28 Feature

WORLD PUMPS September 2017

Mining

The importance of
design for rapid-
access maintenance
n the pump industry, every minute of downtime can
I represent a loss of revenue. This article explains how
crucial pump and accessory design are in allowing
rapid-access maintenance and the effect on whole-
life cost of ownership.

Pumps used in minerals processing invari- through features that allow rapid main- The same principle applies when it
ably require regular maintenance. The level tenance on the pump as well as the comes to maintenance on a minerals
of servicing required and the associated ancillary equipment. processing or transportation system.
downtime should always be taken into Every minute of downtime can represent
consideration when specifying equipment. In motorsport, racing teams put a lot of a cost, so systems that allow essential
effort into making pit stops as quickly as maintenance operations to be performed
Increasing pump uptime is achieved they possibly can, and a great deal of faster can justify their investment in
through superior hydraulic design and development work is done to refine the increased productivity.
materials technology, and reduction in processes and tools involved to cut vital
lost production time is achieved split seconds during pit-stops.
Pump design
Design features specifically aimed at
speeding up maintenance and in-opera-
tion adjustments have been a major part
of pump development in recent years
and it is often these features that set an
advanced modern unit apart from tradi-
tional pump designs.

The latest addition to the Warman®

family of slurry pumps, the Warman
WBH® includes a single-point control
that allows the gap between the throat-
bush and the impeller to be adjusted
while the pump is still in operation. The
throatbush can also be rotated without
interruption to service.

Maintaining this clearance prevents

recirculation of abrasive slurry that can
A Gemex® belt tensioner designed for horizontal installation. cause accelerated wear of the parts,

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 Feature 29
WORLD PUMPS September 2017

and rotating the throatbush can reduce

Třinecké Železárny iron localised wear points causing premature
and steel works, failure requiring interruptive
Czech Republic maintenance.

Warman® gravel pumps are robust are When the liners or impeller do need to
designed to take on high volumes of
be replaced, the Warman® WBH slurry
very abrasive materials and deliver
pump features specifically-designed
long-lasting performance. However, to
quick-release fastenings for the volute
get the best out of them, it is vital
liners, allowing them to be removed
that they are properly configured –
rapidly and without specialist tools.
especially when powered by a
belt-drive system. This is where the
Gemex® hydraulic belt-tensioning
system can make a big difference. Drive belt replacement
Quick access maintenance innovations
This realisation was reached by are not restricted to the design of pump
operators at the Třinecké Železárny iron units themselves and pump designers
and steel works in Třinec, eastern have also considered how pump drive
Czech Republic – a steel works that systems can be improved.
manufactures around 2.5 million
tonnes of steel per year, equivalent to
The majority of pumps in quarrying and
more than a half of the country's entire
mining applications are belt-driven.
production volume.
While properly tensioned and aligned
The company has used a belt-driven belts deliver power from motors
Warman® GG gravel pump at the site smoothly, minimising vibrations that
since 2008 for the slag granulation have the potential to damage bearings, Detail of the hydraulic cylinders which lock the tensioner into
system, removing waste products from they do introduce another wear part. the correct position.
the furnace in the form of granules in Belt replacement needs to be carried
a slurry. The heavy-duty pump handles out at regular intervals and will always
1,620 m3 of slurry per hour, moving involve interruption to the operation of The result is a perfect belt change in a
534 tonnes per hour of granulated the pump. matter of a few minutes, a significant
slag at a temperature of 85°C. improvement over the time-consuming
In 2013, it commissioned a second In a traditional bolted arrangement, approach of the past. With the Gemex®
pump for the site. On the recommen- re-aligning and re-tensioning the hydraulic belt-tensioning system the belt
dation of the Weir Minerals team, system after a new belt had been change is performed not only quickly and
plant managers opted to install the
pump along with a Gemex® belt
tensioner. Belts on heavy duty pumps
have a limited lifespan, so periodic
"Choosing well-built equipment that is designed
replacement is an unavoidable reality. to minimise maintenance is an important part
The innovative system reduces what
was once an arduous task requiring of the decision-making process."
careful re-alignment to a quick,
fool-proof operation that takes just a
matter of minutes. installed could be a lengthy process. correctly, but in a safe and controlled
As well as making replacement Compromising on this process is not an manner, even for very heavy machines
quicker and easier, the system also option, as poorly set-up belt-drive
ensures that perfect alignment and systems can not only mean that belts To further simplify the process, Weir
tensioning is maintained after wear out very quickly, but they could Minerals has developed the Gemex®
replacement. This is key as poorly- also impact on the performance of the hydraulic belt-tensioning system configu-
aligned belts can cause significant pump itself. rations designed specifically to work with
headaches in the form of reduced its most popular slurry and dewatering
bearing life for pump assemblies, The Gemex® hydraulic belt-tensioning pumps, and these are available as inte-
reduced operating efficiency and system was developed to enhance the grated packages that are quick to install
more frequent belt failures. belt maintenance process and guarantee and take up minimal space on site.
The improvements made by the the best possible efficiency in the belt
Gemex® system were significant, and drive. By mounting the motor on a plat-
less than a year later, the decision was form that can be moved quickly by Proactive maintenance
taken to invest in retrofitting the first hydraulic rams, the tension in the belt programme
pump with the system. A third can be released instantly. With a new Choosing well-built equipment that is
Warman® pump has now been belt in position, the arrangement can be designed to minimise maintenance is
installed, also with the Gemex® system. returned to the correct position with an important part of the decision-
another simple action. making process. However, it is equally

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30 Feature
WORLD PUMPS September 2017

Top-mounted Gemex® belt-tensioners in situ at a mining project.

checks are performed frequently enough fits-all approach. Consulting with an

to maintain efficient performance but equipment supplier or maintenance
not more often than necessary, avoiding expert is advisable to ensure that the
excessive costs. right level of monitoring is in place to
peak reliability and avoid over-spending
In addition, non-interruptive monitoring on unnecessary maintenance.
A top-mounted Gemex® belt-tensioning system with enclosed should be conducted at regular intervals
belt, attached to a Warman centrifugal slurry pump. to ensure any issues that arise between
scheduled checks are noted. For Ownership cost
example, temperature and vibration The single most important measure when
measurement of any moving parts, evaluating the performance of a pump is
energy consumption and flow-rate moni- its whole-life cost of ownership. This
toring can all be carried out whilst the metric takes into account the cost of all
equipment is operating – supplying spare parts consumed during the life of
useful information without costly the unit, as well as the value of lost
downtime. production resulting from maintenance
down time.

Monitoring systems Assessing pumps and auxiliary equip-

Advanced monitoring systems that use ment on this basis is helpful in avoiding
hand-held devices connected to a central false economies that can be made by
database are available to guide on-site mine and quarry operators. These
personnel through the proactive mainte- include installing pumps that are not
nance programme. This ensures that no heavy-duty enough for the application
part is missed and that all monitoring data in question, compromising on the
A Warman® WBH pump in operation. is stored centrally and maintenance can quality of replacement wear parts and
be properly prioritised across a whole site. skipping scheduled inspections in an
attempt to avoid downtime.
important to ensure that an effective Weir Minerals has a proprietary condi-
maintenance programme is put in place tion-monitoring system, which is used by Ultimately, the most important objective is
and adhered to. our maintenance engineers and is also to keep production running to schedule,
available to our customers. We have seen and operators should take this into
Scheduling regular system checks will many cases where automating the main- consideration before considering money-
allow the condition of critical parts,
including drive belts, to be monitored
tenance process at mining sites has
delivered a significant improvement in
saving options that jeopardise this. •
over time. This means that replacements equipment performance. Warman®, WBH® and Gemex® are regis-
can be made before excessive wear tered trademarks.
leads to sub-optimal performance or The scale of the proactive maintenance
equipment failure. programme that is needed depends on
Contact
the type of application and the scale of
Harvinder Bhabra, senior product manager for
The frequency of these tests should be the operation. pumps at Weir Minerals Europe,
Address: Halifax Road, Todmorden, OL14 5RT
determined based on a thorough under-
Phone: +44 1706 814 251
standing of the average operating Systems, conditions and acceptable Email: [email protected]
lifespan of individual parts, at the rele- performance margins vary between Web: www.global.weir
vant duty levels. This will ensure that different sites and there is no one-size-

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