MechChem Africa February 2018

⎪ Materials handling, conveying, lifting and logistics ⎪

points

Conveyor belts keepmining and industry moving.“Ifabeltsystemexperiencesextend- ed downtime, the entire production chain often collapses and intensive maintenance and repair work are required. Monitoring systems helpour customers detect damages early and thereby reduce downtimes and save maintenance costs,” explained Hannes Friederichsen, head of the Conveyor Belt business unit for Continental AG. “With this acquisition we have added technical sensing knowledge andR&Dcom- petence to strengthen our expertise in the area of predictivemaintenance. At the same time, it is a strategic cornerstone to enlarge our service capabilities in industries such as mining,” saysHans-JürgenDuensing, who is responsiblefortheContiTechdivisiononthe Continental Executive Board. q “Optimising chute performance is a pro- cess of defining the geometry of the chute to reliably convey material from one point to another,” he says. “The complexity of chute performancemeans that chute design should be carried out at the plant design stage, and not added as a conveyance to transfer mate- rial fromonepoint toanother at a later stage.” To ensure customer confidence and as- surance that the product will meet its stated objectives, Weba Chute Systems provides process andperformance guarantees, backed up by its substantial support network. “The results of our research, engineering and quality focus is reducedmaintenance require- ments in thefinal product aswell as improved transfer conditions, longer conveyor belt life and higher throughput,” he says. q with a hands-on approach adopted by the engineering team, who together can leverage many years of field experience. During a site visit at the start of the process, the team identifies transfer issues and collaborates closely with the customer to develop a tailor-made solution. “Cost factors are front-of-mind for all stakeholders in the mining sector, so we have to ensure a solution that will increase the return on investmentwithin as short a period as possible,” he says. It is also insufficient to view the design of transfer chutes in isolation from the broader working environ- ment. Taking a systems approach to bulk solids handlingdesign is essential toensureoperational characteris- tics arematched throughout the plant. This is a prerequisite to ensuring smooth materials flow through the entire plant.

Above: Extensive use is made of sophisticated 3D computer software by Weba Chute Systems.

Left: The effect of the chute’s performance on the life of conveyor belts deserves attention. products using sound engineering principles and sophisticated 3D software,” says Baller. “WealsouseDiscreteElementMethod(DEM) simulation as a verification tool. “We invest thousands of research hours into understanding the dynamics of bulk materials handling at transfer points,” he says. “We follow up the system designs with qualitymanufacture inour ISO9001:2015ac- credited facility. However, this capacity is only as valuable as the data that we get from our customers – so a closeworking relationship is a vital cornerstone for a successful outcome.” Baller emphasises that eachproject begins

He emphasises that one of the designer’s aims must be to achieve controlled transfer of material onto the conveyor belt, reducing wear and tear on belts while also minimising the impact that creates dust. The results are cost savings for customers andbetter occupa- tional health and safety compliance. “The ‘superfloweffect’ isdesigned intoour

Belt imaging to enhance preventative maintenance Global conveyor belt company, Continental AG, recently acquired South African Tech Company Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) to strengthen its offering for con- veyor belts. The Pinetown-based company is known for its fundamental work for x-ray andmagnetic image-based systems that are used for the early detection of damages in fabric and steel cord conveyor belts. nance, thus reducing costly downtime. Until now, technicians have had to in- spect an individual conveyor belt while it is stationaryor running at a reducedoperating speed. The advantage of AIT’s permanently installedmonitoring systems is that damage to conveyor belts can be detected early, while the system is running, and it can there- fore be repaired in good time.

AIT technology provides a high-reso- lution, easy-to-interpret, magnetic image of damaged or broken steel cords for the verification of potential alarm conditions. At the same time, it gives operators real- time online interactive access to review the damagedbelt locations and their severity. In addition, the splice integrity anddamage se- verity can bemonitored over time, enabling a historical data comparison.

This condition monitoring technology for conveyor belts, developed byAIT for the international bulk-handlingmarket, utilises innovative magnetic sensing technology that is verified by extensive x-ray imaging measurements. The technology provides continuous online condition monitoring of steel cord reinforced conveyor belting and reduces the risk of belt failure by providing data that is used for timely plannedmainte-

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