Posted by Daniel Gleeson on sixth August 2024
Weir says it has discovered that its prospects coping with giant particle abrasion of their pumps can save considerably on parts and upkeep downtime by utilizing rubber linings.
Based on Marnus Koorts, Common Supervisor for Pump Merchandise at Weir, these linings excel in purposes the place particles are being pushed by quite a lot of vitality.
“Rubber is excellent at absorbing and transferring the vitality from transferring particles , whereas metallic liners are extra readily worn away by these impacts,” Koorts says. “This makes rubber linings excellent on the bigger mill pumps and comparable purposes, which is the place our prospects get optimum worth from this resolution.”
He notes that Weir has spent a long time growing its elastomer know-how and trialling it within the discipline, giving it appreciable benefit over opponents – a lot of whom have solely just lately begun introducing rubber lining on their pumps.
“We have now helped prospects to take care of a few of the most abrasive purposes to be present in mining,” he says. “These circumstances are generally discovered the place arduous rock is mined, crushed and milled, and the coarse particles go away the mill to be pumped additional. Amongst our case research are installations the place the pump’s put on life was improved considerably after it was lined with rubber.”
One other good thing about utilizing rubber in these giant pumps is that it’s comparatively light-weight in contrast with unlined metallic pumps, enhancing security and easing upkeep of rubber elements.
“A mill pump is a mission-critical merchandise of kit, so upkeep actually must be as quick and rare as doable,” Koorts says. “The entire plant course of typically involves a halt when the mill stops if there isn’t any standby pump, what we name a Service Class 5 pump.”
Changing a rubber lining on a pump might be completed shortly, and fewer typically – giving the plant optimum uptime. He factors out that this additionally gives the next stage of security towards the chance of particle put on really breaking by way of the shell of the pump. In circumstances the place these incidents have occurred, the excessive strain contained in the pump can spray slurry as much as a few hundred metres – presenting appreciable security and environmental hazards.
“The place the rubber lining is current, it’s encapsulated by a metallic shell for added assist,” he says. “Upkeep planning might be enhanced by utilizing Weir’s Synertrex put on monitoring know-how, which might alert the operators to the necessity for elements substitute, avoiding failures.”
He highlights that a lot of Weir’s pump ranges can be found with the choice of both rubber or metallic liners. This has allowed many shoppers to simply trial the rubber lined possibility, as this may be completed by way of a easy swap-in course of in the course of the plant’s shutdown interval.
“We’ve seen a particular shift within the mining trade in direction of rubber lining on pumps, as mines recognise their worth in these purposes,” he concludes. “That is additionally a time when mining firms are beginning to think about their upstream and downstream carbon affect. They’ll acquire from the decrease carbon footprint related to rubber linings in contrast with metal.”
