Wear and flow rate problems on chutes in a rock crushing plant

Abstract

Rock crushing plants cannot afford unforeseen breakdowns with the current boom in the construction sector. This paper discusses measures that can be used to predict wear on chutes in the plant so that predictive maintenance can be implemented. Some of the chutes used to transfer the materials are difficult to access. Failures of the chutes cause downtimes, which are untimely and costly. The objective of this research is to determine the wear rates of chutes. A chute system was designed, modelled and validated using the Solidworks® software and then imported into the EDEM® software to predict the failure of the chutes. Factors affecting the abrasion wear of the metal were determined and used as input parameters to perform a simulation on EDEM® to validate the wear recorded. The service life obtained for mild steel S275 was 731 hours and that of abrasion resistant steel Hardox® 400 was 1490 hours, and it was deduced that the difference in the value of hardness of the metals to that of the rocks they carry significantly affects the wear of the chutes. The software was also used to replicate the flow of boulders on chutes and an accelerated flow rate of 496 tons per hour (t/h) was achieved at an angle of elevation of 24.4°.

Optimizing Retention Bunkers in Copper Mines with Numerical Methods and Gradient Descent

“…Additionally, the impact of the design and operational factors of bins on the stress distribution on its structure and the impact on the degradation process have never been clearly formulated. The main factor influencing the process of accelerated abrasive wear is certainly the difference between the hardness of the chute elements and the transported material [13]. Vibrations in structures can significantly impact wear, as induced oscillations can lead to increased friction between moving parts, accelerating their degradation [14].…”

Investigation of lubricant viscosity and third-particle contribution to contact behavior in dry and lubricated three-body contact conditions

“…Gopaul et al conducted simulations and experimental verifications on chute systems. By considering the material hardness and angles of chute, they found it is possible to predict the wear rate, flow rate, and service life of the chute system (Gopaul et al, 2022). Li et al employed flat-on-flat contact between bearing steel (100Cr6) pins and discs, along with Al 2 O 3 -based slurries as the interface medium.…”