging sorted

34 The importance of skirtboard sealing systems

Maintenance

16 Critical innovation

44 No more heavy metal headaches

18 Revolutionising recycling with vibration

52 Using Eurocode in replacement of Australian Standards for silo design

20 Flexible screw conveying system ups powdered food production

56 Troubleshooting pneumatic conveying systems

22 Aspec Engineering celebrates 20 years

Silos and grain handling

24 Belt weigher calibration at a glance

36 Ahrens’ solid silo investments benefit tomorrow’s farmers

26 Port insights visits across Australia

46 Dugless 903 does the work of a 20-strong team 48 Making maintenance safer

38 Product knowledge key to quality outcomes

GUARANTEED SOLUTIONS To Your Specific Bulk Material Conveying Problem

COVER STORY: THE ONE-STOP SHOP Earlier this year, Regal Rexnord and Altra Motion merged. ABHR speaks with Shane Rock, the company’s general manager, and Junior Eltagonde, sales director at Regal Rexnord to find out how the move will affect the bulk handling industry.

www.bulkhandlingreview.com

VOLUME 28, ISSUE 5 | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

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Convey free- and non-free-flowing Convey fragile bulk foods and bulk materials at low cost non-foods gently • Convey free-flowing and difficult-to-handle materials that pack, cake, seize or smear • Prevent separation of blends • Convey short to medium distances • Conveyor routing at any angle, through small holes in walls or ceilings • Only one moving part contacts material • Fast disassembly, thorough cleaning • Stationary or mobile units, including tilt-down models • Economical to purchase, install, operate and maintain • Single or multiple discharge points • Minimal power usage • Sanitary or industrial models

• Slide fragile materials gently through smooth stainless steel tubing using low-friction polymer discs attached to stainless or polymer-coated stainless cable • Prevent separation of blends • Short to long distances • Durable discs in 100 and 150 mm diameters • Single or multiple inlets/outlets can be removed/relocated and the cable-disc circuit lengthened/shortened/re-routed • Minimal power usage • Evacuates material, minimising waste and cleaning time

PNEUMATI-CON

Pneumatic Conveying Systems

Convey free-flowing materials short to long distances • Single-point “up-and-in” installations to crossplant systems with multiple pick-up and discharge points and automated controls • Positive pressure and vacuum dilute phase systems complete with blowers, rotary airlock valves, pick-up adapters, filter receivers, cyclones, fill/pass valves, wands and weigh batching controls • Short to long distances • Wide capacity range—feed small packaging lines to silos and railcars • Single or multiple inlet and discharge points • Total evacuation of supply vessel and the conveyor line for accurate weighments, minimal waste and easy cleaning

For the full story, see page 12

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In this issue: Managing maintenance Silo solutions Troubleshooting pneumatics

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Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023 І 3

EDITORIAL

Published by:

379 Docklands Drive Docklands VIC 3008 T: 03 9690 8766 www.primecreativemedia.com.au COO Christine Clancy E: christine.clancy@primecreative.com.au Editor William Arnott E: william.arnott@primecreative.com.au Journalist Adam Daunt E: adam.daunt@primecreative.com.au Business Development Manager Rob O’Bryan E: rob.obryan@primecreative.com.au Client Success Manager Janine Clements E: janine.clements@primecreative.com.au Design Production Manager Michelle Weston E: michelle.weston@primecreative.com.au Art Director Blake Storey Design Michelle Weston Subscriptions T: 03 9690 8766 E: subscriptions@primecreative.com.au

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The Publisher reserves the right to alter or omit any article or advertisement submitted and requires indemnity from the advertisers and contributors against damages or liabilities that may arise from material published. © Copyright – No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the permission of the publisher.

Maintaining matters An unfortunate fact about the nature of machinery is that breakdowns are inevitable. If you run a machine for long enough, eventually something will stop working. The more moving parts there are, the more potential things that could go wrong. Bulk handling systems are made up of potentially thousands of components, each with the potential to fail. When this happens, then it can quickly and violently cascade across the system. For example, a bearing could come loose in a roller, which could damage surrounding components or itself, which could then damage the conveyor belt – often the most expensive part on site. To avoid these calamities, bulk handling sites follow maintenance routines. If routine maintenance is not performed, it becomes more likely that small things won’t be caught before they become big things, costing the operations thousands (if not millions) of dollars. That’s why in this edition of Australian Bulk Handling Review (ABHR) we highlight the organisations and technologies that are helping bulk handling sites stay on top of their maintenance needs. Most businesses offer after sales support, to ensure their customers can rely on the equipment even if something goes wrong. Forward thinking businesses have now embraced the Internet of Things, incorporating sensors into their equipment to help monitor the performance of a system in real time. Access to this data allows sites to make more informed decisions and can highlight when something has gone wrong. In many cases, the digital monitoring can spot potential problems well in advance of manual maintenance, giving the operators more time to respond in scheduled downtime. Others are even beginning to embrace machine learning and cloudbased computing to help predict when something will go wrong before it even happens. While ongoing maintenance is necessary, they are also typically less safe than operations due to restricted access. Steve Davis explains in his BULKtalk column about what can be done to ensure the industry is keeping its workforce as safe as possible during this necessary task. Read on to learn more about the novel ways technology is being used to remove these risks and how you can best incorporate it into your operation.

William Arnott Editor - ABHR

4 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

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NEWS

Inland Rail hits milestone

Gavin Murphy (Martinus Project Director), Cr Phyllis Miller OAM (Mayor of Forbes), Melvyn Maylin (Inland Rail Director Program Delivery, Albury to Parkes).

MAJOR CONSTRUCTION WORKS have begun on the Stockinbingal to Parkes section of Inland Rail in New South Wales. The Inland Rail project is Australia’s largest freight rail infrastructure project and aims to connect businesses, manufacturers, and producers to national and international markets. The Australian Government is taking a staged approach to delivering Inland Rail, with construction between Beveridge in Victoria and Parkes in New South Wales prioritised for completion by 2027. The delivery of these sections will enable Inland Rail to connect to existing rail networks between Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide and the Illawarra via Parkes and Narromine. Martinus Rail has been awarded a $403.5 million contract to design and construct enhancement works on the Stockinbingal to Parkes and Albury to Illabo sections of Inland Rail.

The Stockinbingal to Parkes works will include bridge upgrades and track lowering in Forbes to create the required height and width clearances for double stacked trains, with an additional crossing loop to be constructed at Daroobalgie. The project has been recognised for its sustainable design practices, receiving an ‘Excellent’ Design rating from the Infrastructure Sustainability Council. Inland Rail has already completed the Parkes to Narromine section in New South Wales with major construction works also underway on the Beveridge to Albury section in Victoria. Inland Rail interim chief executive Rebecca Pickering said the start of works on the Stockinbingal to Parkes section is a key milestone for Inland Rail. “We will continue to engage strongly with local suppliers and businesses across regional New South Wales and are very excited about the benefits that we can bring

to local economies as we deliver these works,” Pickering said. “As part of the Inland Rail program, $2.7 billion in contracts has already been awarded to over 400 suppliers and businesses across the country, with more local businesses between Albury and Parkes to benefit from the new opportunities and supporting jobs.” Martinus Rail CEO and managing director Treaven Martinus said the company is honoured to be entrusted to deliver the Inland Rail Stockinbingal to Parkes project. “The commencement of work marks a significant stride towards a more connected and prosperous future for Australia’s freight industry. Our dedicated team is committed to delivering these crucial infrastructure upgrades, safely, efficiently and to the highest standards,” Martinus said. “Inland Rail is more than justa rail project; it’s a promise of a brighter future for Australia.”

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NEWS

China trade restrictions lifted on Australian hay

TRADE IMPEDIMENTS ON HAY

imports between Australia and China have been lifted, benefitting South Australia’s hay industry. Prior to the imposition of trade impediments in the 2021-22 financial year, SA hay exports to China were worth approximately $33 million. China accounted for over 15 per cent of Australian hay and chaff export. Following a record year for crop yields, the lifting of these trade impediments has the potential to be particularly lucrative for South Australian farmers. Federal Trade Minister Senator Don Farrell described the move to lift trade impediments on the

import of hay as “another positive step forward”. SA Primary Industries Minister Clare Scriven said the easing of these restrictions is another positive step forward for our South Australian farmers. “On the back of a record year for crop yields, South Australia’s grain sector now has the opportunity to continue to thrive,” she said. Balco Australia CEO Rob Lawson said the announcement is fantastic news for SA’s oaten hay industry. “We have enjoyed strong relationships with customers in China over many years, and we are looking forward to re-

South Australian hay exports to China were previously worth approximately $33 million.

establishing and growing those relationships to supply our premium quality product to the benefit of China’s agricultural industry,” Lawson said.

Queensland invests in sapphire glass production THE QUEENSLAND GOVERNMENT will invest in a Gladstone company that is turning locally produced alumina into glass for phones and smart watches. The investment was made through the $100 million Queensland Critical Minerals and Battery Technology Fund, managed by the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC). It aims to accelerate the delivery of two purpose-built furnaces used to ‘grow’ sapphire glass at Alpha HPA in Gladstone. The units will enable Alpha HPA to produce more than four tonnes of sapphire glass from High Purity Alumina (HPA) each year. The durability of sapphire glass makes it ideal for use in micro-LEDs and smartphone screens. Local production of sapphire glass will allow Queensland to capture significant value in the advanced

materials supply chain and unlock new export opportunities. Queensland treasurer and Cameron Dick said Alpha HPA is already producing high purity alumina with the support of the government’s Industry Partner Program. “This investment through QIC will enable Alpha HPA to increase the value of its finished product by 1000 per cent,” he said. “That means more highly-skilled advanced manufacturing jobs here in Gladstone that would otherwise be lost overseas. “Through this $100 million Fund and our $245 million Queensland Critical Minerals Strategy, we can turn Queensland’s mineral wealth into new jobs in new industries, especially in regional Queensland.” Alpha HPA managing director Rimas Kairaitis said the company is delighted

8 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

to have reached agreement with QIC on funding for Alpha Sapphire and for the broader support from QIC and the Queensland Government. QIC CEO Kylie Rampa said the organisation is proud to leverage its expertise to support the growth of the critical minerals sector within Queensland through private infrastructure development. “The Queensland Critical Minerals and Battery Technology Fund’s first investment in Alpha HPA is a logical value-add complementing the existing alumina project,” Rampa said. “A looming shortage of natural sapphire glass in the market and growing demand for more energy conscious manufacturing processes makes this an attractive opportunity to enter a fast-growing market with all the competitive advantages Queensland has to offer.”

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NEWS

AGI appoints new executive VP AG GROWTH INTERNATIONAL (AGI) has appointed a new executive vice president, global operations to lead and manage the company’s global business functions. Kate Glasser was selected for the role and will work out of the AGI Naperville, Illinois office in the United States. Glasser joins the AGI from Henkel AG & Co., where she held the role of corporate vice president, adhesive electronic industrials. Prior to that she worked for IDEX Corporation as the president of its rescue business. This included management of business units in the US, Germany, India, and China.

She started her career in the airline industry and joined Dow developing in roles such as marketing, mergers and acquisitions, and business director before ascending to her final role as global business director of coating materials. Glasser holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a bachelor’s in mathematics from the University of Rochester. AGI president and CEO Paul Householder said the company is excited to have Glasser join AGI in this new position. “She comes to us with a wealth of

leadership experience and a proven record successfully leading diverse teams through change and business expansion for large multinationals as well as entrepreneurial decentralised mid-sized organisations,” he said. “This new role adds key leadership talent in areas that will directly support our operational excellence, margin expansion, and organic sales growth objectives. “This new role further supports AGI’s ongoing growth and success around the world with continued emphasis on operational excellence, execution and innovation as critical elements to our success.”

GrainCorp collaboration to eliminate bunker tarpaulin waste GRAINCORP HAS PARTNERED with plastics recycler Sustainable Plastic Solutions (SPS) to eliminate grain tarpaulins from landfill by 2027. The company has recycled more than 100 tonnes, or 107,679

Plastics from tarps being recycled at the SPS Facility in Hamilton, Victoria.

kilograms of tarps, which cover and protect bunkers of grain against weather and damage, from sites in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria over the last year. SPS is an Australian owned and operated plastic recycling business, based in Hamilton in regional Victoria. The two organisations are also investigating how to restore the recycled tarp material into new tarps. GrainCorp head of sustainability Mick Anderson said the partnership will help to build a more sustainable tarp management process for the grains industry. “Tarps are a critical part of our storage network, each one covers and protects up to 3000 tonnes of grain or oilseed in GrainCorp’s bunkers,” he said. “We treat them carefully to keep them in operation for as long as possible, but they’re exposed to the elements and eventually wear out, which can put anywhere from

10 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

250kg to 600kg of material out of action each time. “It’s great to secure a sustainable waste solution for the end-oflife tarps, and to be exploring the potentials of a circular solution over time.” SPS CEO Matt Nettleton said once the tarps reach SPS, they go on quite the journey to be reclaimed for other uses. “The tarps are washed, shredded, melted and pelletised before being sent off to our industry partners to become anything from industrial walkways or floor grids for shearing sheds, to seats for our sport stadiums,” Nettleton said. “We’ve received tarps from as far north as Emerald in Queensland, right down to the sites here in the Western District of Victoria.” “The scale of production is enormous and the opportunity to make a sustainable difference to the grains industry is very exciting.”

INFRASTRUCTURE

THAT WORKS ARS EXPER

FOR YOUR FUTURE

COVER STORY

The one-stop shop Earlier this year, Regal Rexnord and Altra Motion merged. ABHR speaks with the company’s management to find out how the move will affect the bulk handling industry. REGAL REXNORD AND Altra Motion were major players in the industrial powertrain solutions market. The two companies have worked together as customers, competitors, and collaborators for years. Now, they have combined forces, now known as Regal Rexnord IPS Oceania. It was a natural step, according to Shane Rock, the company’s general manager. “We saw a lot of synergies within our customer bases,” he told ABHR. “There are lots of opportunities available for us to complement and expand on what Altra’s customers want, and vice versa.” “Both of us were heavily invested in the mining industry; Altra had brands

like Stieber, Svendborg and Marland, while Regal Rexnord had Falk, Tollok and Rexnord Autogard. “These brands are well known in the industry. They’re respected, market leaders that companies trust.” Regal Rexnord is a large US-based business with more than 36,000 associated staff. It recognised the potential value of bringing these brands under the one roof. As soon as the businesses officially merged, work began to package the brands together. In the past, when Regal Rexnord needed to supply a complete package offering, it would need to search around for components from other suppliers.

Regal Rexnord plans to incorporate the new brands into its IoT solution.

12 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

Now, everything is internal, taking advantage of the vast range of brands it now owns. Rock said Altra’s brands were leaders in the field thanks to their high quality and reliability. “Regal Rexnord shares a culture for quality,” he said. “The products are vital parts of an operation and need to be depended on and have proven they can be.” “Everything we do at Regal Rexnord is done to a high standard. “The factories haven’t changed, and our design team is using the same due diligence that we would have used prior to the merger.”

Perceptiv uses cloud-based technology to track, report, communicate and share performance data.

The company can also offer up-front engineering and design work to optimise its offering. And because all these brands are coming from the one place, Regal Rexnord’s team can be more agile with the entire process. One key benefit of bringing all the brands together is it allows Regal Rexnord to incorporate them into its IoT solution: Perceptiv Intelligent Reliability Solutions Perceptiv uses cloud-based technology to track, report, communicate and share performance data. It brings together products, services, and solutions to create a continuum for optimisation and greater efficiency, streamlining billing, e-commerce, and ordering. Importantly, it gives customers access to engineering and design information from Regal Rexnord’s components. This means that due to the merge, the system will be able to provide information about the complete drivetrain. Junior Eltagonde, sales director at Regal Rexnord said customers can see the benefits of speaking to one company to handle the entire drivetrain. “We can offer a complete drive solution for mine sites that need reliability. With premium products like

Svendborg brakes, Stieber clutches, and Rexnord geardrives, our customers can be confident of their equipment in critical areas,” he said. “We have a depth of knowledge across our entire team to provide the right solutions of the customer. A lot of our people have more than a decade of experience in the industry.” The acquisition has also allowed Regal Rexnord to expand its service capabilities. Altra was heavily focused on field-based support, from commissioning to repairs and general servicing. Its service facilities in Sydney, Perth, Mackay and Newcastle gave it an extensive reach across the country and allowed for local support. Regal Rexnord plans to continue this service, with aims to expand it. The company is investigating how it can further improve its service offering through the integration. Its goal is to be able to send a team out to a site that can offer support for the entire drive train. For workshop support, the company can share the load across the country. It plans to designate centres of excellence to help streamline service processes. Eltagonde said the company is working on cross training its staff to provide the highest quality support.

“It’s an exciting time. We’re restructuring resources across the team to ensure we have subject matter experts that our staff can lean on as they align to the new role,” he said. “From a site level, we’re also talking to customers to find out what they need from us. “There’s a lot to learn to become an expert in the entire drive train – it’s not something that can be done overnight. While it’s only been six months, we’ve made some major progress already.” While mining is the focus for the business, the merger has also introduced the business to complementary industries. Altra Motion was heavily involved in the renewable energy industry, supplying Svendborg components for major wind farms. It was also involved in the marine industry, ports, cranes, agriculture, and refineries. With further growth on the horizon, Eltagonde said the business is culturally attuned and is quickly integrating. “Our teams are engaged and excited to see the changes,” he said. “Having the right culture is critical to moving quickly, and it’s been a delight to see how fast the organisation has changed.”

Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023 І 13

PACKAGING

Packaging sorted

En fo ev fro po ab ag

ABHR speaks to Rod Wilson, sales director at bagging equipment manufacturer Packweigh, to find out how the company provides more than just bagging machine. WHEN PACKWEIGH EQUIPMENT first started, it focused on providing bag stitching equipment. However, as its customer base became more diverse, the business expanded its product range significantly. Now, the company can design packaging equipment for almost any bulk solid handling operation, from small 100gram bags to two tonne bulk bags. Rod Wilson, Packweigh’s sales director, told ABHR that every customer has different needs, which is why most of the company’s offering is custom designed. “When it comes to bagging equipment, we can do anything – from simple manual machines to full turnkey systems,” he said. “Designing custom solutions means we can support different products, different types of bags, different layouts, and different footprints to fit into a customer’s factory.” Packweigh manufactures its equipment in its Brisbane workshop, using Australian suppliers where possible to minimise delays and downtime. Here, it assembles complete bagging

lines, and allows customers to visit to see the equipment in action before it is installed, as well as specialised equipment from Europe. It provides equipment across five main categories: weighing, bagging, sewing and sealing, palletising, load securing, and bulk handling. Wilson said Packweigh works closely with a client to determine the right tools for an application. For example, if free flowing material needs to be weighed, the company can incorporate gravity fed machines. If a client is bagging products that are irregularly shaped or don’t flow freely, they can be fed via belts, augers, vibratory feeders, or a combination. “Weighing can be done as gross weight or net weight, depending on what the customer requires,” he said. “We have a full range or manual, semi-automatic, and automatic bagging systems available that can handle all kinds of bags. “They can heat seal them, pinch bag seal, or stitch them closed with a variety of options like bag top fold over or bag top trimming and crepe tape.

Packweigh manufactures its equipment in its Brisbane workshop.

14 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

“Speed wise, our systems can handle anything up to 1400 bags an hour, depending on bag type and product.” For fully automated bagging systems with automatic bag loading and semi auto systems, the company also provides both conventional and robotic palletisers that can be designed to fit the factory footprint. They can pick up a bag and place it on the pallet or handle multiple pick-up points on multiple pallets with the robot palletisers. Packweigh can also integrate pallet wrapping into bagging lines, which use an automatic sealer to fasten the end of the wrap. These can be supplied with an optional top cover applicator, providing a weatherproof shield. Alternatively, the option of a hooder can be integrated providing additional advantages In addition to bagging systems, Packweigh can also provide discharging systems. These come with or without load cells and weight controls, allowing the operator to determine exactly what is removed from a bulk bag. Wilson said the customisability comes from the experience and industry knowledge of the Packweigh design team. “Our sales team works closely with customers to learn about what they need from us, and our engineers work to deliver exactly what they’re looking for,” he said. “We spend time with our customers, give them all the options up front, explain what everything does and don’t take anything for granted. We discuss their needs and do all the layout, drawings, and planning to make sure they get the right tools for the job.” “We even create a digital 3D model of the design, allowing the customer to get a better understanding of the machinery.” Wilson said the company is looking forward to continued growth in 2024 and is excited to help support the industry.

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Critical innovation Transmin is chasing an innovative approach to its operations to tackle persistent problems facing manufacturers and clients. LABOUR SHORTAGES AND increased materials costs have been a persistent problem for bulk handling clients and manufacturers across Australia. Manufacturers are also looking for new revenue streams within traditional and emerging markets, including rare minerals and iron ore mining. ABHR spoke to Transmin’s innovation manager, Phil Heckley, about how the company adapts to these challenges.

Emerging markets Rare minerals are set to be one of the world’s most significant growth sectors, with the US Government predicting 400-600 per cent growth as the world transitions to clean energy. Transmin has established an innovation department to develop products for these new markets and applications. Heckley said this was because critical minerals present new materials handling issues that haven’t been widely experienced in the industry. “Our previous experiences with critical minerals projects such as rare

earths, lithium, copper and nickel, allow us to learn from and adapt our products with each project,” he said. “We also apply conservative design principles to allow for a degree of uncertainty for new materials handling challenges.” Transmin has had to adjust to the nuances of the emerging markets. Key differences include lower production rates than iron ore and gold markets and more chemical processes in the plant design of rare mineral markets. Heckley said Transmin’s product line was suited to help clients in these markets enhance their operations. “Transmin can leverage its understanding of how to provide reliable and efficient machines from heavy-duty, high-volume applications to heavyduty, low-volume applications,” he said. “Our “Package Plants” product vertical is also seeing growth in demand from chemical dosing systems used in critical minerals processes.”

Future plans Heckley said electrification is one of the biggest challenges facing them in the coming years, particularly in

16 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

underground mining, as companies decarbonise their operations. Research companies, including McKinsey and Company, predict the sector could need to reduce its emissions by as much as 85 per cent by 2050. The International Council on Mining and Metals believe most of the world’s largest mining companies have committed to net zero direct and indirect carbon emissions by 2050 through electrification and sustainable practices. “There is a big push in the industry for electrification, particularly in underground mining,” Heckley said. “Transmin is looking at ways it can help clients in these transitions.” Behind the scenes, Transmin is working to adapt its equipment to more mining sectors like the dry tailings space. Transmin’s low-profile feeder (LPF) has been used to transport tailings filter cakes from 5m wide plate and frame filters, which the company believes are some of the largest filters on the planet. This innovation has overseas companies interested in how the LPF can be converted to suit the sector.

2019_Au_

“Tailings management will become more important as the public’s willingness to accept tailings dam failures and risks will evaporate,” Heckley said. “Transmin is ideally placed to help our clients with existing and innovative tailings management products and practices to minimise this corporate risk. “Our LPF technology has also been incorporated into mobile dump trucks, which allows for thin layer placement of dewatered tailings within the tailings storage facilities, which assists in further drying and consolidating tailings and maximising tailings storage facilities capacity.” Industries nationwide, including bulk handling, have faced increasing cost trends, including material cost. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Producer Price Indexes has shown increases of 3.9 per cent over the past 12 months. The ABS

has put the price increases down to labour shortages and increased manufacturing costs. Heckley said productivity improvements will help to mitigate increasing cost trends. “Transmin is looking to add value to its clients by making our products more “user-friendly” improving operability and reducing equipment maintenance costs,” he said. “If a machine is going to have a higher capital cost, then it needs to return a lower operating cost – which is what Transmin is focusing on.”

Innovating Transmin is preparing for a solid upcoming year after a strong 2023. Heckley said innovation of its existing and new products was critical to the company’s plans to combat labour shortages and material costs. “If we are not innovating and evolving our products, our clients

expect us to help them do their job better, and we take that responsibility seriously,” he said. “Innovation can be used to make existing products cheaper, but there is an inherent limit to what cost improvements can be made. “However, there is no inherent limit as to what value can be gained by innovating to create new and improved≈products that can increase productivity, improve safety and solve new problems.” Heckley said the upcoming year is forecasted to be vital for Transmin, with new projects set to market. “We encourage our existing and new clients to speak with our innovation team to collaborate on finding new solutions to their problems,” he said. “We have innovative projects in the works that will hopefully meet and exceed our client requirements. 2024 is going to be an exciting year for Transmin.”

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VIBRATION

Revolutionising recycling with vibration Oli Australia is helping recyclers with state-of-the-art electric and pneumatic vibrators. ALL OF AUSTRALIA’S environment ministers have agreed to work alongside the private sector to reduce waste. It’s part of a goal to achieve a circular economy by 2030. In a circular economy, products are either recycled, remanufactured, or reused after having served their initial purpose. It minimises pressure on the environment, helps the fight against climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. Recycling plays a key role in this endeavour, which is why Oli Australia has been working with local recyclers to provide advanced electric and pneumatic vibrators and flow aids. Mark Thompson, managing director at Oli Australia, said the company’s equipment is nothing short of exceptional. “Our range of electric and pneumatic vibrators and flow aids is a testament to their dedication to providing the recycling industry with the best tools available,” he told ABHR. “Crafted with precision and using top-notch European engineering, Oli’s equipment guarantees reliability and longevity. When you invest in Oli Australia’s products, you invest in quality.” What sets Oli Australia apart is not just the quality of its equipment but also its commitment to affordability. In an industry where every dollar counts, Oli’s pricing is exceptionally competitive without compromising on excellence. The company understands that recycling should not be an expensive endeavour and its range of solutions aims to reflect this ethos. Availability is another key factor in Oli’s success. The recycling industry operates around the clock, and downtime is not an option. Oli Australia

Oli Australia works with recyclers to provide advanced electric and pneumatic vibrators and flow aids.

recognises this and ensures that its products are readily available when needed. The company’s dedication to providing quick and efficient service ensures that recycling operations can continue uninterrupted. Thompson said the impact of Oli Australia’s equipment on the recycling community is profound. “By optimising the efficiency of recycling processes through their vibrators and flow aids, they help maximise output while minimising energy consumption. This efficiency is not only cost-effective but also environmentally responsible. Oli Australia is proud to be at the forefront of the recycling industry’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint,” he said.

18 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

“At the core of Oli Australia’s mission is advocacy for the need to recycle. We are not just a supplier of equipment but also passionate advocates for sustainable practices. Oli Australia believes that recycling is not just a duty but a responsibility that we all share. We are actively contributing to this cause by providing the recycling industry with the tools needed to excel in its mission.” “Oli Australia is not just a supplier; we’re advocates for recycling, champions of efficiency, and pioneers in minimising the global impact of consumer end-of-life products. “For all your vibration needs in the recycling industry, Oli Australia is the name to trust.”

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FOOD

Flexible screw conveying system ups powdered food production When a Philippines-based food business needed to improve production, it turned to Flexicon for a solution. THE BLAINE MANUFACTURING Corporation’s food division needed to meet increased demand for its popular premixes and marinades. The company manufactures seasonings, premixes and blends, provides tolling services, and supplies food ingredients such as flavours, herbs,

spices, vitamins, minerals, and many other raw materials to the food industry. To meet demand, the plant installed a flexible screw conveying system that feeds powdered ingredients to dual 1000kg capacity ribbon blenders. With a production target of 8000 to 10,000kg per day, the company

acquired a semi-automated, closed system to maintain a clean plant environment and reduce the physical burden on the operators who were manually loading 25kg bags of ingredients into the blenders. One of Blaine’s technical consultants suggested the Flexicon system.

Moving ingredients from bags to blenders

The flexible screw conveyor discharges through a wye diverter that diverts material into either of two 1000 kg ribbon blenders.

20 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

The semi-automated system consists of a 316 stainless steel floor hopper with an integrated flexible screw conveyor discharging through a wye diverter that feeds either ribbon blender selectively. The floor hopper and control panel are housed in a separate room from the blending operation, with the flexible screw conveyor passing through an opening in the adjoining wall. The IP65 variable speed control panel has a human-machine-interface (HMI) for operation of the conveyor and actuation of the diverter valve. Ingredients arrive at the plant in 25kg bags on pallets staged by the floor hopper. For each batch, operators empty the required number of bags into the 140L hopper equipped with a grate to catch any oversize objects. A fold-down bag support tray helps operators to stage, open and dump bags. The 6m long flexible screw conveyor inclined at 40° discharges through a pneumatically-actuated 150mm round wye diverter valve feeding the ribbon blenders. The stainless steel spiral, enclosed in food grade polymer outer tubing, is the only moving part that contacts the material. It is driven by an electric motor positioned beyond the discharge point, preventing material contact with bearings or seals. The operation of the conveyor and wye diverter are managed at the

The flexible screw is removed daily through a quick-release clean-out cap, and wiped down, while the conveyor tube and hopper are cleaned in place.

New handling system for an established product

The IP65 variable speed control panel with HMI allows easy operation of the conveyor and actuation of the diverter valve in the blending room.

control panel to determine the material destination and feed rate.

Improving ergonomics and plant hygiene Previously, ingredients were manually dumped directly into the original 500kg capacity ribbon blender. With the addition of two larger blenders, the automated system allows ingredients to be loaded into the floor hopper at an ergonomic

height and conveyed to the ribbon blenders, reducing the physical burden on operators and minimising dust. Loading and blending takes about 45 minutes, after which the batch is discharged into a dispensing tank with a screw feeder that moves the material to a load-cell-equipped filler for PE-lined kraft bags. Once filled, the bags are heat sealed, sewn, and sent down through a roller conveyor.

Process validation of three batches of powder marinade premix was conducted to establish the most efficient procedure using the flexible screw conveying system. The company noted that the material handling, work safety/convenience and hygiene markedly improved. In addition to marinades, seasonings and premixes will be validated and run through the flexible screw conveyor system, going forward. Since the company also offers tolling services to multinational clients, the new conveying system will be an advantage, serving as a showcase for the food manufacturing plant.

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ENGINEERING

Celebrating 20 years With Aspec Engineering celebrating its 20th anniversary, ABHR spoke with company founder Richard Morgan to learn how it reached this milestone. AUGUST 1, 2003 WAS THE DAY Richard Morgan and his business partner Frank Gatto took the plunge. The pair had experience working as part of BHP’s engineering team, where they were involved in complex engineering projects. This partnership was the start of a new specialist engineering firm, Aspec Engineering, which began just as Australia’s mining industry really started to boom. One of the biggest challenges in those early days was finding staff. According to Morgan, the fledgling company managed to grow its team by becoming an early adopter of remote work. “We found a team of good engineers that wanted to work from home,” he said. “We’re based in Brisbane and had engineers based in Melbourne, northern Queensland and even New Zealand. “In the early days, we were especially keen on team-building and had frequent meetings to bring everyone together.” To help grow the team even further, ASPEC Engineering has always hired young engineers and students who work alongside an experienced mentor. This process is part of the company’s organic growth strategy. These formerly junior engineers are now in key positions in the firm, working in teams to enhance communication. “If we hire good students, they continue on with the company and become the leaders of tomorrow,” Morgan said. “We’ve found this has worked well, and one of the best ways to learn is on the job with a good mentor.” This strategy has led to relatively little staff turnover, with key people developing experience with several key projects and creating a vital culture of consistency.

More than 90 per cent of Aspec Engineering’s workload comes from its existing clients. Morgan said clients in mining and port industries like dealing with the same people and will return to organisations that can keep providing quality. “We have a lot of knowledge and resources available – all of our past projects are archived online and are readily accessible,” he said. “Our clients know we’re not looking to reinvent the wheel. We’ll get them an answer based on works that have already been demonstrated and that we will keep to what we promise. “Maintaining a tight-knit team of smart people with a high level of integrity is vital.” Morgan is also the chairman of the committee for the Australian

Standard AS 4324.1, which covers shiploaders, stackers and reclaimers. His team is at the forefront of emerging technologies and industry standards and can advise clients of best practice methods and designs. Aspec Engineering encourages its clients to be on the front foot when it comes to complying with industry standards. The firm provides advice on how to best ensure machines last as long as possible, aiding with refurbishments and maintenance plans. A reputation for quality and consistency has seen Aspec Engineering work on several high-profile projects around Australia, including assisting with a new berth for Roy Hill. ASPEC was hired to help implement several innovative solutions, including a

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ASPEC Engineering hires young engineers and students to work alongside mentors.

22 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

piggyback conveyor – one of the first used for that kind of project. The company has also been involved with Rio Tinto, working as an auditing engineering firm for the Cape Lambert B Project. That project helped the company establish and expand its Perth office. Morgan said the industry needs have changed over the years, with more projects putting an emphasis on environmental performance. “Some projects are looking to minimise dust significantly,” he said. “We recently helped replace a shiploader which had a dust issue and our objective was to minimise emissions while loading alumina powder. “Energy efficiency is also really important. We want to make conveyors more efficient, which involves minimising drop heights on transfer towers to keep power usage down. “Safety is also key for our clients.

Nobody wants to have machinery in an unsafe state; we’re always focused on how to improve safety.” On one of these major projects, Aspec Engineering began collaborating with international engineering consultancy Rendel – a subsidiary of the French-owned Ingérop Group. ASPEC was helping BHP with asset integrity for the Hay Point coal terminal in Queensland and recommended Rendel as verifier for the marine structures design work as Rendel designed the original berths one and two. Rendel and ASPEC have had a 15-year history of collaboration on projects, including Sydney Gateway, the Melbourne Metro, and the Sydney Metro North West Rail Link. Rendel’s managing director Vardaman Jones said both companies are client-focused, pride themselves on providing the highest technical services, and share

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cultural synergies. Rendel acquired a controlling interest in Aspec Engineering in late 2022, aiming to strengthen its position and extend its reach across Australia. Morgan said joining forces has already enabled ASPEC to grow and become a more resilient business. “We’re well set up to expand overseas. We haven’t focused on international work, but with Rendel’s contacts and support, there’s potential growth for us there.” In the meantime, ASPEC has been celebrating the twodecade milestone with events in Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia. “August 2023 was a month of celebrations,” Morgan said. “It’s been a great opportunity to look at all the great work we have done so far, and it will be exciting to see what we do over the next 20 years.”

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MEASUREMENT

Belt weigher calibration at a glance Ian Burrell, managing director of Control Systems Technology (CST), explains how the company’s belt scale electronics use a patented feature to make calibration easy. THE CALIBRATION STATUS OF many belt weighers can be a complete mystery to the owner. There is little understanding of the numbers inside the ‘black box’, and on many of the various types of equipment installed at customer sites, there is no transparency about what’s going on inside. It’s just not clear what the numbers mean on most equipment, but the CST system makes all the inside calculations visible. To assist with the task of belt weigher maintenance and to make it easier to understand, the CST system includes a patented calibration dashboard that shows the status of the calibrated sub-systems of each belt scale. Belt scale zero: Is the zero OK and has it changed much? The belt scale zero area is a button to active the zero function, but it also tells how much the zero has moved since the last manually activated zero, in this case -0.04 per cent, zero tracking is OK, and was last completed 5/10/23. All is well with the zero. Belt scale span: The span is the

CST strives to build the best possible belt weighing systems using the latest technology.

number which turns the analog to digital converter (ADC) number into engineering units, in this case kg. It’s the fundamental calibration constant for the belt weigher. Our load cells come with a certified output calibration in mV/V and we convert this to an expected ideal span number. The Belt Scale Button colour indicates agreement between the theoretical ideal span number and the

The CST system includes a patented calibration dashboard.

24 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

actual number achieved on site with calibration masses. This ‘traffic light’ helps avoid mistakes on site. Weigh length: This is the weight sensitive length of the weigh frame and is based on a site measurement. To avoid mistakes on site, the measure length is compared with the idler spacing and number of weigh idlers. The green ‘button’ indicates that all is well. Tachometer: The tachometer is calibrated by finding out how many tachometer pulses there are in a measure length of conveyor belt. This is another very important calibration number. Any error in this number causes an equal error in the belt scale output. The CST system checks the tacho pulses per revolution against the tacho pulley diameter to work out a theoretical tachometer calibration number. By comparing the theoretical and the actual, we can validate the tachometer calibration. The tachometer turning radius is ‘inside’ the conveyor belt, and the screen shot above shows that the belt factor is 54 per cent, which means that the radius of turning is at about the middle of the belt, which is a valid result

A m s

CST’s systems offer transparency about what’s going on inside.

and so the Tachometer button is green. Live load: Sometimes it is necessary to adjust the calibration of the belt weigher to account for belt affects and this is most often as a result of

comparison with an accurate live load material test. With the CST system, full transparency. Any adjustment is visible in the live load dashboard window. There is no need to fudge weigh frame,

tachometer, or weigh length calibration. Maintenance: When was the belt weigher last checked for good alignment. This can be seen at a glance from the maintenance button area on the calibration dashboard. CST strives to build the best possible belt weighing systems using the latest technology. The dashboard screen above can be viewed remotely via the internet for customers which wish to be connected. The connection is actually via a secure server and two different VPN networks to make doubly sure about security. The remote interface is the best way to provide immediate support for remote sites whether they be in the Pilbara or in South America. With 40 years of experience in the belt weighing industry, CST is fully committed to the ongoing support of our many existing customers and is pushing forward with new innovative technology.

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PORTS

Port insights visits across Australia Charles Hennessy, Page Macrae’s business development manager for Australia, has finished the initial round of introductions with stevedoring, ports and product owners. AS PART OF ITS EXPANSION into the Australian market, New Zealandbased Page Macrae Engineering has spent the past few months touring around the country, meeting with the nation’s ports. Spearheading the initiative is Charles Hennessy, an Australian national with extensive logistics and product movement experience. He brings with him existing relationships with ports, stevedores, and the transport industry. The journey began in Victoria and Tasmania, before Hennessy and Bruce Ennis, business development manager of product solutions, visited the company’s clients across New South Wales and Queensland. The final leg of the tour saw Hennessy and Peter Swan, Page Macrae’s general manager of sales and marketing, visit South Australia and Western Australia to speak with clients in Esperance, Kwinana, Bunbury, Freemantle, Geraldton, and Darwin. “There is certainly a lot happening in the SA and WA regions, and we highly appreciated the time taken to show us

our client’s operations and where they thought the industry was heading,” Hennessy told ABHR. “The overall feedback received was the importance of uptime and quick turnaround service. Ordering spare parts directly from a storage facility in Australia enables faster response times, resulting in essential equipment being available for business continuity. “Clients also expressed a greater willingness to reach out now that Page Macrae is based in Australia. There was also a desire to share stories and opportunities to work together.” One key area of feedback was the continued struggle for high quality and reliable weighing on bulk discharge hoppers. “The ramifications and frustrations of not being able to rely on the current information in terms of accuracy and the implications for clients in terms of Chain of Responsibility legislation, and being unable to maximise productivity is all too real,” Hennessey said.

“This level of accuracy and reliability of weighing products at hopper source is a major focus for Page Macrae and a cornerstone of the current product development which will incorporate significant advancements and advantages within their dust suppression equipment.” Page Macrae is implementing product telematics-supplied telemetry-web based monitoring systems for its electric and diesel equipment. It monitors critical systems, the health and wellbeing of equipment, reliability, and performance. The live monitoring means the operator is better informed about the status of the equipment. Hennessey said the company is committed to providing its Australian customers with the highest level of support and service. “The recent client visits provided valuable insights about the challenges and opportunities facing the industry, and to develop solutions that meet the needs of customers.”

C t s

P B

Page Macrae is committed to providing its Australian customers with the highest level of support and service.

26 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

E T

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SCALES

Aussie brand set for strong future Tecweigh is set for an exciting 2024 after intensive work to bring a new product to market and growth in new clientele throughout the year. MELBOURNE-BASED TECWEIGH has revealed its plans for next year, which is set to see new products arrive on the market to enhance productivity and efficiency. The new product launch comes on the back of Tecweigh’s advancement in new markets, including grains and biomaterials. ABHR interviewed Tecweigh’s business development manager, Barry Gamble, about the company’s plans for next year.

New markets Bulk handling is often associated with the mineral resources industry, especially coal and quarrying. These materials, alongside grain, account for nearly two-thirds of the world’s bulk trade, but lighter materials remain a significant market. Materials like sugar, rice and cocoa are among the final third of the world’s most traded bulk materials. Gamble said Tecweigh had experienced growth in this area due to their wide range of versatile products. “We have noticed website enquiries not so much from our traditional mines,

quarries and aggregates customers but more so some exciting growth in new clients,” he said. “We’re seeing an increased interest in conveying and weighing products with a much lower bulk density, such as dry food ingredients, grains, and biomaterials. “And we have a pretty versatile range to accommodate that from conventional belt scales to lighter load options.” Tecweigh has made a its reputation as a conventional belt scale manufacturer but has a wide range of products to suit bulk handling. Gamble said the company’s WF18 Weigh Belt Feeder was ideal for businesses with lighter load options.

Future planning The company has been working behind the scenes ahead of the launch of the TT20 Gravimetric Processor. The TT20 controls Tecweigh’s range of auger feeders by analysing the scale base signal and optimising the auger delivery rate. The TT20 has four modes of operation: loss-in-weight, gain-in-

Weigh felt feeders are available in open or enclosed construction.

28 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

The Tecweigh S5A Volumetric Feeder functions as a Gravimetric Feeder when controlled by the TT20.

weight, loss-of-weight and controlledweight-batching. The maximum and minimum weights of the product in the hopper can be stored in the processor to trigger an automatic refill and then signal when the hopper is full. The TT20 features a userfriendly human machine interface, allowing the operator to feed material accurately and consistently at desired rates and batch sizes; in addition, programmable logic controller protocols enable the controller to interface with a plant’s control system. Gamble said the TT20 would be a great addition to Tecweigh’s existing range of products. “We are close to launching our TT20 Gravimetric Processor, which will be an exciting addition for us coming into next year,” he said. “The versatility of the four modes will help our customers optimise the auger delivery rates. “We hope this helps our customers improve their productivity and efficiency.”

Australian benefits The Australian manufacturer has produced a range of conveyor belt scales, weigh belt feeders and volumetric feeders for two decades from its Melbourne HQ. The company has developed a presence in international markets, including China, the UK, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Middle East, including Coal Loading Projects. Being based in Australia means Tecweigh can also offer local aftersales support. The company maintains a significant inventory of conveyor belt scales, volumetric feeders, and weigh belt feeders. It also provides field service support and spare parts supply. This allows the company to offer strong support for clients after purchase. Tecweigh works with its clients

to maintain the custom weighing machinery and ensure it remains in top condition. “Custom designs are our standard. Whether it is chemicals, crushed stone, sand, coal, or materials that are low density, sticky, or abrasive, we specialise in building the equipment needed to weigh it accurately,” Gamble said. “We do all our manufacturing in Carrum Downs, Melbourne, which gives us a fast response time. “Our products are also designed for heavy-duty work and have been proven over time to be accurate in some of the world’s harshest environments.” With more than 100 years of industry experience collectively among its employees, the company continues looking for innovations. The team has been trained to deliver a tailored weighing

The weigh belt feeder is ideal for businesses with lighter load options.

solution and on-site service for complete support from planning to project delivery. From humble beginnings, Tecweigh has built its bespoke business to provide weighing-in-motion solutions for industries nationally and internationally with an exciting future to come.

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VIBRATION

Impactful vibes Vacuum-mounted vibrators are delivering good vibrations and improved productivity to companies needing to solve their blockage needs. Vacuum-mounted vibrators have a wide range of applications, including in the food and beverage industry.

STEVE JOHNSON, THE VSS application manager, always keeps three different types of vacuummounted vibrators in his car for client visits. Maintenance departments often overlook these handy devices, but Johnson understands that most companies don’t realise they need one until a problem arises. “You often arrive at these sites, and they’re like, ‘Oh, there’s a problem. Can you fix this?’ Usually, one of our vac-mounted vibrators can provide a solution,” Johnson said.

“They have a variety of applications across the food industry, whether you’re dealing with fine powders like sugar, salt, and mixed spices or larger materials like fruits, vegetables, seafood, or frozen items. We’ve sold a lot of vibrators in numerous industries.” In one case, a site used a jackhammer to dislodge material stuck in 60-70 storage plastic bins, which damaged the bins and caused noise and fatigue for the operators. Johnson offered them a small

32 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

vacuum-mounted vibrator that they could securely attach to the bins and operate remotely. The result was improved efficiency, reduced noise, and enhanced worker safety. This example illustrates why vacuummounted vibrators impact various industries, as Johnson told ABHR in an interview.

Versatility Vacuum-mounted vibrators are attached by suction to the problem area, and when turned on, they

generate vibrations that break up material blockages, reduce friction, and promote material flow. These devices are designed to aid the flow of materials within hoppers, bins, or chutes by applying vibration. Typically, they are mounted on the exterior of these containers to dislodge materials that may become stuck or compacted. Further, in the food industry, vacmount vibrators can also be used to blend dry ingredients, aerate materials, and evenly distribute food products on conveyors. VSS offers a comprehensive range of vacuum-mounted vibrators, the Vac-10, for example, are commonly used in food applications, while heavier-duty VacMounts are used in mining and resource applications. Different materials require varying frequencies and amplitudes to function effectively. For some companies, production stalling due to blockages can result

in substantial financial losses. Experienced operators like Johnson know the value of a vacuum-mounted vibrator for maintenance managers in bulk-handling operations. “It’s a maintenance manager’s best tool, and they should have one sitting in their office,” he said. “They’re not expensive units, but they can save you from losing production during the day and hurting your bottom line. You can purchase one and use it to tackle multiple problems.”

Best vibrations VSS is a trusted brand in the Australian bulk handling industry and vacuum-mounted vibrators. Johnson highlighted that customers can benefit from the company’s wealth of knowledge. This extensive experience is crucial for correctly applying vibration to a problem.

When purchasing a vacuum mount, Johnson said considering factors like the type of material, container size and shape, and the power source (pneumatic or electric) was critical. VSS can use this information to match customers with the best-suited vacuum-mounted vibrator from its extensive range. “We’re an experienced team in this area, which is also important for a buyer looking to purchase one of these devices as one size does not fit all applications,” Johnson said. “If you want your vacuum mount to have one or multiple applications and need help deciphering which vacuum mount will best suit your needs, experience and knowledge are essential. “VSS has the expertise, and we’ve built up a wealth of knowledge to help you. We’ve been around for 40plus years and have the experience to help you.”

DUST CONTROL

The importance of skirtboard sealing systems Martin Engineering designs products to promote a clean working environment. Dave Mueller, the company’s product manager, explains how proper skirting can help. WHEN TONNES OF TRANSFERRED bulk material hits a moving belt, three things happen. Fines scatter, cargo shifts, and dust becomes airborne. The impact can create turbulent air that seeks the easiest escape from any gap it can find, carrying dust and fines with it. These gaps generally appear on the sides of the enclosure between the chute wall and the belt. Skirting systems address the challenge of containing fugitive dust and spillage.

What is a skirtboard sealing system Usually made from natural or SBR rubber (or specialty formulations for specific applications such as underground mining or food), the skirting extends down the entire length of the transition enclosure and is generally tapered at the bottom to match the trough angle of the belt. It is intended to maintain a seal on

the enclosure and help trap any fine particles and dust that is not contained by the wear liners and chute wall. As the skirt edge loses its seal, gaps are created, which allow material to become entrapped in a ‘pinch point’. This causes abrasion that gouges or chafes the surface of the belt down its entire length. Some of the major issues from entrapment include scalloping, when wedged material causes excessive wear, and grooves, when debris collects under the skirt causing friction damage. Regardless of the belt tension, belt sag will create a space for fugitive dust to escape or for material to become entrapped. This is avoided by retrofitting a skirt sealing system with impact cradles or edge support rather than rollers in the loading zone.

Proper enclosure Wear liners are typically welded to the inside of the chute wall with the skirtboard attached on the outside using an adjustable clamp system. However, the internal design can allow some material buildup in the gap between the wear liner and the skirtboard, depending on the size of the aggregate. External wear liner and skirting configurations place both pieces of equipment outside the chute wall. Placing the skirt seal and wear liner outside of the chute makes it easier for workers to perform adjustments safely. The result is a better seal on the belt and less material entrapment. Self-adjusting skirting maintains a seal automatically as belt path fluctuates due to its design, without the need for adjustment and only periodic inspection. A low-profile skirting assembly should need only 152mm of clearance for installation and maintenance in small spaces.

Skirting best practice Since skirts are wear parts, it is important that they are easily installed, adjusted, maintained, and replaced to avoid dust and spillage, mitigate downtime, improve workplace safety and reduce the cost of operation. Managers contemplating a capital investment in a skirting and wear liner system should consider: • Hiring an outside engineer to design the best system for the application. • Installing equipment that features external maintenance. • Utilising a skirting strip that extends the entire length of the chute to avoid seams.

34 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

• C hoosing skirting material that is free of fabrics, with a lower abrasion resistance than the belt. • Installing a self-adjusting system. • Choosing the option with the least worker exposure to equipment hazards.

Dust and spillage clogs idlers, requiring them to be replaced and raising the cost of operation.

Case study The Port of Santos in São Paulo is the busiest in Latin America. Operating at Terminal 26, T-Grão manages the import and export of over 3.6 million mt/y of malt, wheat, soy, and maize. Transfer points at T-Grão range between 10-15m in height. The fugitive emissions affected air quality and visibility in the immediate work areas, forcing personnel to wear protective masks when working the conveyor. The dust often travelled beyond the site line, sparking complaints. Before the chute upgrade, a cleaning crew of 45 workers spent around 24 hours per month on dust and spillage cleanup. Martin Engineering technicians constructed a longer sealed enclosure with the ability to control airflow and give dust extra space to settle. They added several other critical components including external dual seal skirtboard and wear liner system. Impact cradles and slider cradles replaced the idlers to seal gaps in the chute. Operators immediately observed results. As material moved through the system, particulates remained within the enclosure and either collected in the dust bags or settled back into the cargo flow. After a lengthy observation period, operators report there has been less downtime for cleanup and maintenance, and improved safety.

Conclusion By installing modern skirtboards that prevent fugitive material from leaving the loading chute, operators can reduce worker exposure to hazards, minimise labour for maintenance and cleanup, improve equipment and belt life and achieve better compliance. The savings on labour and operating costs alone provide a sound return on investment, but the improvement to workplace safety should be the only motivation needed.

Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023 І 35

FEATURE

Ahrens’ solid silo investments benefit tomorrow’s farmers Ahrens’ latest pursuits in revolutionising its transportable silo range through innovative technology and manufacturing techniques continue to go against the grain within the Australian market. THE FIFTH-GENERATION, SA family-owned engineering, manufacturing and construction company has made significant investments within its local factories to ensure farmers are guaranteed reliable and high-quality rural infrastructure for generations to come. In brief, Ahrens has taken all the best features from its broader range of silos manufactured in SA, VIC, NSW and QLD and combined them with advanced technology. The result means a standardised and innovative product which has gained national engineering accreditation, with all the design features resulting in a product that gives farmers the best infrastructure solutions to suit their applications.

Ahrens advancements Ahrens Silos Group general manager Mirela Vuckic said the outcome is superior rural infrastructure made available to rural clients within a competitive market. “Our advanced transportable silo

range means we now have the advantage to offer Australian farmers a greatly improved product with standardised and quality components,” she said. “We have also invested in worldclass machinery in most of our factories so we can handle larger coil more easily, reduce the number of horizontal joins in our tanks and, with the reinforcement of internal wall stiffeners, has resulted in a structurally advanced silo.” Further strength in its silo range is backed by the replacement of rivets with mono bolts, Huck bolts and Henrob fasteners for a superior seal finish. All silo bases have been upgraded with a cone design that enables grain to run more freely, which is especially helpful with the clean out of products such as sorghum, barley, or oats. “A big feature for Ahrens involves their ring beam design. Instead of being RHS square bent around, we have reinforced the top of the base with angled silo section,” Vuckic said. “This alteration is something only our company uses, and it

means that there is no structural ledge for stored product to hang.” Due to Ahrens’ technological advances, the company has also invested in its people, through upskilling and training, with the streamline process making their work easier to produce a high-quality product. “Above others, our pursuits mean we are more efficient in our silo manufacturing because all our factories share the same components and processes, we are able to help each other based on production requirements,” Vuckic said. Other significant improvements in its transportable silo design include: • W ider stabilised leg spacing to support different sized augers and conveyors. • L ever operating slide system located to the side of the silo, removing the traditional pull hatch from underneath. • O ne-piece, UV resistant, moulded S-bend to prevent insects from entering the silo and enable pressure to be released when the silo is over pressured when sealed • E xtra sight glasses on the silo’s side for efficiency and prevention of over filling.

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36 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

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“We are now manufacturing in a much more efficient manner with larger production runs, which has seen us lift the capacity of all our factories to provide farmers a shorter turnaround time for delivery,” Vuckic said. A further key feature which differentiates the Ahrens name from competitors is its standout practices and procedures. “We continue to go the extra mile with our silo workmanship and paintwork ensuring a superior finish which makes us a stand out in the field,” she said.

Farmer satisfaction Second generation farmer Richard Rackham from Red Hill, SA, turned to Ahrens this year to help strengthen his rural operations. His request led to the Ahrens Rural team delivering 10 x 126 tonne transportable silos to his property located in the state’s Mid North. The broadacre farmer, whose malting barley is supplied

to Australia’s largest owned brewer, Coopers Brewery, said it was Ahrens’ short lead times which led him to initially installing four transportable silos followed by a further six. By choosing Ahrens transportable silos, farmers like Rackham can maintain grain quality due to the silos providing optimum storage temperature and pest protection through a GasLock seal. “The Ahrens Rural team was good to deal with and were quick with their installation times,” he said. Rackham added how he has since recommended Ahrens to farmers also keen to support the integrity of their grains and secure best possible market prices.

Ahrens promise Vuckic attributes the company’s strong supply chain as its core strength. “Our in-house capabilities provide us versatility – especially as demands increase – for silos to suit all types of grain, fertiliser, dairy and seed and feeds.”

Ahrens’ long partnership with Brandt means the company continue to supply its rural clients with high-performance grain handling solutions to suit its silos, including augers and conveyors. Vuckic said by choosing Ahrens’ Rural Infrastructure, farmers are also investing in 100 per cent Australian made products, built by locals in local communities. “Our products are manufactured to a high-quality, are sealed and pressure tested, and supported by an industryleading five-year warranty,” she said. The company is further backed by experienced, local engineers whose skills continually provide its customers peace of mind when it comes to protecting their investments for the long-term. Above others, Ahrens’ unique pursuits support their quest to remain a national leader in rural infrastructure. More information about Ahrens’ transportable silo range can be found on the company’s website.

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SILOS

Product knowledge key to quality outcomes Recycling plastics onshore is more important than ever for reducing waste, with offshore processing opportunities now limited. Increasing the nation’s capacity for efficient plastic handling has become a specialty for Kotzur. KOTZUR’S SILOS ARE BEST KNOWN across Australia’s grain-producing regions. However, the company’s understanding of chemical properties has allowed it to engineer storage and handling of shredded plastics. Pellets and flakes behave very differently, requiring different silo types to avoid eccentric discharge. ABHR spoke with Ben Kotzur, Kotzur’s chief technical engineer, about the challenges of storing and handling plastics and the considerations which need to go into the design and engineering of silos to be used in the plastics industry. “Pellets being uniform in shape can be stored in core flow silos. However, the inconsistency in the size and shape of flakes means this type of plastic can be prone to hang up (where pieces get stuck to the sides of the silo) and preferential flow paths resulting in uneven unloading of the silo,” Kotzur said. Bulk materials present a particular challenge to ensure even unloading. To avoid eccentric discharge when handling products, designing silos to achieve mass flow discharge is critical. Kotzur’s expertise in silo theory allows it to work closely with the needs of all its clients, including putting products through rigorous testing to understand the bulk material properties and how they will behave when unloading. This allows Kotzur’s design and engineering team to identify and ultimately design bespoke silos to achieve flow modes required for specific material types. Building relationships is key to successfully designing solutions, and Kotzur’s long-time partnership with Consonic Pty Limited demonstrates the importance of a deep understanding of the material being handled.

Kotzur has partnered with Consonic for plastics material handling and recycling, in Australia and New Zealand, for the last 30 years. Consonic has 50 years of dedicated experience in Plastics with a strong technical, local manufacturing and engineering focus. Consonic managing director Michael Vincent said the company’s philosophy is based on bringing together experienced teams and partners to deliver quality projects and equipment for our customers across plastic processing, recycling, packaging, food processing, technical plastics and medical device industries. “Thirty years ago, we changed our approach to bulk material handling and formed an alliance with Kotzur. Our previous partners could not provide us with the level of engineering professionalism and quality of manufacture the plastics industry demanded,” Vincent said. “To be very honest, I was searching for reliability and consistency, and thirty years on Kotzur continues to deliver both. Today we rely on Kotzur for our material testing, material flow studies and even Engineering Design Certification for our smaller vessels and structures.” “The recycling sector has been a significant segment of our business in the last five years, and we would not consider any other partner for industrial silos other than Kotzur. The same is true for custom-designed hoppers, structures, mezzanines, truck fill stations, screw feeders and conveyors.” For Ben Kotzur, product hygiene is a priority consideration when handling plastics. Even trace amounts of contamination can result in changes to the mechanical and chemical characteristics. To circumvent undesirable properties with the end products, for example,

38 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

Ben Kotzur – Third generation of the Kotzur family to be involved in the business.

opaque plastic rather than transparent, the company’s long involvement in plastic handling ensures construction material and silo design deliver for its end user. “To account for the inherent strength of bulk material, silo walls need to be designed to hold vertical loads,” Kotzur said. “Again, intimate knowledge gained from testing and experience allows Kotzur to engineer silos that are manufactured to exceed Australian standard AS3774, along with AS1170.2 for wind and AS1170.4 for seismic activity.” When presented with the difficulties of uneven unloading of flaked plastics Kotzur engineers coupled a screw feeder into the mass flow unloading system. Allowing flow rate control via the feeding mechanism through a variable speed drive gives clients added control and a more reliable discharge of their bulk product, providing greater functionality for clients.

“Another important aspect of using this type of screw feeder with a mass flow silo is pairing it with a Kotzur plane flow hopper, again improving reliability when handling difficult material,” he said. “When designing systems for our clients there are two main features we take into consideration for reliable discharge from the particular geometry of a hopper. “We look at the critical outlet dimension (diameter of the outlet) of the hopper and secondly, is the hopper angle.” Kotzur said it was important to activate the whole outlet area when unloading to ensure the bulk material is existing the silo across the full outlet space. Using a traditional screw to feed from a silo will draw material from one side of the hopper and can result in eccentric discharge, potentially causing catastrophic failure. Kotzur screw feeder design ensures the full outlet area is activated and true mass flow is achieved.

Kotzur works closely with clients to design the right silo.

The company’s expertise in silo theory has allowed the business to provide bespoke solutions for several industries, plastic recycling being one of them. The core values of the business,

welded with society’s increased demand and expectations of reducing waste, have led to a natural progression, resulting in Kotzur developing over two decades of experience in handling plastics.

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SILOS

HE Silos manufactures livestock feeder and agricultural silo

Catching up with the neighbours NSW-based silo manufacturer HE Silos Forbes with their sister company Grain Storage Technology has expanded into South Australia. ABHR finds out how the company plans to cement itself in the new market. THE YORKE PENINSULA IS A KEY growing region in South Australia, famous for its barley. It is also more than 1000km away from Forbes, NSW. The distance doesn’t daunt HE Silos Forbes though, which recently celebrated our entrance into the South Australian market with an open day in Bute. Stevie-Leigh Morrison, an executive director and third generation member at the company, said it was a vibrant, positive, welcoming experience. “It’s so important for us to get involved with the local community,” she told ABHR. “We’re a small family business and the region is a beautiful, tight-knit community. Everyone knows everyone there.” “We wanted to have boots on the ground to meet our new neighbours. Several people told us they were excited for us to be entering the market, and loved the fact we weren’t some big multinational corporation. “It was also great to find so many people that share our values of family,

high manufacturing standards, and a passion for storing the nations grain.” Attendees shared their enthusiasm with HE Silo’s team and were excited to see it help fill gaps in the market. The company saw there is a lack of manufacturers in the area that could provide farmers with the right on-farm storage to fit their needs. According to the Yorke Peninsula Council, not long ago most of the region’s paddocks were almost always barley or wheat, with the occasional oat crop. Now, farmers often choose to diversify, with a wide range of crops such as canola, faba beans, chickpeas, field peas and lentils. Morrison said it was eye opening to learn that much of the local requirements were things that HE Silos was already providing. “They were wanting higher capacity silos that had stronger structures to handle the particular grains being grown,” she said. “Particularly when it comes to lentils. It’s not a common crop in NSW, but we

40 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

have experience in storing them. There are a lot more variables to keep in mind – the density can change depending on and size and moisture, for example. “Our silos are built to withstand higher structural capacities and are made from high quality materials to ensure they can uphold our standards for quality.” Local farmers are also looking to store silos on their property, to give them more control over the price. Selling grain during the harvest is often when supply grows faster than demand – so being able to wait for the right price helps improve profits. HE Silos Forbes can design a silo for almost any kind of operation, from a small four-tonne storage silo to a massive 10,000 tonne flat bottom industrial silo. Its standard cone elevated silos can be built with cone angles 30°, 45° or 60°, having built equipment for use in the food and beverage, chemical, plastics, stock feed, agriculture and even the bean bag industries.

Morrison said Grain Storage Technology (GST) by HE Silos Forbes is aiming to bring its large-scale silos to farms, not just to major bulk handling facilities. “We’re farmers ourselves and understand the needs our customers have. We don’t forget about the everyday growers,” she said. To help support the region, HE Silos is working closely with its sister company GST, which focuses on research and development. GST works with industry and universities to find new ways of improving silo designs. Silos will be manufactured in NSW and installed and serviced by GST’s staff locally. Several of these silos were on display at the open day, along with a 200-bag feeder which can be designed to suit any type of livestock. The transportable feeders can also be assembled by HE Silos or the customer and holds up to 12 tonnes of oats. Morrison said the event has energised the whole team, including her 20-month year old daughter who proudly wore a HE Silos shirt on the day. “It was great for the local community to meet the whole family and see who we are and what we’re about,” she said. “We have lots of plans and are expecting a lot of growth in the region. We’re looking to expand our SA team with more full-time staff and have a few new products we hope to launch over the next 12 months. “We’re excited about this new adventure and can’t wait to hit the ground running.”

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GRAIN HANDLING

American automation in Australia Caillum Coleman recently visited several major feed mills in the United States. He shares his findings with ABHR. THE UNITED STATES IS ONE OF THE world’s largest producers of grain fed beef, for both domestic and export use. According to the 2022 MLA State of the Industry Report Australia is the 4th largest beef exported in the world behind Brazil, India, and the US. However, the difference in scale between the Australia and the US is sizeable. Caillum Coleman, a sales representative for Satake Australia, said America’s larger population creates a higher demand for beef domestically. He saw the difference in person when he recently visited New Orleans. “It’s one such another level – the sheer number of cattle on feed is almost unbelievable,” he told ABHR. “At that scale, simplicity becomes very important. If you have a big operation, you need the wheels turning correctly, all day, every day.” One of Satake’s suppliers, R&R, invited the company to visit them in the US following the BeefEx conference in Brisbane. The two businesses have worked together for years, with Satake Australia acting as a local agent for the American feed mill manufacturer. Coleman said automation was one of the key technical developments that was helping the massive beef industry stay competitive. “R&R has an automation package that is included with its machinery. It’s unreal how important this data is for mills – without it you’re making decisions days after it’s already too late. By automating and monitoring their system, they can make decisions on the fly,” he said. “We’ve also been promoting the automation side of things in Australia. The industry is interested to see how the technology will work, and we’re working alongside customers to help encourage uptake. “The R&R team were showing Australian clients the live feed data remotely at BeefEx on their phones.

They could show people exactly what was going on in mills on the other side of the world.” Satake aims to help Australian businesses champion the technology and expects it to become a common feature on feed mills in the future. The company’s team is gradually introducing what is possible to clients, talking them through the process and addressing any concerns they have. The company has been operating in Australia since 1992, when the company purchased the British company Robinson Milling Systems. The company’s head office is in Western Sydney, while its major manufacturing facility is in Allora, Queensland. With two workshops, Satake can build machinery specific to the Australian market and quickly fabricate spare parts. It works alongside local original

42 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

equipment manufacturers for motors, gearboxes, and belts to ensure each project meets expectations. Coleman said the company has had good feedback from the industry. “We’ve got clients that we’ve worked with for a while, as well as a lot of new clients. Everyone talks to each other in the industry, so word of mouth is the best way to promote what we’re doing,” he said. “People have said they’re happy with our products and the service we provide. With the market and economy starting to cool and with worker availability low, automation is going to become more important than ever. “Satake Australia will continue providing good quality systems that work. Reliability is what everyone is looking for, so we’ll keep designing systems that work well.”

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Australia’s only publication 100%-focused on bulk solids handling. Australian Bulk Handling Review covers conveyors, silos, engineering, dust control, powder handling, weighing, pneumatics and much more, in industries such as mining and metals, ports and terminals, grain, fertiliser, sugar, salt, foods, milling, resins, cement and woodchips.

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MAINTENANCE

No more heavy metal headaches Conveyors are built tough, but they’re far from indestructible – foreign metals in material flow can shred through belts. Kinder Australia has designed a solution. THERE ARE COUNTLESS WAYS that metal can fall into a bulk material stream. A tool could be dropped and land on the conveyor, or it could have been introduced upstream. If left undetected, it poses a serious threat to the conveyor belt. When metal fragments become mixed with bulk materials, they can wreak havoc as they travel at speed along the conveyor system. The sharp metal edges may tear into the conveyor belt resulting in expensive repairs and downtime. David Zhungu, a design engineer at Kinder Australia, said metal is unwanted, but not uncommon. The goal is to target certain areas of the conveyor with engineered solutions to prevent damage of the belt occurring. “One thing people often disregard when running metal detection systems is how impactful the reduced downtime and maintenance costs can be,” Zhungu said. “The belt is one of the most expensive components of a conveyor system and any small punctures and tears can rapidly rip the belt. “Early warning systems save operators a lot of money, which is why we provide

a solution that aids in the longevity of the belt.” As part of its belt protection system, Kinder Australia supplies metal detectors, which have a high level of accuracy and adaptability. When installed correctly, they can inform a site immediately if there is a foreign metal present in the conveyed material. Metal detectors are best installed before the transfer point to prevent metal from going through the crusher or piercing the conveyor belt after picking up speed. The sensitivity of the metal detector can be adjusted accordingly to prevent false alarm metal detections. When metal is detected, the relay output is deactivated, allowing for various actions to be triggered. The relay can be connected to activate an alarm, send a stop impulse to the conveyor belt, or signal a scraping device, among other possibilities. Depending on the application and space limitations, Kinder Australia can recommend the ideal metal detector configuration. Zhungu said Kinder works with engineers to assist in fine tuning the systems to locate metals.

The belt rip detector switch will alert to tears in the conveyor belt immediately to prevent catastrophic failure of the belt.

44 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

“The manufacturer also provides us with support and assistance for our customers through the provision of detailed installation, Operation and Maintenance manuals,” he said. “Before we recommend a metal detector, we always ask the customer questions what bulk materials they are conveying, the belt width and burden depth to ensure they have the right tool for the task. It’s vital to get the correct information here, as there are several things that can affect installation, such as electrical interference, vibration, and mounting limitations. “Our field engineers go out to a customer’s site to provide technical advice on the mechanical installation of the metal detectors. I provide the electrical expertise in determining the size of Search coil required and if any electrical interference is within the chosen installation location of the search coil. As well as the power requirements to run the Electronic Control unit of the metal detectors and provide trouble shooting tips if any problems arise. It is vital qualified Electricians carry out the installation work, Zhungu said. If foreign metal manages to slip through undetected, Kinder Australia includes another line of defence in the form of its K-Flexal elastic belt support system. The system is made up of flexible polyurethane saddles that effectively allow the absorption of impact forces under the chute as product is dropped onto the belt. The UHMWPE pads on the surface of the saddles provide low friction contact with the belt. The drop height, belt speed and material’s abrasiveness are used in determining the K-Flexal’s effectiveness to support the belt correctly. If the metal has imbedded into the belt, the damage may already be done before any operator notices. The belt rip detector switch will alert to tears in the conveyor belt immediately to prevent catastrophic failure of the belt.

When a rip occurs in the belt, any material or ripped section of conveyor belt caught by the wire rope activates the switch, halting the conveyor operation. The belt rip detector switch gives operators peace of mind that no tear will pass by undetected. To monitor all sides of the belt, two belt Rip Detector switches and wire kits are needed. Zhungu said organisations that take proactive measures to mitigate the risks associated with foreign metal contaminants benefit more than they would expect. “When a belt rips, the downtime can be extensive. Not only do you need to replace or repair the belt, but you also lose days of vital productivity,” he said. “Awareness and the implementation of engineered solutions such as K-Flexal elastic belt support system, metal detector kit and the belt rip detector switch will target problematic metal in three different

Kinder’s belt protection system uses several components.

ways – working collectively to avoid conveyor belt damage. “Our customers have had great

feedback, saying that the system keeps conveyors operational for much longer.”

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MAINTENANCE

The Dugless 903 can clean up large volumes of spilt material quickly.

Dugless 903 does the work of a 20-strong team The Minprovise Dugless 903 mini loader cleans up underneath conveyor systems without the need for shutting them down. AFTER MORE THAN A DECADE on the market, the Dugless has been carefully improved to meet the needs of the bulk handling industry. The most recent iteration of the Dugless – Dugless 903 – comes from a good pedigree. The original Dugless 900 claimed the best practice in the occupational health and safety category at the fourth Australian Bulk Handling Awards, a year after it entered the market. Now, 10 years on, the Dugless 903 is providing solutions to for a range of Australian industries. Minprovise founder and managing director Graham Townsend conceptualised the Dugless 903 after seeing the need to innovate existing machines. In Townsend’s eyes, stand-on machines were too high to clean under conveyor belts, while the small wheelbase could be a safety risk. This led to Minprovise creating the Dugless, which could be remotely controlled and cleaned while a conveyor belt remained operating. ABHR spoke to Minprovise general manager Tony Sutton about the Dugless 903 and its innovations to stay at the forefront of bulk handling. “The major advantage of the Dugless, of course, is that you can clean or retrieve spillage while the conveyor is still running, so no shutdown is needed for any clean up. And then it’s a spray with the hose, a quick and easy check of filters, and it’s ready for action again.”

Safely remote controlled from up to 50m away, the Dugless 903 eliminates manual handling and can clean up large volumes of spilt material in a fraction of the time. The new generation features a 3D-printed airbox with an enhanced air intake system that delivers more uptime between air filter changes. It also uses vortex cyclones that provide an enhanced level of particle extraction, and an air blowback system that expels the ingress of water from the machine after it’s washed. “We could clearly see that the cyclone system pulled dust particles out much more effectively,” Sutton said. “You can expect to be around 14 per cent more efficient every day because of fewer filter change outs. That translates into a significant amount of time and savings.” Dust is a significant concern for any mining operation, especially in dry and windy areas, so it plays an essential factor in the life of any mining machine. Advantages of a cyclone-style air intake system include significantly reducing the number of filter changes and improved maintenance access to filter cartridges. Minprovise has designed the Dugless 903 so a multi-cyclone block will fit into a 56-centimetre-tall footprint. “We’ve been able to get a multicyclone block into a very, very small space,” Sutton said. “Everything has to be compact. There’s nothing off the shelf

46 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

that you can buy that’s able to achieve what the Dugless 903 does.” A major stock feed conveyor in Western Australia required cleaning and servicing. The product below the system had been building over an extended period, becoming dense, more problematic and posing a serious risk to the conveyor return rollers. Premature roller failure was inevitable due to product ingression. This system needed to be cleared of the dormant iron ore below, fast and efficiently. The spillage topped an average height of 400mm and 200m of the conveyor needed to be serviced. Two Dugless machines, manoeuvred by operators, worked side by side for 15 hours and reclaimed an estimated 100 tonnes of iron ore that was re-instated into the site operation process. The stock feed conveyor was able to continue to work without production shutdown. Whether cleaning underneath conveyor systems on dry and dusty mine sites or sludgy spillage on project sites and even the odd chicken coup, Sutton said the Dugless 903 has a significant advantage of reaching places that conventional front-end loaders can’t get to, and neither can people. The buying numbers have vindicated the success. According to Minprovise, one of the world’s largest mining companies bought nearly 20 units after being impressed by its capabilities.

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MAINTENANCE

Bulk materials handling plant are a composite of machines and components.

talk

Steve Davis discusses what bulk handling sites can do to make maintenance safer and less expensivein the long term. MAINTENANCE.

STEVE DAVIS Steve Davis discusses Australia’s bulk handling sector, highlighting the advancements the industry has made and the organisations that are providing local innovations and expertise. Steve has worked in bulk handling for 30 years, for both resource companies and professional engineering firms, in Australia, South Africa, the Middle East and Canada. His experience encompasses such commodities as iron ore, coal, potash, phosphates, petcoke, sulphur, sands and grain.

It’s the thing that we must implement from the moment of commissioning until cessation of operation. The cost of ongoing maintenance adds to a significant amount over the life of a plant. This cost comes off the operation’s bottom line in dollars spent and production lost. Maintenance activities are typically less safe than operations, as access is often compromised, and maintainers must relearn activities. Much of what can be done to make maintenance safer and cheaper occurs in the preimplementation/feasibility phase of a project. Project owners and engineers must define what is expected and how this will be monitored and measured. Requiring an arbitrary 97 per

48 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

cent plant availability is fine provided the project is willing to pay for the equipment, components, redundancy, and personnel to achieve this. It must be possible to accurately measure availability, or the target is meaningless. Targeting 65 per cent plant availability is easier to achieve but must still be monitored and measured. 65 per cent availability demands a plant that has nameplate capacity roughly 50 per cent higher than 97 per cent availability to achieve the same target throughput. Low efficiency plant is therefore more expensive to implement, but also more expensive to operate. The 35 per cent loss in availability adds up to much maintenance and spares spend. Materials handling plants generally do not have process upsets affecting

availability, but many suffer availability loss through logistics issues. Materials handling plants rarely operate in isolation and impacts from upstream and downstream transport operations must be considered. Assume two plants have the same components and configuration, and a good one has been designed to be maintenance friendly, while the other has not. The good plant design included well planned maintenance access and procedures, all in a 3D animation. Defined spares were part of the project cost. This was the result of a design team who brought in operational readiness and had plant maintenance experience. In the other plant, the design team provided no maintenance input, and consideration for maintenance

is a few hoist beams, access panels and assumption that scaffold and EWPs will provide most access. Token spares, if any, are part of the project cost. The individual equipment reliability should be the same for both plants, so failure rates will be comparable. Mean time between failure (MTBF) should be similar. Cost of new components will be similar. The difference in availability will be the amount of time taken to repair. Experience shows that time to repair (TTR or MTTR if there is sufficient data for Mean value) will be much longer for the second option due to poor maintenance consideration, four times as much or more perhaps. Simplistically, assume each plant stops for failure three times each week on average, 156 times each year. MTTR across all repairs for the good plant is 4.5 hours for a total downtime of 702

hours for availability of 92 per cent. For the bad plant with 18 hours MTTR, downtime is 2808 hours for availability of 68 per cent. The difference of 2106 hours maintenance time exposes maintainers to more safety risk and demands a plant with some 35 per cent higher capacity to produce the same annual throughput, with a higher capital cost and a higher operating cost. Pressure to perform can lead to rushed maintenance, injury, and loss of skilled workers. Further, if the good plant were to purchase better equipment, the MTBF might be increased so that weekly outage drops to two times; availability increases to about 95 per cent. In broad terms, better availability will potentially increase indirect investment, although this is likely offset in direct costs by building a smaller

plant. Operating costs should be lower. Options include provision of user requirements and scopes that clearly define project expectations at the start of development. Make these documents live and update. If availability (or reliability) is to be a criterion for achieving targets, then methods of measuring and calculating must be defined. There are several software programs available that model plant availability during feasibility stages. If the materials handling plant is connected to an external transport system, such as road, rail, or ship, use discrete event modelling to predict size of buffer stores required to minimise influence on downtime. Bring in an operational readiness team (ORT) early in definition. At the end of definition, the project scope should have a flow sheet, arrangement and equipment

Maintenance activities are typically less safe than operations, as access is often compromised.

Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023 І 49

MAINTENANCE

Many plants are designed solely on the erection process, which often results in difficult maintenance.

selection tailored to expectations. User requirements and scopes updated to match, and the warrantee base defined. During design, use 3D models and animation to simulate common maintenance issues. Include tools such as C hooks to remove pulleys without cutting the belts, consider how best to replace idlers in the quickest and safest manner possible. Will condition monitoring provide data that allows predictive maintenance instead of planned maintenance or plain firefighting? Look to Australia for innovative solutions. Vayeron, Hawk, and others are available for idlers and pulleys. There are several online belt and liner monitoring systems. New methods are being developed regularly. Set up a maintenance management system (CMMS or other) that identifies failures and causes. A system that allows input such as “C2 conveyor idler failed” with no detail is all but useless. We need location along and across the C2 conveyor, e.g. chainage plus position (centre left or right wing),

carry, return or other and what failed, e.g. seized bearing, collapsed bearing, shell damage etc. Add photos, make the system portable. Educate users on benefits of good data. Only allow preset inputs as random definitions negate data review. A good maintenance management system will allow analysis of failures and provide a basis to improve. Many operations accept failures, replace components, and move on without assessing whether the system can be improved. As an example, if idlers are replaced as they fail, with associated labour and downtime costs, but no records kept, it is difficult to understand whether the failures are localised or widespread, whether the failures are from the design of the idler, from the idler loading or other causes. With good data and regular analysis, we can focus on hot spots, understand cause, and improve the system. There are other aspects of equipment that benefit maintenance. The area that makes the most difference is in

50 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

the initial design where provision to maintain should be integral to the concept. Many plants are designed solely on the erection process. This is good, but often results in difficult maintenance, lack of access and the necessity for potentially unsafe workarounds. Ask what can fail, how can this be replaced safely and quickly, can obstructions be relocated, what access is required for personnel and cranage, are specific tools available to improve maintenance activities. Consider basics. How easy can guards be removed and replaced? Where are they stored when removed? How can idlers be removed and replaced? How are pulleys and pulleys bearing, drives and the like removed? Are there better ways to replace wear liners? Are chute skirts and belt cleaning devices simple to access, adjust and replace? Look at every flange connection in the system and assess the number of bolts necessary; chute top plates and access plates will have multiple bolts that are not required to hold them in place. It

P y a

C yo

is common to have bolted fasteners that are inaccessible for ‘rattle guns’ so it takes much longer to remove and replace. Establish a maximum manual lifting weight but consider the manual lifting basics and reduce this weight to match any contortions needed to access the item. Ask whether “conventional” in situ wear liners is appropriate? Are drop in liners or rotable components a better solution? Many plants are provided with only basic maintenance instructions, often extracts from component suppliers’ manuals. It is still unusual to see maintenance methods with details for removing and replacing these components. Creation of work procedures is often left to maintenance personnel who have not been briefed on design intent and fall back to ‘traditional methods’. If the design has specific maintenance methodologies, tell us about them. CAD design software provides capability for animation of

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difficult maintenance issues, and it is easy to provide basic drawings that highlight methods. Realistic spares requirements are needed to avoid the full plant outages that can occur when spares must be sourced from offshore sources. The Australian marketplace has many suppliers that have components that should be considered in design to reduce maintenance input. There are several suppliers of custom guards in various materials. Plastic guards are lightweight, zero maintenance and generally well considered designs that are easy to remove and replace. There are belt lifters available that facilitate easier and safer idler change. We have suppliers with belt cleaning systems that self-adjust and are easily maintainable. We have maintenance friendly skirting systems. Bulk materials handling plant is a composite of machines and components and the interfaces between them often result in high wear and

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increased maintenance. Poor chute design, fabrication and installation leads to high belt and liner wear and is a common cause of belt tacking issues leading to belt and idler damage. Close the loop between the initial design and the installed product as many installations differ from design in dimensions, location, and surface profile. Look to proven chute suppliers and incorporate chute systems. Incorrect skirt and cleaner selection can damage belts. Feeders that are allowed to operate without a protective bed wear out quicker. Poor dust management systems allow build up causing damage or needing additional clean up. Each interface has aspects that make-orbreak functionality. Reduced failures result in higher availability, higher production, lower safety risk and reduced pressure on maintenance personnel. Higher availability is proven to correlate with lower injury statistics.

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ENGINEERING

Using Eurocode in replacement of Australian Standards for silo design Luke Stone and Samuel Lord investigate some of the key differences between EN1991-4:2006 and AS3774:1996 and provide recommendations to be implemented with respect to updates and endorsement of AS3774. AUSTRALIAN STANDARD AS3774-1996 “Loads on bulk solids containers” has been withdrawn by Standards Australia due to its age and, because the committee BD/65 is no longer active, it was not reviewed or endorsed. As such, guidance is being sought by companies in the mining and metals sector, and other industries, regarding which design standard should be used for bins and silos. The comparison of these two standards is based on a presentation titled “Advancements in Bulk Storage Vessel Design Utilising Finite Element Analysis and Discrete Element Method Modelling” given by Luke Stone at the International Conference for Bulk Solids Handling 2023. This white paper utilises a typical silo type found in industry, namely a simple medium/intermediate sized cylindrical silo with a steep conical hopper, refer Figure 1. The material property data contained in Table 1 has been used as the basis for generating pressures profiles in accordance with each standard. Before delving into the details and equations of each standard the following are highlighted as key shortcomings of Table 1: Summary of material property data

Material Property

Value

Units

Bulk Density

1200

kg/m3

Angle of Repose

35 – 40

degrees

Angle of Internal Friction

52 – 58

degrees

Wall Friction (mild steel)

32 – 36

degrees

EN1991-4 in comparison to AS3774: • No guidance for impact loads either from material rolling down a repose pile or material being dumped into the container • No guidance for pressure applied to gates and feeders with the consideration of stiffness • No guidance for end wall effects for slot hoppers • No guidance for loads on internal structures The following are highlighted as key shortcomings of AS3774 in comparison to EN1991-4: • No guidance on how the vessel should be analysed and verified (Eurocode 1 part 4 forms a part of a larger collection that covers assessment, including fatigue analysis) • AS3774 has reduced resolution of silo load case assessment compared to EN1991-4, which defines: • Action Assessment Classes 1, 2 and 3; allowing different levels of analysis complexity based on silo size • Differentiation between slender, intermediate, and squat formulas and assumptions • Differentiation between steep and shallow hopper formulas and assumptions Generally, each standard follows a similar method for generating the material loads with similar nomenclature and equations. There are subtle differences with respect to classifications, assumptions, multipliers/factors, and reference locations. For example, in AS3774 a medium tall silo is classified by 1 ≤ hb/ dc ≤ 3.0 compared to EN1991-4, which uses 1 < hc/dc < 2 for the basis; the key difference being the reference heights of hb and hc where one includes the hopper and the other does not.

52 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

Figure 1: Steep bin dimensions a) AS3774 nomenclature; b) EN1991-4 nomenclature.

When comparing the standards the following aspects are noteworthy: Normal pressures on vertical walls during initial filling: • T hese are calculated using the Janssen depth function, unit weight, lateral pressure ratio, and characteristic dimension of the silo are used • A S3774 provides an equation for the lateral pressure ratio whereas EN1991-4 provides a testing procedure or, in lieu of this, an approximation based on internal friction • F or the example data and silos,

Figure 2: EN1991-4 normal pressure flow profile (extracted from [2]).

a value for KAS3774 = 0.35 (for lower, upper, and mean values) and KEN1991-4 = 0.17, 0.23 and 0.2 (for lower, upper, and mean values) • The difference in K calculation results in different normal pressures being calculated hear tractions on vertical walls during S initial filling: • This is simply the normal pressure multiplied by the wall friction, which is common to both standards ormal pressures on hoppers walls N during initial filling: • Both standards derive the hopper pressure based on vertical pressure using the same equation; however, there is a difference in factors used to scale this value • AS3774 calculates the hopper pressure on the basis of vertical pressure with the addition of a hydrostatic component and normal pressure multiplier • Using this approach results in a linearly increasing profile • EN1991-4 takes a different approach, first applying a constant bottom load magnifier to capture unforeseen load transfer to the hopper from the silo before adding a power-based load factor using hopper shape characteristics and weight of material • Using this approach results in an initial peak load at the transition / upper portion of the hopper before

decreasing at the outlet (for steep hoppers) and a similar profile to AS3774 for shallow hoppers (however still decreases to the outlet), refer Figure 2 hear tractions on hopper walls during S initial filling: • This is simply the normal pressure multiplied by the wall friction, which is common to both standards ormal pressure on vertical walls N during flow: • AS3774 and EN1991-4 follow a similar method albeit using different factors

for flow loads; both standards take the calculated normal pressures for initial filling and multiply them by a pressure multiplier • A S3774 uses the wall pressure multiplier, which is a function of geometry and a constant exponent or a constant factor of 1.2 (whichever is larger) and a constant factor of either 1 or 1.2 for axisymmetric or planar flow to further factor the pressures • A S3774 also offers guidance on reduced pressure due to funnel flow behaviour • E N1991-4 uses the discharge factor for horizontal pressure which, depending on action class, varies from 1.0 to 1.15 or a calculated value based on eccentricity, diameter, and a patch load factor hear tractions on vertical walls S during flow: • A S3774 uses a constant friction traction multiplier of 1.2 or 1.4 depending on axisymmetric of plane flow container geometry to factor the initial fill tractions • E N1991-4 uses the discharge factor for wall friction traction which, depending on the action class, varies from 1.0 to 1.1 or a calculated value based on eccentricity, diameter, and a patch load factor

Table 2: Load case descriptions

Characteristic Value Load Case Wall Friction

Lateral Pressure Ratio

Angle of Internal Friction

Silo Pressures (Common to AS3774 and EN1991-4) 1

Lower

Upper

Lower

Upper

Lower

Upper

Hopper Pressures AS3774 Fillling and Discharge

Lower

Upper

EN1991-4 Filling Discharge

Lower Lower

Lower Upper

Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023 І 53

ENGINEERING

Table 3: Load case 1 normalised in terms of Kilonewtons

Initial Filling (kN)

Discharge (kN)

AS3774

EN1991-4

N1991-4 compared to AS3774

AS3774

EN1991-4

EN1991-4 compared to AS3774

Silo Loads z axis

-481

-440

91.5%

-577

-428

74%

Hopper Loads z axis

-719

-940

131%

-783

-1310

167%

Total Bin Load z axis

-1200

-1380

115%

-1360

-1738

128%

ormal pressure on hopper walls N during flow: • AS3774 takes the calculated vertical pressure and factors it using a similar power based factor function to EN1991-4 and then applies an additional normal pressure ratio for flow conditions. • EN1991-4 utilises the same method as the initial filling but with a modified hopper characteristic value for the discharge flow loads • The two methods result in a similar pressure profile plot. Shear tractions on hopper walls during flow: • This is simply the normal pressure multiplied by the wall

friction which is common to both standards The preceding section has presented insights into some of the key differences between the standards, but it is not until comparing the results directly that it becomes clear what influence these differences have. Refer Figure 3 and Figure 4 for the silo load pressures calculated, and Table 2, which outlines the definition of each load case used for the load profiles and is adapted from Table 6.1 [1] and Table 3.1 [2]. AS3774 and EN1991-4 initial loads appear similar for the silo section while the hopper loads are approximately 30 per cent larger for EN1991-4 and with a different profile. Overall, the EN1991-4

Figure 3: Comparison of AS3774 to EN1991-4 Initial Filling and Flow Loads: Load Case 1

Figure 4: Comparison of AS3774 to EN1991-4 Initial Filling and Flow Loads: Load Case 2

initial filling loads are approximately 15 per cent larger than those derived to AS3774, refer Table 3. A key trend for the flow loads is also observed with AS3774 tending to result in much larger silo wall pressures (approximately 26 per cent) while EN1991-4 results in significantly larger hopper loads (approximately 67 per cent). Overall, the EN1991-4 discharge loads are approximately 28 per cent larger than those derived to AS3774, refer Table 3. These differences in pressure profile, shape, and magnitude, will impact on the hopper design with respect to sizing of stiffeners and strength assessment; particularly where flat surfaces are present on slot hoppers and at transition details. It would appear from this review that EN1991-4 results in a more conservative load being applied to the bin. Following this assessment, it is recommended that: • Eurocode is adopted as an interim method as an endorsed standard for bin and silo design; while AS3774 is updated and goes through the endorsement process. • AS3774 should be adapted and updated to include information from EN1991-4, namely inclusion of: • patch loads • class definitions • increased resolution on assessment

•

• •

methodology (influence of the silo size and hopper shape) Eurocode standards for engineering and strength assessment (level of analysis required) AS3774 should also be updated to include guidance: on the use of Finite Element Analysis techniques (in particular non-linear analysis) on the inclusion of multiple hopper segments on silo quaking and effect of cycles on fatigue life.

References [1] AS3774 (1996): Loads on bulk solids containers [2] EN1991-4 (2006): Eurocode 1: Actions on structures – Part 4: Silos and tanks

54 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

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PNEUMATIC CONVEYING

Troubleshooting pneumatic conveying systems Emeritus Professor Mark Jones, a senior consultant with TUNRA Bulk Solids, discusses pneumatic conveying systems common issues and how to prevent them. PNEUMATIC CONVEYING IS A rather flexible method of material transfer and conveying that has many desirable features. It is easy to route pipelines through production spaces utilising very little space. It is also very easy to deal with changes in conveying direction which would be difficult to achieve with other conveying systems such as screw conveyors or belt conveyors. However, the deceptively simple pneumatic conveying system is often non-intuitive in its operation and complicated by the fact, that in most situations, one cannot observe the flow in the pipeline. Yet in spite of the system simplicity, there are many instances of operating problems occurring with such systems that this short article addresses. Of course, there are a myriad of issues that can occur that inhibit the reliable operations of the system. Many of these issues are easily solved, however, there are a number of more fundamental problems that are not so easy to solve once in operation but that could have easily been overcome at the design stage. This article will address four major issues that are common operating problems in pneumatic conveying.

the point at which material falls out of suspension and, if the material does not have dense phase capability, the material will build up in the pipeline until a blockage occurs. In many instances, the blockage will occur at a bend. In dense phase conveying, the minimum transport velocity will correspond to one of two conditions. Firstly, the condition where there is insufficient velocity for the powdered material to remain fluidised. In this case, the material will deaerate and will generally fill the pipe until a blockage occurs. In the case of coarse granular solids that have dense phase slug flow capability, conveying will stop due to insufficient drag force on the particles to overcome wall friction. For successful, reliable conveying, the design velocity at the point where material is fed into the pipeline needs to exceed the minimum transport velocity. A 20 per cent margin above the minimum transport velocity is a good rule of thumb in design as this allows for any temporary surge in feed rate which would increase the pressure

Pipeline blockage Pipeline blockages are a significant problem that impact the reliability of a system and significantly reduce the time-averaged conveying rate. One of the most critical parameters of a pneumatic conveying system is the pick-up velocity at the point where material is fed into the conveying pipeline. For a given material, there will be a minimum transport velocity below which conveying will stop. In the case of dilute phase conveying, the minimum transport velocity will be

56 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

demand and thereby reduce the conveying velocity. To ensure the required velocity at the feed point, it is necessary to match the conveying pipeline internal diameter to the air mass flow rate and the static pressure at the feed point. It is important to note here that using nominal pipe sizes for these calculations can lead to serious errors. Instead, the actual internal diameter should be used to determine the pipeline cross-sectional area. There are a variety of circumstances that will lead to the inlet air velocity dropping to below the minimum transport velocity and hence to pipeline blockage. Some of the more common circumstances are listed below: • Lack of adequate material feed rate control leading to pressure demand surges • Lack of adequate air flow rate control leading to reductions in air velocity • Lack of purging of the pipeline after a blockage has occurred or at the end of the conveying cycle • Excessive air leakage especially when using rotary valve feeders Figure 1: The influence of material and air flow rates on the conveying line pressure drop for coke fines.

• A change in the material being conveyed without taking into account the change in conveying characteristics of the material • Increasing the conveying equivalent length (either conveying distance or adding to the number of bends) without adjusting the material feed rate to compensate

Systems not achieving rate In many respects, the causes of systems not achieving rate follow on from symptoms of unreliable flow at least partly due to pipeline blockage or intermittent blockage. For a given system and a particular material, the operating point of the system is defined by the air mass flow rate, the material mass flow rate and the conveying line pressure drop. Operating point three on this graph is typical of low-pressure systems using a rotary valve and blower combination. This represents an air mass flow rate of 0.75 kg/s, a material mass flow rate of 1.25 tonne/h and a conveying line pressure drop of 0.8 bar (80 kPa). The arrow represents the shift in the operating point should a surge in material mass flow rate occur leading to an increase in pressure demand and a slight decrease in air flow rate due to the change in volumetric efficiency of the blower. In this case, should the operating point transgress the dotted line limit (which represents the velocity at the conveying pipe inlet of approximately 15 m/s), the minimum transport velocity for this material will be reached. Hence, in this case, the unreliability of the system will be caused by approaching the limit of conveyability for the material. In the case of operating point four, a surge in material feed rate is unlikely to be sufficient to cause a blockage or unreliability due to transgressing the minimum transport velocity. In this case, the limit is likely to be imposed by the blower pressure limit which is typically a maximum pressure drop of 1.0 bar (100 kPa). However, ultimately, either scenario will lead to unreliability and the system failing to deliver the conveying rate specified. Hence, it is important that neither limit be reached. This requires adequate control over both air mass flow rate and material mass flow

rate in order to control the conveying line pressure drop. There are options available to uprate systems to achieve a greater mass throughput. However, some of these require significant modifications and cost. Below are a series of approaches to uprating systems which are listed in order of increasing cost. • Reducing the resistance of the system By far the cheapest approach is to reduce the equivalent length of the conveying pipeline. In some cases, it is possible to change the pipeline routing and thereby reduce the number of bends in the system. By reducing the resistance of the pipeline in this way, the reduction in air only pressure drop can be used to convey more solids. Given that, in dilute phase flow, the equivalent length of a single bend can equate to more than 10 metres of straight pipeline, it is often possible to achieve an increase in conveying rate of 5-15 per cent within the same overall pressure drop. This is clearly a cost-effective approach and should be given very serious consideration prior to considering more expensive options. • Changing blind tees and sharp elbows Blind tees and sharp elbows have a particularly high air only pressure drop. Whilst these can be good for reducing bend erosive wear they are particularly expensive in terms of pressure loss. Hence where appropriate long radius bends will minimise the pipeline overall resistance. • Utilising stepped pipelines In systems utilising higher pressure drops (typically 250-500 kPa), the air

expansion in a single bore pipeline is significant. Hence, the use of a stepped pipeline has a dramatic effect on controlling the velocity along the pipeline and reducing the air only pressure drop. In some cases, it is possible to double the throughput by stepping the pipeline. This is a very cost-effective approach. Figure 2 shows the effect on the conveying velocity by stepping the pipeline twice along its length: As can be seen from this example, a single bore pipeline would see the conveying air velocity expand from 16.5 m/s to 81.5 m/s whereas, with the two steps in bore, the conveying air velocity is kept between 16.5 m/s and 31.8 m/s. This leads to a very significant reduction in conveying line pressure drop for the same conveying rate which can then be used to convey more material. • Utilising larger air movers Increasing the pressure drop available for conveying will clearly increase the throughput capability of the system roughly in proportion to the pressure drop increase. However, this will normally require a larger air mover with both an increased air pressure capability and an increase in volumetric flow rate to maintain the conveying velocity at the feed point. • Utilising larger bore pipelines Clearly, increasing the bore of the pipeline will allow a greater solids conveying rate for the same pressure drop. However, to maintain the conveying velocity, an increase in volumetric flow rate will be required which will require a larger air mover. In addition, the

Figure 2: Conveying air velocity profile for stepped pipeline system.

Figure 1 – The influence of material and air flow rates on the conveying line pressure drop for coke fines.

Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023 І 57

PNEUMATIC CONVEYING

significant increase in air flow rate may require a larger gas-solids separator at the end of the system. Hence, in many ways, increasing the pipeline bore leads to the need for many new components or a replacement of the system.

Operating problems So far, the discussion has been around pipeline blockage and system performance, however, two significant operational problems are often encountered in pneumatic conveying systems: wear of pipelines and product degradation. • Wear of pipelines and bends Pipeline wear is a significant operational problem for materials that are erosive in nature such as sand and alumina. Fig 3 shows the wear of a bend by alumina: The most significant factor in pipeline erosion is the incident velocity of impact of the material against the bend wall. In fact, the erosion rate is a power law relationship with velocity to the exponent of 2.8. That is, a doubling of the velocity will lead to more than 4 times the erosion rate. Hence, conversely, reducing the velocity is the single most effective method of reducing erosion. However, there is a limit on how much the velocity can be reduced as the minimum transport velocity must be maintained. Thus, when all that can be done in reducing velocity has been achieved, the focus changes to the bend geometry and the impact angle of the material within the bend. Figure 4 shows the variation in specific erosion with impact angle for both ductile and brittle materials.

Figure 4: Variation of erosive wear with particle impact angle for ductile and brittle surface materials.

Figure 5: Influence of particle velocity on the degradation of aluminium oxide particles.

Ductile materials such as mild steel and aluminium achieve the maximum erosion rate at an angle of impact of between 20 and 30 degrees: This just happens to be the impact angle for standard radius bends, whereas the maximum erosion rate for brittle materials occurs at normal impact. Hence, it is important to select the type of bend and the material of construction for the particular application. Long radius bends with wear liners such as basalt or ceramic can extend the life of the bend. In severe erosion, mild steel blind tees are excellent but there is a pressure drop penalty that needs to be taken into account at the design phase. • Material attrition / product quality issues There is often a requirement in pneumatic conveying to preserve the particle size distribution of the material during conveying. However, the impact of material at a bend can lead to particle breakage and to changes in the size distribution. In many ways, this is the opposite side of the bend erosion issue: in this case the material is damaged by the bends rather than the material damaging the bends. The same principles apply to a large extent. Again, conveying velocity,

particularly the velocity of impact, is the dominating parameter. Reducing the velocity of impact will in most cases reduce particle attrition. However, in this case an energy threshold often applies: below a certain threshold, there is insufficient force to break the particles; above this threshold, breakage occurs progressively until an upper threshold is reached. Figure 5 illustrates this point: This example shows the results of firing aluminium oxide particles against a target through a range of velocity. It can be seen that below about 8 m/s no particles are broken and above about 25 m/s 100 per cent of the particles are broken with a progressive transition between these two velocities. This trend is seen for many materials that are fragile and suffer from attrition. Reducing the conveying velocity to as low a value that is consistent with the minimum transport velocity is the first step in reducing particle attrition. In addition, long radius bends that reduce the impact angle as much as possible are also prudent steps in reducing particle attrition.

Figure 3: Bend wear from conveying alumina.

Closing comments This article only ‘scratches the surface’ of this very complex topic. There are myriad variables which have an impact on pneumatic conveying performance, and this article touches on some of the more common and substantive issues that one comes across in troubleshooting pneumatic conveying systems.

About the Author Emeritus Professor Mark Jones FRSN is Director of the Centre for Bulk Solids and Particulate Technologies and Senior Consultant to TUNRA Bulk Solids Handling Research Associates at the University of Newcastle, Australia

58 І Australian Bulk Handling Review: November/December 2023

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