As I Read It..
..you are expecting to shove 2000th-1 down a chute which presently blocks with 400th-1 just by modifying the liners. This is a very ambitious undertaking. What is the capacity of the existing system?
I appreciate the stickiness problem with copper concentrate and suggest that you really match the loading time with the tides. If you have 2 tides a day then you probably can't justify halving the outloading rate. In any event increasing chute space from 400 to 1000th-1 is still a big issue.
Have you accounted for the interface between the chute and receiving skirts etc.?
Some visual presentation of your idea would help.
Besides the stickiness, copper concentrates are still extremely abrasive after exit from the kiln. On the Copperbelt we used cast steel liners which had integral hooks for attaching to angle stringers in the chute. In your case the stringers will pack with e.g. sands, so you would have to clean out before installing the liners.
Do a Google to find out who still provides liners for Phalaborwa or the Copperbelt. ■
John Gateley johngateley@hotmail.com www.the-credible-bulk.com
Re: Multi-Use Transfer Chute Lining
Originally Posted by johngateley
The chutes are getting a complete redesign, geometry and lining. The current design plan is to limit the contact between the copper concentrate and the walls of the chute as much as possible
The shiploader has a rated capacity of 2000th-1 so we're trying to get the rest of the system to the same capacity, although any improvement in throughput would make a happy client.
The conveyors use 1200mm belts, 35o trough at ~2.8 m/s ■
Re: Multi-Use Transfer Chute Lining
There is a solution where you do not need liners that will handle all of these materials. See our paper in "Technical Articles" will give you some background. The concept however is now subject to a patent. We continue to advance the work we have done in this area and continue to have a great deal of success.
Cheers
Colin Benjamin
Gulf Conveyor Systems Pty Ltd
www.conveyorsystemstechnology.com.au ■
Liners
Take a look at TIVAR or equivalent. That is what we used on Nickel Concentrate. We also used natural rubber in a special application. The redesign you have to live with the liners can be trial and error
Good Luck ■
Multi-use Transfer Chute Lining
We're redesigning the transfer chutes for a multi-user shiploader and the supply conveyor system. The conveyors are used for products ranging from woodchips to mineral sands to copper concentrate.
The current chutes have duaplate impact plates, fixed and hanging on chains depending on the chute, and start to block up at ~400 tonnes/hr for the copper cons.
The planned design will have removable inserts go effectively give the chutes 2 different modes, high wear resistance for the sands, etc and high slip for the copper cons.
The target is to be able to load a ship with 10-15000 tonnes at 2000 tonnes/hr. These ships come once every 3 or so weeks and only constitute about 20% of the berth's use, so the wear of the high slip plates isn't a primary concern as they're regularly removed/replaced.
What chute liner matterials are generally being used for copper cons? ■