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August 2014

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THIS MONTH:• The smarter rooftop HVAC solution• CSP data centre cooling system unveiled• Taking better care of SA’s water infrastructure• Maintenance maturity: the innovation indicator

www.bearings.co.za

www.weirminerals.com

Mechanical Technology — August 2014 1

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Reasons for optimism?

Outlook articles about South Africa have pointed towards the nega-tive due to “labour unrest and the persistently sluggish environ-ment in Europe and the USA,” to quote the African Economic Outlook. But the worst of the strikes is now over and conditions in

Europe and the USA are reported to be improving, as evidenced by China’s July exports, which “surged”, resulting in China’s “biggest ever monthly trade surplus”.

Am I imagining positive signals?The South Africa-developed AHRLAC, a name derived from its description as an advanced high-

performance reconnaissance light aircraft, made its first flight on 26 July and was publicly displayed for the first time on 13 August at Wonderboom Airport. Developed entirely in South Africa by AHRLAC Holdings, a joint venture between the Paramount Group and Aerosud, this aircraft is designed as an inexpensive, more versatile substitute for UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles).

Inexpensive? US$10-million. But compared to typical military planes that can cost between $100-million and $300-million per unit, the tag is appropriate. Paramount claims that the aircraft will be cheaper to acquire and operate than UAVs because no expensive subsystems for remote con-trol will be required. AHRLAC is optimised for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISTAR) and counter-insurgency missions − coastal patrol, anti-smuggling and disaster relief – making for a broad potential market “in the hundreds or thousands of units”.

AHRLAC was designed using CATIA 5 software and is “the most detailed (paperless) digital design ever on an aircraft in this category,” according Paul Potgieter of Aerosud. To reduce manufacturing costs, the prototype was assembled without the use of jigs and additive manufacturing was used for a large number of the high-tech thermoplastic components.

We don’t often think of South Africans as pioneers in the aerospace field or as innovators of com-petitive lower-cost technologies for global markets.

For the African Fusion magazine this month, I visited ND Engineering, a Durban-based fabricator of pressure vessels that has developed considerable expertise in the pulp and paper, sugar, petro-chemical and mining industries making complex pressure vessels in exotic materials such as duplex stainless steel. From its origins as a South African company, it was bought by the Rauma Corporation in the early 90s and became a Metso Group company. Throughout this time, the company operated to international standards and was regularly the best performing manufacturer in the Metso Group.

ND Engineering has now been returned to 100% South African-ownership and is thriving. It is increasingly successful at exporting modular plants from its private quayside fabrication facility in Durban harbour, most notably, two SO2 converters for a nickel mine in Madagascar. At 500 t per piece, these were the biggest converters to be built anywhere in the world.

Visiting this company made me feel as proud as I did when South Africa won the Sevens gold medal at the Commonwealth Games − but I was a little more surprised, because we are not unknown to win on the rugby field.

Another notable success to have come during the difficult times since 2008 is the renewable energy industry. We now have, on MTN’s Fairland head office, the first CSP-powered cooling system in Africa, which is supplying 330 kW of cooling to the cellphone company’s data centre using only 3,0 kW of electricity. That translates into a notional coefficient of performance (COP) greater than 100.

From a grid-connected perspective, the REIPPPP has also developed considerable momentum: A July update by the DoE reveals that the total capacity connected to the grid from Bid Window 1 (BW 1) is now at 651,94 MW, with a further 771,86 MW of BW 1 projects following in their wake. Most BW 2 projects are also under construction and eight IPPs out of the nineteen BW 2 bid winners will have commercially operational projects by the end of 2014.

We now have a renewable energy industry and while the word ‘booming’ is perhaps too strong, the industry is growing, localisation is rising and the industry and the government policy that spawned it is being praised for being transparent and inspiring investor confidence.

Confidence is also rising about Unit 6 of Medupi. Eskom acting CEO, Collin Matjila says that “boiler repair work has been completed on the unit” and the planning steps are in place “to ensure first synchronisation in December” − December 15, in fact. Boiler cleaning is currently in progress and, following scheduled testing of the control and instrumentation systems on September 6, a step-by-step boiler firing and grid synchronisation process is timetabled.

Rail rejuvenation has commenced and Pravin Gordhan is in the process of spending R827-billion on infrastructure in the public sector. Perhaps it’s just me looking for signs of spring, but it feels like a corner is being turned.Peter Middleton

www.atlascopco.co.za


⎪ August 2014 contents ⎪

ON THE COVER

10 16 34 36

Crusher reliability, trust and premium brandsMechTech visits the Boksburg head of-fice of Bearings International and talks to Shuttleworth Ntsie and Coenie van Deventer about the company’s premium brand offerings for crushing applica-tions and its approach to reliability and service.

Cover photo courtesy of ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions (Pty) Ltd.

For more information contact:Shuttleworth NtsieSales director, Bearings International+27 11 899 0000+27 83 414 [email protected]

FEATURESSpecial report

8 Taking better care of SA’s water infrastructure Bennie Thiart of Xylem Water Solutions SA, talks about the potable water and

wastewater infrastructure in South Africa, the Blue Drop and Green Drop campaigns and Xylem’s philosophy of partnering with municipalities and water boards to take better care of South Africa’s water.

Proactive maintenance, lubrication and contamination management10 Maintenance maturity: the innovation indicator Giscard Lailvaux, SKF’s key accounts manager for southern Africa, talks to Mech-

Tech about achieving maintenance maturity, and its link to innovation and global competitiveness.

12 Ultrasonic component cleaning13 Viper automates rope lubrication14 Water wise and effective dust suppression solutions

Materials handling and logistics16 ThinkBIG: a gateway for tomorrow’s engineers Barloworld Equipment’s ThinkBIG bursary programme is opening doors for students

to follow careers in mechanical engineering. MechTech attends the signing ceremony for its latest intake and tours the facilities of the Barloworld Equipment’s Technical Academy in Isando.

19 Optimising plant performance via condition monitoring20 Fit-for-purpose centrifuge solutions22 Vibrating equipment installed across Africa25 Grinding and crushing showcase at EMA 2014

Heating, cooling, ventilation and air conditioning 26 The smarter rooftop HVAC solution Johnson Controls has added mid-range modular rooftop packaged units to its of-

fering. MechTech talks to Neil Cameron, the Building Efficiency business unit’s South African area general manager.

28 Managing trends that could harm data centre cooling

Manufacturing technology 30 FAW makes history in South Africa South Africa, the Eastern Cape and the Coega IDZ are set for rapid growth as FAW

Vehicle Manufacturers SA official opens its vehicle manufacturing plant.33 Creating a world class machining centre34 Transformer manufacturing in SA

Innovative engineering36 CSP data centre cooling system unveiled MTN has reaffirmed its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint by unveiling

Africa’s first concentrated solar powered (CSP) cooling system for use to cool its energy-hungry data centres.

REGULARS1 Comment4 On the cover: Crusher reliability, trust and premium brands6 Industry forum38 Products and services40 Nota bene

4 Mechanical Technology — August 2014

⎪ On the cover ⎪

Bearings International de-scribes itself as a “solutions partner” offering the “world’s best brands” backed by an

“elite technical team”. The company’s range covers: general and specialist bearings and accessories; transmis-sion and conveyor chains; agricultural spare parts; gearboxes and geared motors; electric motors and variable fre-quency/speed drives (VSDs); couplings, pulleys, vee- and wedge-belts; oil seals, conveyor belts, industrial hoses; and industrial adhesives, hand cleaners and lubricants.

Notable brands include: FAG and INA from Schaeffler as well as Koyo, Cooper, Dodge and Kaydon bearings; Rex, Hitachi and EWART chains; Bauer motors and geared reducers; Varispeed VSDs; Goodyear and Optibelts; Loctite adhesives; and many more. “We un-

derstand what premium brands can do,” says Ntsie, “but we don’t just sell brands. We sell trust. As a broad ap-proach, we partner with our clients to reduce costs and improve reliability,” he notes.

Crushing operations Describing typical open cast mining or quarrying operations in South Africa, Ntsie says that the process starts at the top of the ‘bench’ of the ore body. A carefully planned pattern of blasting

Crusher reliability, trust and premium brands

Bearings International’s Coenie Van Deventer, national product manager – Schaeffler Bearing Products and Shuttleworth Ntsie, sales director.

FAG E1 spherical roller bearings in X-life quality are especially suitable for extremely heavy loads and are therfore recommended as the main bearings in jaw crushers.

To speed up bearing replacement, particularly in areas that are difficult to access such as shafts with mul-tiple supports, Van Deventer recommends FAG’s split spherical roller bearing solution.

Also ideal for use in arduous crusher applications is FAG’s new SNS housing range.

MechTech visits the Boksburg head office of Bearings International and talks to Shuttleworth Ntsie and Coenie van Deventer about the company’s premium brand offerings for crushing applications and its approach to reliability and service.

ponents such as bearings,” he adds.Following blasting, rock from the

‘muck pile’ is loaded onto a primary crusher, usually a jaw or gyratory type crusher, to break rock down into a more manageable chunks. The output from the primary crusher is then transported, via conveyors in most modern opera-tions, to secondary – and sometimes tertiary – crushers for more accurate sizing. Vibrating screens are then used to sort the final product according to the different size requirements.

Bearings for crushing equipmentEquipment at a typical quarry or open cast mine is dependent on the reliabil-ity of the components used. Crushers, for example, are subject to continuous impact loading. “Bearings International excels when it comes arduous require-ments,” says Van Deventer. “We recom-mend FAG E1 spherical roller bearings in X-life quality as the main bearings in jaw crushers. These bearings were developed especially for extremely heavy loads and are used wherever angles must be adjustable. They work reliably even under the toughest ambi-ent conditions.”

Advantages of X-life quality com-pared to standard bearings include:• Up to 70 % longer service life for the

same load – or the same service life for much higher loads.

• High static reliability.• Lower strain on the lubricant due

to reduced friction and low bearing temperatures.

“For our customers, this means high-er machine efficiency and reduced

holes is drilled at the top of the cliff face, filled with explosives and wired to detonate in a precisely synchronised sequence. “Most important is the con-trol of product flow or ‘heave’,” explains Ntsie. If, for example, blasting doesn’t go off as planned, the boulders in the ‘muck pile’ at the bottom of the cliff may be too large, and if these are fed into crushers, they affect efficiency and reliability and can impact production. “Lump sizes of between 0,5 and 1,0 m are generally OK, but anything above that can cause the crusher to jam and, in the long term, reduce the life of com-


⎪ On the cover ⎪

SmartCheck enables the condition of a bearing or gearbox or any rotating component to be accessed wirelessly on smartphones or tablets.

operating costs. In addition, downsizing results in more cost-efficient bearings supports,” he says.

FAG spherical roller bearings are also the premium solution for conveyors at crushing sites, but to speed up bearing replacement, particularly in areas that are difficult to access such as shafts with multiple supports, Van Deventer recommends FAG’s split spherical roller bearing solution. “The use of the split spherical bearings for power pack drives for main drive conveyors makes mounting and replacement simple and quick. The inner ring, the outer ring, and the roller and cage assembly are divided into two halves that are clamped together with screws. Their use can significantly reduce downtime and associated costs due to loss of production,” he tells MechTech, add-ing that, because the dimensions have been exactly matched, it is possible to convert a drive end to a split bearing without having to change centre heights or plummer block housings.

Also ideal for use in arduous crusher applications is FAG’s new SNS housing range. “These extend the life of bearings on conveyor drives,” says Van Deventer. SNS housings are manufactured using high-specification SG50 (spheroidal graphite) cast iron, commonly called ductile iron, which has high impact toughness and fatigue resistance com-pared to traditional (flaked) cast iron housings, offering higher load ratings and longer life.

In addition, the housing design has been optimised to distribute loading more evenly though the bearing, which, according to Schaeffler, can increase bearing life by more than 50%. The new housing also provides a very high sealing efficiency against the ingress of contamination under extreme operat-ing conditions such as those typically

encountered at a quarry or open cast mine. “And, as per Schaeffler’s policy, these housings are 100% compatible and interchangeable with any conven-tional plummer block solution,” says Van Deventer.

“The supply of quality rolling bear-ing elements is central to the smooth running of the equipment at opera-tions such as mines and quarries,” he continues. “Schaeffler has been the OEM for the FAG premium brand for over a century. The FAG product range covers 60 industrial sectors and some 225 000 different applications,” Van Deventer notes.

Ownership costs and servicePremium Schaeffler products are designed to offer best possible cost-to-performance ratios. “The important thing to consider when selecting a product brand is downtime,” Ntsie suggests. “How much downtime will result from the use of one product over another? What is the interval between downtimes likely to be? And how long will the plant be down each time? These are the questions that operators should be asking,” he suggests.

“While there is an investment cost premium for choosing a superior brand, this cost is usually small when you take into account longer life and improved reliability. The increased cost is often justifiable on life alone, but decreased downtime and improved plant reliabil-ity are more compelling arguments for adopting premium brand solutions such as FAG,” he argues.

“There is also considerable value in adopting single brand solutions. In cer-tain onsite spares stores, we often find multiple brands of the same bearing, so when breakdowns occur, it becomes dif-ficult to identify which specific products are the least reliable. By adopting a

single reliable brand, a life and cost his-tory can be established and downtime trends can be analysed. This enables much better control of product life and plant reliability,” Ntsie says.

Van Deventer says that, as well as of-fering the best quality brands, Bearings International “supports its brands and holds OEMs to account for brand quality”. The company operates Field Maintenance Services and Reliability Services divisions, which offer a highly flexible range of maintenance services, from the physical fitting of a single bear-ing to repair, alignment, balancing and condition monitoring services.

“Reliability engineering is the modern approach,” says Van Deventer, “which, in essence, involves purchasing the correct product to suit the operational reliability required, and then monitoring the condition and performance of that product in the field,” he says.

FAG has also recently launched its SmartCheck solution for bearings, noted as “the way forward for condi-tion monitoring”. The solution consists of a permanently installed vibration sensor to enable both lubrication levels and bearing condition to be monitored on an ongoing basis. SmartCheck is connected via Ethernet to a computer network or an onsite remote router sta-tion. The system enables the condition of a bearing or gearbox or any rotating component to be accessed wirelessly on smartphones or tablets.

“By monitoring the condition of a component, the life can often be safely extended beyond its L10 life. And since L10 life is a prediction, in cases were a bearing might fail prematurely, condi-tion monitoring can warn of the onset of such as failure so that timely action can be taken to prevent more catastrophic knock on damage,” he points out.

“Bearings International understands how premium brands can save money and improve productivity. We have strong relationships with our OEM suppliers and we can rely on excellent technical backup,” says Ntsie.

“But pirated and counterfeit products are infiltrating the market and these go against efforts to improve reliability. In fact, their use will ultimately increase costs and the failures they cause can destroy the viability of an operation and consequently that of the company. Operators should be very wary!” Ntsie warns. q


⎪ Industry forum ⎪

BMG’s total plant maintenance solu-tions are geared to optimising productiv-ity and enhancing process plant operat-ing reliability, so as to make a difference to the efficiency of every serviced plant.

“BMG, which distributes an extensive range of quality branded engineering components, has identified a need for on-site maintenance services to overcome production challenges,” says Dave Russell, director, BMG. “Recognising the constraints of high energy prices, low productivity, skills shortages and a highly competitive economic environment, BMG’s total solutions service offers industry access to efficient, production-critical products and services from a single supplier,” says Russell, adding that this means “lower production costs and higher production efficiency, giving South African industry a distinct competitive advantage”.

BMG’s on-site services include application design, evaluation and optimisation, as well as installation, trouble shooting and service exchange contracts. The company also offers predictive, planned and breakdown maintenance and energy and reliability studies. “These plant maintenance solu-tions ensure machine reliability, efficient maintenance procedures and optimum

The GEA Group will be represented at Electra Mining Africa by numerous specialists from its South African offices and German technology centres. The company will be showcasing technolo-gies from its mechanical equipment, process engineering, refrigeration and heat exchanger segments for the mining and processing industry segments at its new-look stand in Hall 5.

“As a complete integrated systems solutions provider, it’s important that our technical and design services are accessible to advise on an optimised process solution for an array of mining and industrial applications,” explains Garth Jordan, market development en-gineer, GEA Westfalia Separator. “With Electra Mining Africa attracting about 38 000 visitors, it remains a primary forum for us to interact with our existing as well as potential customers.”

From the mechanical equipment segment, GEA Westfalia Separator, will

SA supplier diversity council establishes black supplier committeeJohnson Controls, a global multi-industrial company with estab-lished core businesses in the automotive, building and energy storage industries, welcomes the formation of the South African Supplier Diversity Council’s Black Supplier Input Committee (SASDC’s BSIC). The BSIC’s role will be to interact with, and represent SASDC-certified black suppliers, identifying their col-lective needs and providing advice to SASDC on its programmes.

Johnson Controls is a founding member of SASDC, a mem-ber-directed, not-for-profit organisation that aims to integrate under-utilised black suppliers into corporate supply chains in a sustainable way, using targeted procurement and supplier

development. SASDC certifies black-owned businesses, verifying them as legitimate and ‘transaction-ready’. When a corporation like Johnson Controls, becomes a SASDC member, it makes a commitment to opening up more procurement opportunities to black-owned businesses.

“The BSIC gives SASDC-certified black suppliers a voice, and gives SASDC member companies a conduit to engage with certified black suppliers,” says Philip Gregory, senior regional executive for Middle East and Africa for Johnson Controls’ Global Workplace Solutions (GWS). Gregory also serves as a board member of SASDC. www.johnsoncontrols.com.

Total plant maintenance solutionscontrol in breakdown situations. The company’s team of highly skilled technicians has completed health and safety training and all services adhere to company policies and procedures in terms of ISO 18001.

“BMG also offers extensive training, which covers electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, electronic and materials handling disciplines, as well as predictive maintenance and compo-nent failure analysis,” Russell assures.

Services include electro-mechanical, electronic and hydraulic, as well as unitary and bulk materials handling installations, which are supported by faultfinding and maintenance.

BMG also provides bearings, power transmission and engineering MRO in-

One of BMG’s field services teams conducting on-site condition monitoring and laser alignment services.

stallations, predictive maintenance and non-intrusive trouble shooting (which includes condition monitoring and oil analysis) as well as energy consump-tion and efficiency studies, baseline measurement, recommendations and improvement suggestions.

Full maintenance service exchange contracts and product specific services are also available, including shaft and open drive laser alignment, balancing and product repair and refurbishment for large gearboxes, hydraulic, rotary and linear systems. Lubrication and filtration equipment and services, ap-plication system design and evaluation, as well as product design and project management also form part of the company’s solutions offering.

www.bmgworld.net

feature a series of its decanters and centrifuges used in a range of applica-tions, from the recovery of micro- and nano-sized particles of metals, through to dewatering, thickening or classifica-tion of pigments in industrial minerals, crud treatment and leach clarification.

The refrigeration segment personnel will be at the stand to discuss the ser-vices, solutions and technologies avail-able for process cooling applications. These include ice and chilled water production systems and skids, medium, low and ultra-low temperature systems as well as heat recovery systems. “This trade show gives us the opportunity to introduce our specialised refrigeration packages to the market,” says Ilse van der Merwe, sales and marketing man-ager, GEA Refrigeration.

Products from each of GEA Process Engineering’s strategic business units will also be showcased.

www.gea.com

The GEA Group to exhibit at Electra Mining


⎪ Industry forum ⎪

In brief

At the Paris Motor Show in June, automotive supplier Valeo announced its second annual global innovation contest, the Valeo Innovation Challenge. Engineering students from around the world are invited to compete to win the €100 000 grand prize. The challenge offers young engineers worldwide the opportunity to create the equipment that will make cars more intelligent and intuitive by 2030.

Munich-based compact and light equipment manufacturer Wacker Neuson reports further increases in revenue (up 13%) and profit for the first quarter of 2014. “In Europe, an early start to the construction season and the con-tinued economic upturn positively impacted customers’ willingness to invest, says Cem Peksaglam, CEO of Wacker Neuson SE.

SKF South Africa, which first opened as SKEFKO (South Africa) Ball Bearing Company Limited in Pritchard Street, Johannesburg, cel-ebrates 100 years of excellence during 2014. “1914 was a year of many other important world firsts, ” says SKF South Africa’s MD, Ian Cillié, citing the first airline; the first flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco; the first colour film; and Babe Ruth’s first professional baseball game.

Emerson’s Power Transmission Solutions of Missouri, USA, has introduced industry’s first online tool for tracking the location, life history and latest revision drawings and installation instructions for critical drivetrain couplings owned by customers, whether installed or in spares inventory. The web-based tool will be called the ‘Asset Management Program (AMP) for couplings’.

Ship repair company Elgin Brown & Hamer (EBH) Namibia recently secured the contract to dock and repair the jack-up oilrig, Seawork 1 at its newly acquired Panamax floating dock in Walvis Bay.

Industrial gas leader Air Products showcased South African-driven engineering excellence at its new air separation unit in the Coega Indus-trial Development Zone (IDZ) during May as it unveiled the cold box and other components for its R300-million air separation plant.

A newly established fruit processing plant in Salima, 90 km from Lilongwe in Malawi, is setting a trend by being a 100% renewable energy processing facility. The plant’s team has chosen Ditec Alimax high-speed roll up doors from Apex Strip Curtains & Doors to eliminate the ingress of dust, insects and other contaminants.

A South African safety product has saved a Canadian mining company tens of thousands of dollars in potential downtime and damaged equipment.

When a conveyor belt failed at a large potash mine in the last week of April 2014, it was a Technogrid system developed and manufactured in South Africa by Horne that immediately caught the multi-ton counterweight and prevented its fall.

Counterweights are needed to main-tain belt tension in conveyors. Attached to the belt and suspended below it, the counterweight has the potential to damage equipment and structures should the belt fail. The Technogrid is designed to prevent such a fall, and the mine concerned has 40 of them fitted beneath belt counterweights throughout the facility.

Technogrids are also fitted to con-veyor belt systems throughout the mining company’s other potash mines in Canada. They are suspended verti-cally next to each counterweight and connected by a catch frame positioned just below the lowest point of nor-mal vertical movement. The tops of the Technogrids are anchored to the conveyor structure. Upon impact, the Technogrids stop the fall of the counter-weight, absorbing all the impact energy and retaining the counterweight on the catch frame until it can be reinstalled on the repaired conveyor belt. The Techno-grids are then replaced.

Horne developed the Technogrid

An Enterprise Development Beneficiary Agreement signed by Royal Haskoning-DHV will provide enterprise development services to Shuma Africa Projects in the form of professional services, including tendering and technical skills transfer with an emphasis on innovation. In ad-dition Royal HaskoningDHV will provide Shuma with assistance with the estab-lishment of cost control systems that include a quality management system, administrative systems and risk manage-ment systems. The agreement, which came into operation in May, 2014, terminates at the end of April 2015.

Shuma Africa Projects is a small con-sulting engineering firm that provides holistic services for the built environ-ment. The name ‘Shuma’ is derived

SA conveyor safety product saves Canadian mine

several decades ago to absorb the ki-netic and potential energy of a moving object by deforming a metal grid with predictable deformation characteristics. The device comprises a series of multi-bar units connected in a staggered grid shape, which, upon impact, yields and deforms under double-curvature bend-ing. It is the yielding of the bars that allows the unit to open up and it is the strain hardening of the material that absorbs the impact energy.

Technogrids can be designed for spe-cific energy absorption requirements, allowing safe deceleration and the con-trol of very high end-forces. Optimum unit configuration can be achieved by combining grids in series or parallel.

www.horne-group.com

When a conveyor belt failed at a Canadian potash mine in April, it was a Horne Technogrid system that caught the multi-ton counterweight and prevented its fall.

from the Northern Sotho language and means ‘to work’. The company commenced operation in 2006, and currently comprises of a team of skilled engineers and technologists. With of-fices in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo, the company provides the following key services: transportation; geotechnical; water and sanitation; structural; and project management.

“Apart from technical skills trans-fer, this agreement will provide us with the skills to take our business to the next level to become active participants in the implementation of the National Development Plan,” says Gilbert Mukhudwane from Shuma Africa Projects.

www.royalhaskoningdhv.com/za

Enterprise development agreement signed


⎪ Special report ⎪

The South Africa market has been slow with the labour strikes in mining and steel industry having had a negative

impact on business across the water sector. “But we have experienced only a slight decline in water and wastewater projects, which is normal during a elec-tion year,” says Thiart.

“The world has become too small,” he says, drawing attention to the growing number of overseas water and wastewater companies now operat-ing across Africa. “Power generation and infrastructure development are the words on everybody’s lips. But producing power is impossible without water, and conversely, it is impossible to treat water without power,” he tells MechTech.

Water needs to be seen as a cycle. It starts as raw water in dams and riv-ers, goes through a treatment cycle to produce potable water and is then used domestically or by industry, creating waste water. The wastewater is treated and the effluent then ends up back in the raw water resources. “If we don’t look after the whole cycle, then the quality of the entire cycle is compro-mised impacting negatively on the natural water sources,” Thiart warns.

Development has increased the load on existing infrastructure

across the water cycle: “Many of our treatment plants were built years ago and, although most of them are main-tained, these programmes have room for improvement. Some plants need to operate at 30% higher than the designed capacity, which further adds to the main-tenance burden.” Municipalities and wa-ter boards are facing tough challenges.

Thiart says that the Department of Water Affairs is “really pushing something spe-cial” with its Blue Drop and Green Drop wa-ter campaigns. “These programmes are still

Xylem’s Leopold sand filter floor technology supports the sand media in gravity fed filters, eliminates dead spots and improves backwashing efficiency.

Above: Xylem’s Lowara multi-stage pumps are widely used in the water and wastewater treatment environments. “Xylem SA is built on pumps. We have

water extraction solutions from 1,0 kW to 680 kW,” says Thiart.

Taking better care of SA’s water infrastructureBennie Thiart (right), sales director at Xylem Water Solutions SA, talks about the potable water and wastewater infrastructure in South Africa, the Blue Drop and Green Drop campaigns and Xylem’s philosophy of partnering with municipalities and water boards to take better care of South Africa’s water.

in their infancy, but they represent a pioneering policy and demonstrate a keen understanding of the requirements across the whole cycle,” he suggests.

The Blue Drop water quality systemConceptualised to regulate and safe-guard tap water quality in South Africa, the Blue Drop system involves all stake holders: the process controllers and plant operators at the water treatment works; the public, who are given access to a transparent reporting platform; and municipalities and water boards, for which the programme defines clear operational and water quality targets.

The programme is divided into five sections: Water safety plan-

ning, which includes risk-assessment and

monitoring; drinking water quality man-agement; drinking water compliance to SANS 241; management accountability; and asset management, which strives towards the ongoing sustainability of treatment plants.

“Key to successful implementation of the system are the skills of process con-trollers and operators,” reveals Thiart. “Xylem has the capacity to provide training to keep operators up to date with new technologies and to identify


⎪ Special report ⎪

Above: The Wedeco UV system offers a green chemi-cal free solution for effluent disinfection. Left: Xylem’s Sanitaire range of fine-bubble diffusers provide aera-tion during biological treatment.

ways to improve. In addition, we are in a position to offer assessment audits and suggest design improvements. And, on the maintenance side, we can ensure sustained operations through service agreements such as our Total Care offering as well as on-demand equipment maintenance support,” he informs MechTech.

Suitable Xylem products for support-ing Blue Drop plants start with the clear water pumps for extracting water from raw water sources. “Xylem SA is built on pumps. We have water extraction solutions from 1,0 kW to 680 kW for the start of the Blue Drop cycle.”

For the filtration step in the treatment process, Xylem offers Leopold sand filter floor technology. Leopold’s underdrain is a new floor that supports the sand media in gravity fed filters. The design eliminates dead spots in the medium, which optimises the life of sand media and improves backwashing efficiency. “On a new installation, less civil work is required thus three to four weeks can be saved on installation times. The system can also be retrofitted, though, so it becomes an ideal solution for a plant upgrade,” Thiart says.

In addition to pumps and filters, Xylem also supports the full range of disinfection technologies: “In Europe, there is limited to no chlorine require-ment so, in some cases, UV technology is used without any other chemical dosing. Our South African specifica-tion insists on chlorine presence, but if UV disinfection is used, the amount of chlorine required is reduced signifi-cantly. While UV comes with an initial investment cost, the ongoing savings achieved through lower chlorine usage are very quickly recovered.”

Ozone disinfectant treatment is also available from Xylem, although “ozone is more suitable for mining and industrial applications, disinfection and oxidation to remove colour and odour from the water,” says Thiart.

Green Drop and wastewaterAs with Blue Drop, Green Drop is an incentive-based regulation to identify, reward and encourage excellence in wastewater management. “The es-sential difference is that Green Drop is a risk-based assessment with plants striving for a lowest possible risk rating.

Central to wastewater compliance are the measures in place at the mixing;

aeration; ammonia and nitrate removal; and the disinfection stages of waste-water treatment. “Wastewater plants use biological treatment processes. Organisms are encouraged to grow so as to devour the organic pollutants in the water and reduce the biological oxygen demand (BOD). This is important, be-cause if the BOD remains high, then the organic matter will deplete the oxygen levels in streams and rivers causing fish and other plant life to die. For the devouring organisms to live and feed, they need oxygen and food. The food is the biological waste in the water, while aeration provides the high oxygen levels needed,” Thiart explains.

Xylem’s aeration technology comes from its Sanitaire range of fine-bubble diffusers and Flygt mechanical jet aera-tors. “In a modern plant, it is essential for aeration to be effective and energy efficient, and Sanitaire’s diffused aera-tion solution is both,” he adds.

Following BOD treatment is denitri-fication. “This is done by first starving the organism of oxygen, which causes it to ‘cough up’ a nitrogen molecule. But if you then resupply the oxygen, the organ-ism consumes two nitrogen molecules, so the net concentration of nitrogen drops. Nitrates and sulphates need to be removed from water because algaes thrive on these. If acceptable levels of these contaminants are not achieved in the water re-entering the river systems, algae growth results,” Thiart warns.

Following treatment, the water flows to a clarifier, where the waste activated sludge settles to the bottom of the tank, while clarified water with low BOD, ammonia, nitrate and sulphate levels flows off the top. After disinfection, the water is safe to discharge into the river systems. “Here Xylem offers the

Wedeco UV system as a green chemical free solution on effluent disinfection,” Thiart notes.

Along with Xylem’s aerators and pumps, a full range of Flygt submersible and vertical shaft mixers is also now available for use at wastewater plants.

Blue Drop water treatment and Green Drop wastewater treatment plants are usually separate but “there is an increas-ing demand to reuse water”. “In some cases, effluent water from wastewater treatment plants is simply flowing into the sea. This is a complete waste of usable water and desalinating seawater requires much more energy and cost than further treatment of wastewater effluent for re-use,” Thiart argues.

“Xylem is an equipment supplier to the whole water cycle, we are much more than just a pump company,” he continues. “We see ourselves as partner in a team that is striving to take care of our water resources. We do this by focusing on water and wastewater transport and treatment.

“Limited down time on equipment is the key to running a successful water cycle. Maintenance packages such as our Total Care offering are all about preventative maintenance. We can help operators to look after their equipment. Instead of waiting for clients to phone us, we phone them when Xylem sup-plied equipment is due for a service.

“Water can always be cleaned, no matter how polluted it is, but the amount of effort, energy and cost in-creases depending on pollution levels. By adopting Blue Drop and Green Drop incentive programmes, we can minimise the costs incurred in the long term, and ensure the sustainability of our water resources and infrastructure,” he concludes. q


⎪ Proactive maintenance, lubrication and contamination management ⎪

Giscard Lailvaux started his career with SKF as an ap-plications engineer focused on bearing solutions. He

has since: overseen the introduction of SKF’s bearing remanufacturing facility; set up SKF’s Solutions Factory; and managed the Mechanical Field Services department.

“In 2010, I moved into a key ac-counts role, mostly in the pulp and paper segment for customers such as Sappi SA and Mondi Group SA, while also managing hydrocarbon processing industry customers such as Sasol and the fuel refineries. The energy segment was another focus area, obviously dominated in South Africa by Eskom,” Lailvaux tells MechTech.

Since 2012, Lailvaux has been responsible for all SKF key accounts in southern Africa, which include metals and mining, mineral processing, cement and sugar. Four specialists have been added to the team, two in mining, a food and beverage and a pulp and paper specialist, while Lailvaux retains the energy, oil and gas, and hydrocarbon processing portfolios.

Asset management, CNAs and MSRsThe SKF client needs analysis (CNA) is a maintenance-related performance benchmarking process focused on providing useful, actionable and cred-ible performance improvement infor-mation. From this analysis a detailed maintenance strategy review (MSR) programme can be developed to sig-nificantly improve machine, production line or plant reliability.

SKF South Africa began offering these services in 2013, following a request from a global food and beverage client that was experiencing problems on its infant cereal line in South Africa. The client, a global food brand, is one of SKF’s international clients and was

referred based on previous successes overseas. “Our local dealings began with a client needs analysis (CNA), which is a 40 question document that provides common benchmarking of industrial maintenance processes, with some customised questions tailored to cater for variations in specific industries.

“Its purpose is to develop a clear un-derstanding of the maturity of a client’s processes with regard to maintenance. A mature customer with a mature maintenance regime is, typically, a very innovative world-class company. There is a direct correlation between maintenance attitudes and innovation, and this insight is based on more than 2 500 CNAs conducted globally and about a dozen completed locally. They all reveal the same things: in mature, innovative organisations, the mainte-nance culture is also mature, typically featuring discipline, a constant focus on learning and improvement, a criti-cal outlook on current practices and a common goal to achieve better global competitiveness,” Lailvaux relates, add-ing that “competitiveness is essential for companies to remain successful in the modern global environment”.

For the food and beverage client com-pleting the CNA process in South Africa, this was no exception. “The CNA, with its specific methodology, quickly zoomed in on potential areas of improvement with regards to the company’s specific product line. Poor reliability of the line was one of the factors preventing inno-vation because much of the company’s focus was being diverted towards put-ting out fires,” he explains.

Following analysis of the CNA, SKF produced a maintenance strategy review (MSR) programme. “The MSR is a tool to guide the development of a maintenance plan. Its end point is the identification of specific maintenance tasks and routines that are synchronised with the customer’s business goals and

Maintenance maturity:the innovation indicatorGiscard Lailvaux (left), SKF’s key accounts manager for southern Africa, talks to MechTech about achieving maintenance maturity, and its link to innovation and global competitiveness.

compatible with existing practices and processes. So the MSR is not generic! It is very clearly scoped and directly tar-geted at the functional equipment that makes up a production line or plant,” says Lailvaux. “By analysing the exact function of each piece of equipment along a processing stream, the MSR guides the identification of a holistic maintenance strategy to increase the reliability of every interconnected ma-chine or system,” he adds.

Having completed this process on the product line, the client’s reliability problem was stabilised to the point where innovation in other areas became possible. “It is only when it becomes possible to manufacture existing prod-ucts without problems that companies can afford the time to develop more novel ones,” Lailvaux argues.

While individual components, such as bearings, are critical in any piece of rotating equipment, this process leads to an “extremely analytical” perspec-tive about every aspect of a system. All maintenance functions of each piece of equipment are analysed and optimised. “OEMs always supply a handbook for their equipment that details the exact usage limits, the oil change intervals and the service requirements. But in indus-try, machines are seldom used exactly as intended. The exact operational speeds and torques of a gearbox, for example,



Above: In the sugar industry, for example, maintenance has always been routinely concluded between crops, but operators are now asking whether asset perfor-mance can be enhanced by adopting optimised maintenance strategies.

Left: At facilities such as this confection-ery factory, SKF’s CNA and MSR review processes look at maintenance functions to optimise the performance of each piece of equipment.

Right: SKF’s model of a mature develop-ment and maintenance strategy. “There is a direct correlation between maintenance attitudes and innovation, and this insight is based on more than 2 500 CNAs conducted globally and about a dozen completed locally,” says Lailvaux.

are seldom always inside the parameters specified by the OEM. The MSR process identifies the real operating conditions so that a more appropriate maintenance regime can be implemented to protect a company’s assets,” he says.

A team of asset management spe-cialists reporting to Lailvaux performs the CNA and MSR reviews at SKF Southern Africa. “We have coupled mechanical engineering and process analysis expertise with practical mainte-nance. We have one person that covers the engineering and analytical side of a system while another identifies the practical aspects that affect the reli-ability of a process line as well as the procedures that will allow maintenance to be effectively implemented. Our aim is to develop maintenance strategies that are practical and sensible in terms of cost and time, and that are efficient with respect to condition monitoring routes and plant layout. Most impor-tantly though, the strategy has to be effective, so as to improve reliability and availability.

“Solidly rooted in the proactive maintenance paradigm, once key dis-ciplines of control and execution are in

place, it becomes easier for companies to achieve set business goals. For many, the key goal may be improved productivity, for others, ergonomics and compliance to environmental standards might be imperatives. But whatever the goals, maintenance maturity puts the practical plans in place so that companies can go on to achieve higher level business goals and remain world class in their fields,” believes Lailvaux.

The average project runs for about six months from the time the needs analysis is completed to the full imple-mentation of an MSR in a specific area of a customer’s plant or operation. “The projects are concluded in distinct blocks so as to make the process manageable and effective for both the customer and SKF’s consulting team,” adds Lailvaux.

“Also, SKF SA believes in a knowl-edge transfer model. We heavily invest our time at the start of these projects via intensive blocks of time and train-ing with clients. But as the project develops, we withdraw. The idea is to empower the client with mature main-tenance methodologies by providing training and passing on the ‘thinking processes’ and tools. We believe it is important for customers to assume total control of their maintenance processes via this knowledge transfer model because no organisation can become world class unless it sets owns its di-rection. Innovative companies wholly embrace their production processes and maintenance strategies so that every aspect of their business is under direct control.

When asked about skills shortages, Lailvaux acknowledges that there are current problems in South Africa and across the globe. “Proactive reliability technicians capable of solid mainte-

nance and with analytical knowledge in the condition monitoring field are rare. Machine repair skills have to be coupled with an understanding of vibration analysis, oil analysis and thermography as well as alignment and balancing ex-pertise. Currently, people who possess all of these skills are in short supply.

“In cases where there are skills short-ages onsite, we aim to support custom-ers by providing training to empower someone in the customer’s organisation with these skills so that, in the long term, the organisation and individual become self sufficient,” he assures.

Asset management, according to Lailvaux, is growing. “People are now increasingly determined to ‘sweat their assets’. We have more people asking if they are getting the most out of their equipment and whether their service intervals can be extended. In the sugar industry, for example, maintenance has always been routinely concluded between crops. The majority of the operations were shut down, equipment thoroughly cleaned and every potential risk item replaced. Now, though, ques-tions are being asked as to whether asset performance can be enhanced by adopting an optimised maintenance strategy. In doing so, higher levels of reliability can be achieved without the need for routine ‘just-in-case’ replace-ments,” he explains.

“This is exciting stuff. The attitudes and accepted norms of entire industries are changing. Innovative producers are already convinced and for those with ambitions to become globally competi-tive, adopting a mature maintenance strategy may well prove to be the ideal catalyst,” Lailvaux concludes. q



Metric Automotive Engineer-ing is a family-owned and operated company that remanufactures complete

diesel engines and components. The company has built a reputation for superior service and a customer-centric attitude. Regular feedback from custom-ers and research into new technology provide Metric Automotive Engineering with a sustainable business model.

“The ability to more rapidly prepare the components for inspection and test-ing ensures that we are able to speed up the quotation time to our customers. This results in reduced downtime of cus-tomer machines, with the concomitant improved productivity and enhanced return on investment,” says Andrew Yorke, operations director at Metric Automotive Engineering.

The Tierratech MOT 750 ultrasonic cleaning machine operates on the prin-ciple of releasing ultrasonic high fre-quency waves (20 kHz and greater) into the liquid in which the components are immersed. The ultrasonic energy pro-duced breaks the mechanical and ionic bonds that exist in the dirt and debris surrounding and within the components.

The components are bombarded with ultrasonic waves over 40 000 times every second, producing a highly efficient micro-brush effect for maxi-mised cleaning effort. The system is so effective that it is able to penetrate nooks and crannies that are inacces-sible using other cleaning media.

“Not only can we guarantee custom-ers improved lead times on their reman-ufactured components and engines, but we are also exhibiting our commitment to environmental stewardship by using such a green cleaning methodology. The MOT 750 consumes minimal cleaning materials, since it operates at a very low concentration of about 2%. In addition, we are able to drastically reduce the amount of water used in the cleaning process, since all components are now immersed in the unit’s fluid container.

Ultrasonic component cleaningThe cleanliness of engine components prior to inspection, testing and assembly is critical to the subsequent successful remanufacturing of diesel engines. Metric Automotive Engineering recently invested in an MOT 750 ultrasonic component cleaning machine to provide faster turnaround times to the benefit of its customers.

Metric Automotive Engineering recently invested in an MOT 750 ultrasonic component cleaning machine to provide faster turnaround times.

Ultrasonic cleaning at Metric Automotive Engineering enables the company to more rapidly prepare the components for inspection and testing.

Water filters are installed in a closed circuit to provide increased lifespan and operability of the unit,” Yorke points out.

Another benefit accruing to Metric Automotive Engineering is the elimina-tion of a component cleaning operator. “The components are simply loaded into the cleaning bath of the MOT 750, the system is activated and the responsible person can then proceed with other

tasks. In addition, by minimising the use of cleaning chemicals, we are able to ensure a safer working environ-ment. Our employees can now avoid contact with hazardous products such as solvents, acids and highly alkaline detergents,” he adds.

“The MOT 750 will result in a time saving of approximately 80% on previ-ous cleaning methodologies. This time saving will be passed on to our custom-ers who can then expect a much faster turnaround time on their engines. In addition to the time saving, this highly efficient cleaning mechanism provides Metric Automotive Engineering and our customers with the confidence that even complex components are completely clean, for a more reliable engine,” Yorke concludes. q


The Viper MKII wire rope lubrica-tor is suitable for use on wire rope with diameters ranging from 8,0 mm to 67 mm,

and can operate at speeds of up to 2 000 m per hour. Filter Focus COO, Craig FitzGerald, explains that the Viper lubricator “eliminates the need for companies to carry out manual lubrication applications, which can be time-consuming and labour-intensive”.

“The Viper Wire rope lubricator achieves more thorough lubrication of the wire rope as the pressure forces lubricant through the core of the rope. It offers the user high-pressure, one-pass lubrication of the wire rope and reduces lubrication consumption by up to 90%. As the lubricant is forced into the centre of the rope under pressure, each individual strand is lubricated, thereby eliminating fretting corrosion,” he explains.

The Viper MKII wire rope lubricator, according to FitzGerald, “eliminates the need for companies to carry out manual lubrication applications, which can be time-consuming and labour-intensive”.

A quick and effective solution for the lubrication of wire ropes in industrial applications is available in the local market through Filter Focus, a leading wear control expert specialising in the development, design and manufacture of offline filtration systems.

Viper automates rope lubrication

The Viper wire rope lubricator pre-vents corrosion of the wire rope, and displaces moisture from the core of the rope, which increases operational lifespan. It also saves time and money as lubrication is only required every seven months as opposed to every two months with manual lubrication.

As a result, lubrication time is dra-matically decreased, reducing down-time. “This automated process offers the added benefit of improved worker safety during the lubrication process as workers are not exposed to the ropes.”

According to FitzGerald, the rope cleaner (VRC) is mounted onto the rope first, and is responsible for removing contaminants on the rope, such as old lubricant and dirt contamination. Once the VRC is connected, the Viper collar is connected. “The Viper collar clamps easily around the rope thanks to the cast handles and simple design. Once place,

the toggles must be tightened firmly by hand. The pump and airline are then connected, and one end of the lubricant hose is connected to the grease pump, with the other connected to the Viper collar. The system also has a lubricant discharge hose, which is responsible for removing any excess lubricant.”

Viper pumps are capable of pumping more than of 4,0 kg of lubricant onto a wire rope per hour. Industrial applica-tions include the lubrication of wire rope for ship loaders, wharf cranes, special-ised lifting cranes, mobile cranes, shaft winders and spool drums. q

www.wearcheck.co.za



Pretoria-based I-CAT is a leading env i r onmen ta l solutions com-

pany that specialises in the development of products and services that ensure

environmental compliance for its in-dustrial clients. Non-executive director, professor Jan du Plessis, notes that dust suppression has evolved “from an optional minimal compliance system to a fundamental necessity” in the local mining sector.

“Dust is a pervasive problem that un-dermines the health of workers, impacts negatively on the surrounding environ-ment and substantially reduces the lifespan of machinery. It can damage even the most sophisticated equipment and technology,” begins Du Plessis. “It is, therefore, imperative to effectively control dust continuously with objec-tives that reach far beyond legislative compliance.”

He says numerous variables can be associated with excessive dust genera-tion in the mining sector; however, the main contributor is widely recognised

Water wise and effective dust suppression solutions

Increasingly stringent environmental legislation has resulted in onsite dust suppression systems playing a role of continued importance in the African mining industry, and I-CAT Environmental Solutions has been a leader in this field since 2007.

The dust trapping DustMonster boasts a throw of more than 100 m of atomised mist and a coverage area of 2,6 hectares.

Professor Jan du Plessis, a non-executive director of I-CAT Environmental Solutions.

as haulage roads with large volumes of traffic. Other operational processes such as blasting, drilling, dumping and load-ing are also major contributors.

“Although water is the most com-monly used dust suppressant, it is severely limited in its effectiveness,” says Du Plessis. “Using only water to control dust is a perpetually costly task that offers limited dust suppression. The futility of wasting time, money, and precious water resources is increased as the water quickly evaporates, and the dust is again released into the environment.”

Through its commitment to continu-ous research and development, I-CAT is able to ensure efficient dust control and full environmental compliance for its clients, through innovative and cost-effective products that assist with surface stabilisation while ensuring a significant reduction in water usage.

Dust suppressant productsRDC 20 is a water-soluble anionic poly-electrolyte polymer that has been exclu-sively developed by I-CAT. “It is an inno-vative formulation of blended emulsified

co-polymers and ionic modifiers. When sprayed onto the road surface, RDC 20 forms a durable cross-linked matrix. The matrix binds fine soil particles into larger heavier particles, which are less prone to become airborne. RDC 20 is regularly used on temporary roads as a cost-efficient means to improve road and dust conditions. Exponentially!” Du Plessis exclaims.

“I-CAT has received extremely posi-tive feedback from mines where the product is applied, and especially where I-CAT is contracted to manage the dust control on mine roads. The overall ambi-ent dust at our largest operation in the Northern Cape has improved by more than 40% when compared the readings prior to I-CAT managing the secondary roads at the mine. This is an extraor-dinary achievement that would not be possible without RDC 20.”

Misting systemsThe DustMonster range of machinery mi-nimises the effects of dust by creating an ultra-fine mist that attracts dust and en-capsulates the airborne particles before driving them to the ground. The units are fully automatic, easily adaptable and portable. “With its rugged 44 kW motor and user-definable 359° oscillation, the DustMonster boasts a throw of more than 100 m, leading to its dust-trapping atomised mist having a coverage area of 2,6 ha,” adds Du Plessis.

I-CAT is also the exclusive local dis-tributor of the Scrub Mist System – a technologically advanced mist nozzle system developed and manufactured in the USA. Du Plessis reveals that the most notable advantage of the Scrub Mist System is that it boasts



I-CAT, through dust suppressant products such as RDC 20, is able to offer water efficient dust control for its clients.

“ecologically neutral technology”. “This technology breaks down water

drops of between 50 and 200 microns, thereby neutralising and controlling dust at the source of emission via the grouping of dust elements into larger agglomerations.”

Green solutions GreenGrip is a natural polymer-based gravel road sealant. It is an environ-

mentally safe alternative to chemical-based products for semi-permanent gravel roads on mines and residential areas. The solution produces a durable, smooth and dust-free surface with fewer maintenance intervals. GreenGrip is water-soluble and is easily incorporated into routine dust suppression proce-dures with no requirements for special equipment or handling precautions. For permanent dust roads, I-CAT supplies a bitumen-based dust suppression solu-tion called GreenBit.

Camera-based technologyWater and fuel are precious commodi-ties on open pit mines, and spillage and overfilling are a major challenge in the industry. In order to overcome this costly and wasteful trend, du Plessis points out that I-CAT developed the E-CAM system with integrated RFID, a camera-based technology that assists water bowser operators in lining up 85 000 ℓ water bowsers at filling points across the mine.

“In the past, this tedious task in-volved the driver regularly climbing out of the vehicle before aligning it with the

filling point. The element of human error often resulted in misalignment and spill-age. I-CAT’s E-CAM camera technology ensures pinpoint alignment without the driver having to set foot outside of the bowser. This substantially reduces the risk of spillage, and also leads to significant time and cost savings,” he continues.

I-CAT was established from humble beginnings in 2007, and today the company boasts a complement of internationally recognised clients from across Africa. In addition to its dust suppression solutions, I-CAT also of-fers clients environmentally sustainable services in the fields of water solutions, environmental management solutions, carbon solutions, agro-forestry and fire solutions.

Looking to the future, Du Plessis is optimistic about continued growth. “Environmental compliance is more important now than ever. I-CAT has es-tablished itself as a market leader. The company is recognised as a preferred supplier to the industry and has placed itself in a strong position to achieve future growth,” concludes Du Plessis. q

www.engenoil.com


⎪ Materials handling and logistics ⎪

The second phase launch of Bar-loworld Equipment’s ThinkBIG programme took place on July 10, 2014 at the Barloworld

Academy in Isando. An integral part of the company’s organisational training and development strategy, the ThinkBIG programme ensures the provision of world-class after-sales support for the extensive Cat construction and mining machine population working across southern Africa.

Initiated by Caterpillar in 2004, the ThinkBIG programme is aimed at candidates seeking a university level qualification and a career in mechani-cal engineering, with a specific focus on the maintenance of earthmoving equipment within Caterpillar’s dealer-ship environment.

Barloworld Equipment is the first Cat dealer to introduce Caterpillar’s

ThinkBIG initiative in Africa. The pro-gramme is designed to be implemented in conjunction with an accredited tertiary institution for the respective practical and theoretical phases. For South Africa, Barloworld Equipment’s ThinkBIG partner is the University of Johannesburg (UJ), with qualify-ing candidates receiving a National Higher Diploma in Applied Mechanical Engineering Technology.

The second year of the three-year pro-gramme is a practical phase and is spent at Barloworld Equipment’s Technical Academy in Isando, Johannesburg. There, ThinkBIG students are schooled through their second year by specially trained Barloworld Equipment instruc-tors, all of whom have completed the mandatory Caterpillar Instructor Accreditation Programme.

Barloworld Equipment’s Technical

Barloworld Equipment’s ThinkBIG bursary programme is opening doors for students to follow careers in mechanical engineering. MechTech attends the signing ceremony for its latest intake and tours the facilities of the Barloworld Equipment’s Technical Academy in Isando.

The ThinkBIG class of 2013 and the new 2014 intake together with Barloworld Equipment technical training instructor and ThinkBIG coordina-tor, Wilson Malaka (far left), and Sam Gqibani (far right) HOD, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Technology, University of Johannesburg.

ThinkBIG: a gateway for tomorrow’s engineers

Academy launched the first phase of the ThinkBIG programme in February 2013. Five first year UJ students were selected and granted full bursaries, and are now at the Technical Academy for their second year studies. These students are progressing well and are receiving ongoing mentorship support to ensure that they excel on the programme.

State-of-the-art facilities at the Academy include a six bay workshop, practical work areas, and lecture rooms. Purpose-built accommodation for learn-ers is also provided. In any one year, the Academy can train up to 2 000 learn-ers, the bulk of whom are apprentices completing the NQF Level 3 earthmov-ing mechanic artisan programme.



Barloworld Equipment’s Technical Academy in Isando.

Following in their footsteps, the sec-ond phase of the ThinkBIG programme has now been launched and on July 10, 2014 the next intake signed their study contracts. The four UJ candidates selected in this round start their second year practical component in 2015. As with the first group, all study and resi-dence costs are covered by Barloworld Equipment for the entire three-year academic programme.

Successive ThinkBIG phases will ensure that Barloworld Equipment has a constant stream of young engineers entering the business, with the added advantage that they join with a sound understanding of Cat earthmoving ma-chine maintenance.

The drive to provide technical skills extends across Barloworld Equipment’s southern African territories and goes hand in glove with an ongoing effort towards employment equity in South Africa and localisation in terms of em-ployment, training and empowerment.

“As employers, we care about em-ployee development,” says Wilson

Malaka, the course coordinator, citing in particular the case of one Barloworld’s own apprentices, Charles Mohale, who had announced his intention to leave the company to further his studies. “Mohale was already a qualified general mechanic, but he wanted to further his studies. We decided to incorporate him into the full-time programme, so we would not lose him and to secure his future career within Barloworld,” adds Malaka.

Hannes Wilke, the company’s group technical training manager for southern Africa, describes the course in more detail: “Investigation began in 2005 to see how Caterpillar overcomes train-ing challenges around the world. The company is dependant on highly skilled technical resources and service and we pride ourselves on our customer support offering,” he says.

The programme begins with a full year of theoretical coursework, man-aged by the University of Johannesburg. This is followed by a year of practical training at Barloworld’s Technical Training Academy. Students graduate following a third year of coursework at UJ and further six months of product-related skills development.

“A modern earthmoving machine is more complex than a top of the range luxury car,” Wilke says, “and our technical staff need to know about the full range of technologies employed.” The course includes; fundamentals of diesel engines, machine hydraulics, fuel systems, electrical systems, drive trains, computer diagnostics, and is complemented with courses on English writing and communication skills and a whole lot more.

“The programme exists all over the world and the curriculum is 100% de-

veloped by Caterpillar and based on a ‘earn as you learn’ philosophy. In South Africa, the course meets the require-ments for a three-year National Higher Diploma, which will be awarded to graduates of the programme by UJ’s de-partment of Mechanical Engineering,” Wilke adds.

The curriculum, however, comes from Caterpillar so “this course is the same everywhere in the world. Our graduates will be qualified to the same standards as Caterpillar engineers in USA or anywhere else”.

“Applicants are selected on the basis of their skills potential and we use psychometric testing techniques to determine this,” he continues. “We do not set people up to fail. We follow processes and award scholarships based on successful potential, and we support our students with guaranteed employment post graduation. Further skills development post graduation is also encouraged, since new models and new technologies are continuously being developed and released,” he says.

The new intake will begin its theoret-ical component of the course, while the ‘veterans’ will spend their first full year at the Barloworld Academy. “We are the first dealership in Africa to implement this programme and this makes us very proud,” Wilke announces, before inviting the new students to sign their contracts and receive their new laptops.

“We need to ensure that our people are globally competitive, diverse, em-powered and passionate,” comments Barloworld Equipment senior general manager, Rob Pullen, who heads up the Technical Academy. “To this end, we are major investors in people and their development and we take extreme pride in this fact.” q

www.tkrt.co.za

www.bmgexpo.co.za



While conventional condi-tion monitoring tracks a specific parameter of condition to identify a

change indicative of a developing fault, vibrating equipment specialist, Joest, adds advanced testing and measuring technology to the mix, helping custom-ers achieve a continuous supply of qual-ity production tonnage, while protecting company assets and reducing the total cost of ownership.

“Our activities in this area are focused on mitigating the risks associ-ated with each unique customer plant,” says Theresa Walton, general manager, service at Joest.

“We differentiate ourselves in the marketplace not only through the quality of our products, but also by the high level of service we offer and by the advanced testing and measurement technology we’ve developed. Joest has never shied away from investing in technology and this capability allows us to enhance our offering to custom-ers, enabling the early identification of conditions that would shorten the lifespan of equipment – before these develop into major failures. The longer we can extend the life of equipment on site, the better value the customer will extract from this investment.”

Walton predicts that the role of condition monitoring/testing and mea-surement in the future is “likely to increase” in order to counter a growing trend in the mining industry worldwide to specify lighter screens and associated support structures when a plant is first designed, in an effort to contain costs.

“Joest tailors its test and measure-ment technology to suit each customer’s specific needs, taking into account skills levels at the plant, as well as production and quality requirements,

Above: Vibrating equipment specialist Joest uses advanced testing and measur-ing technology to help customers achieve a continuous supply of quality production tonnage.

Right: Joest predicts that the role of condition monitoring/testing and measurement in the future is likely to increase in order to counter a growing trend in the mining industry worldwide to specify lighter screens.

In an extremely tough economic climate, condition monitoring is gaining momentum in the mining industry as a cost saving option that enables plant operators to monitor equipment output, pre-empt failures and capture valuable long term data on plant performance.

Optimising plant performance via condition monitoring

and linking these factors to existing systems. Based on this customised ap-proach, the company is in the process of installing sensors on its equipment at several customer plants. However, installing dozens of sensors doesn’t take away from the need to maintain the equipment to operate within its specifications and to refurbish it within appropriate cycles,” she explains, add-ing, “There is also an important role for human observation of equipment and performance. All these factors combine to extend the life of the plant.”

Kenny Mayhew-Ridgers, Joest’s gen-eral manager engineering, adds that in the absence of a standard commercial solution available on the market to of-fer high end condition monitoring on vibrating equipment, this South African-owned OEM conducts in-house research and development to arrive at the right approach for each application, in col-laboration with its customers.

“We find that the condition monitor-ing vibration sensors associated with SCADA systems, which were originally designed for applications in rotating equipment, cannot provide the required measurement range for our vibrating equipment, because we far exceed its maximum levels,” he says. “This is why we include ‘test and measurement technology’ into our approach when ad-vanced condition monitoring is required.

Every site has different demands and it’s extremely important to listen to these needs and understand the level of skills and capabilities at a given plant. We believe that by working with the OEM, who has an absolute understanding of the equipment’s characteristics, plant operators can be assured of the ideal monitoring technology.”

Before its screens are despatched to customer sites, Joest tests each unit to record the baseline measurements, and once installed, further tests are conducted to establish the influence of the plant structure and full load condi-tions on the unit and to determine the tolerable variances. These measure-ments are proving invaluable in flagging deviations and achieving long term optimisation of equipment performance.

Joest provides a full spectrum of ser-vice capabilities, from periodic on-site service calls to full on-site maintenance for the life of the equipment. It is one of the largest South African owned and operated OEMs supplying custom-designed vibratory equipment solutions for a broad spectrum of duties to Africa’s bulk materials handing market. Joest’s specialist capabilities are reflected in its track record of longstanding instal-lations operating efficiently year after year in arduous African conditions. q



As the licenced distributor of Siebtechnik centrifuges in southern Africa for over ten years, Multotec has access

to a wide range of products available internationally. Gerrit du Plessis, prod-uct specialist for Multotec’s solid liquid and magnetic separation division says that the range includes both filtration (pusher, vibrating and Conturbex) and sedimentation (conventional decanter) types of centrifuges, available for a multitude of applications.

Apart from offering these two con-ventional types of centrifuges, Multotec can also offer the option of a collection of hybrid machines, which will include both sedimentation and filtration pro-cess capabilities.

Siebtechnik centrifuges are manu-factured under licence or imported from Germany, depending on the type of machine required. Du Plessis points out that the primary differentiator with Siebtechnik centrifuges is that each is custom-engineered for the application at hand.

“Understanding customer needs and providing solution customisation to meet the specific operational pa-rameters is a driving force for Multotec.

In many instances, suppliers have a limited range and they, unfortunately, force the available centrifuges to fit the application, instead of providing a fit-for-application purpose-made solution. Having access to such a wide range of product data and designs makes the engineering of a centrifuge for a given application a viable proposition,” says Willem Slabbert, a process and applica-tion manager at Multotec.

Continuously operating centrifuges have long established their place in the solid/liquid separation process. They can dewater large quantities of solids to low final moistures, whilst needing little space, energy and time. By install-ing the correct centrifuge, organisations will reduce the cost of thermal drying considerably and may even make it superfluous. Siebtechnik specialises in the development and manufacture of continuously operating centrifuges, and supplies centrifuges across a broad

Multotec meets the market demand for filtration and sedimentation types of centrifuges with a broad range of custom-engineered products that are suitable for any application.

The Conturbex filtration-type centrifuge employs a fixed differential speed between the dewatering basket and the solids transport scroll. This accom-modates fluctuations in solids loading exceptionally well, without vibration, by ensuring a uniform solids distribution across the transport surface.

Decanter centrifuges are used effectively on more difficult to separated slurries where the solids may have low density or the liquid is viscous; the double bearing design on each side of the rotating parts allow high rotational speeds for the high gravitational force required for sedimenta-tion separation.

The Short Bowl Decanter uses an overhang design with a single bearing support, which is particularly suitable for high temperature applications because it is less limited to thermal expansion.

Fit-for-purpose centrifuge solutionsrange of industries, including mining, chemical, pharmaceutical and food and beverage processing.

The range includes the Conturbex, Pusher, Vibrating and Turbo Cascade screening centrifuges for material separation and washing. The Decanter centrifuge provides separation by means of differences in specific gravity. Each design uses different techniques for separating the material and provides specific advantages, depending on the process requirements. Siebtechnik’s unique short bowl decanter, with its single bearing overhang design, allows easy access for maintenance and clean-ing purposes compared to conventional dual bearing decanters. This feature also allows the machines to be used in high temperature applications where excessive thermal expansion can be better accommodated than dual bearing designs. The unique design of the twin cone decanter can achieve the best of both worlds, with one machine produc-ing a dry solid matter from its second-ary drying cone and a clear centrate (separated liquid) from the clarification bowl, whilst recirculating the centrate from the drying cone back to the feed.

Conturbex was the first horizontal worm/screen centrifuge supplied by Siebtechnik in 1948. It quickly became a global term for separation technol-ogy and the centrifuge construction principle, and has developed into a very versatile screening centrifuge for a wide variety of separation require-ments. Several thousand Siebtechnik Conturbex centrifuges are operating worldwide in the chemical, bulk goods processing, food products and environ-mental industries.

Of all the machines operating on the centrifugal principle, the decanter is the most versatile and has the largest over-all market share worldwide. “In light of increasingly demanding requirements of government authorities – in respect of reducing the waste content in efflu-ent and the requirement of industry for maximum possible efficiency of produc-tion plants – the decanter is fast gaining popularity,” Slabbert says.

As with all Siebtechnik centrifuges, the rugged planetary gear unit, as well as all the anti-friction bearings, are



The Turbo Screen, Twin Cone and Conthick hybrid centrifuges combine the best of sedimentation and filtration to provide clear liquid streams (virtually zero solids losses) with exceptionally dry solids products.

connected to a circulating oil lubrication system. All the components are gener-ously dimensioned and will stand up to the most severe operating conditions. This ensures maximum service life with minimum maintenance.

The design of the Conthick centrifuge is based on the technology of Conturbex worm/screen centrifuges, with an ad-ditional pre-thickening unit for high efficiency separation of low solid concentration slurry, as well as a high recovery of fines. This centrifuge sepa-rates the solids from liquids in slurry. The slurry is fed via an inlet pipe to the pre-thickening part of the centrifuge through openings at the centre of the worm body. Both liquid streams can be discharged separately or jointly in one liquid stream through a double or single filtrate discharge cyclone, depending on the process requirements.

A further development of the hybrid centrifuge range is the Turbo Screen Decanter, which exposes solid matter to higher G-forces, and its increased surface area and larger diameter screen facilitate longer washing.

Siebtechnik’s new, patented SHS/ZK Pusher design provides operating, performance and cost benefits. The patented filling system consists of an accelerator cone and ring pocket, which ensures extremely gentle acceleration and uniform distribution of solids resulting in reduced abrasion in the feed zone. The ring pocket can be equipped with a screening element to provide pre-dewatering before the slurry reaches the screen basket. This allows lower than normal feed concentrations to be introduced into the centrifuge. The wet end of the Pusher features a longer conical screen, which ensures increased throughput capacity, greater wash-ing efficiency and lower final moisture. The design features a combination of cylindrical or conical screening area, which results in improved capacity over common two-stage designs. Side-by-side tests have yielded up to 50% greater capacity and lower final moistures.

“A special rotary transmission on the SHS/ZK Pusher allows the hydraulic mechanism to be isolated from the bearing area. The improved hydraulics results in lower maintenance, easier access, and reduced downtime. Also, this design eliminates high-pressure hydraulic oil at the main shaft seal, which prevents oil leakage into the processing area via the pusher shaft, allowing additional room for positive and dependable process seal designs at the hollow shaft,” Du Plessis explains.

He adds that the continuously adjustable stroke length of the SHS/ZK is accessible from outside the unit. In addition, stroke reversal is operated electrically and does not depend upon pressure.

Both single-stage and multi-stage Pusher designs are avail-able. Single-stage machines are more sensitive to fluctuations in quantity and solids concentration of the feed. The two-stage centrifuges are the preferred choice over more complicated three- and four-stage designs. “These two-stage pushers offer high throughputs combined with great reliability and flexibility. They often process larger quantities than four-stage machines, while being less expensive, less complicated, and producing substantial process advantages,” says Du Plessis.

Additional special design features include gas-tight con-figurations to ensure a safe environment in toxic and flam-mable process applications, an internal re-pulping system to eliminate inter-stage re-pulping equipment and specially designed food application machines.

“We realise that, for optimum performance, the solution needs to be customised to suit the specific application need. Our engineers have amassed years of experience in assessing countless numbers of challenges and solutions and are able to apply this technical and practical knowledge to ensure the product matches the demands of the application,” Slabbert concludes. q

www.skf.co.za



FLSmidth’s screening capability took a major step forward in 2012 with the acquisition of Ludowici, one of the world’s

leading providers of reflux classifiers, coal centrifuges, vibrating screens and complementary wear resistant products and services for the minerals industries. This allowed FLSmidth to complete its coal processing flow sheet and comple-ment its copper and iron ore processing offerings with leading technologies.

“Our principal screening and feed-ing installations in Africa are in Ghana, Zambia and Mozambique and we’re currently busy with a very large project that will showcase our capability in

this arena in South Africa,” says Jurgen Cneut, FLSmidth technology specialist – vibrating equipment.

The group’s technology centre for screening and vibrating equipment is located in Brisbane Australia, where ongoing R&D work is focused on devel-oping new designs and manufacturing processes to boost efficiencies and optimise designs, while maintaining the product quality to which the market is accustomed.

FLSmidth South Africa is one of the few vibrating screen manufacturers to have its own in-house panel manufac-turing operation under the FLSmidth Screen Media (formerly Meshcape) brand. Research into combining the company’s Ludowici and Meshcape panel designs is progressing rapidly, with the objective of boosting the du-rability of the end-product to achieve a reduced total cost of ownership for customers.

A major benefit to the local market is that screening and vibrating equip-ment is manufactured at FLSmidth’s Supercenter in Delmas, Mpumalanga, which exists as a multi-faceted hub for FLSmidth activities throughout southern Africa.

The global growth of FLSmidth’s comprehensive range of screening and vibrating equipment is being reflected in Africa with a steadily increasing installed base across mineral processes and commodities in several countries on the continent.

Vibrating equipment installed across Africa

FLSmidth Ludowici vibrating screen.

An FLSmidth Ludowici BRU screen being manufactured at the company’s Delmas Supercenter in Mpumalanga.

“The major drivers here are cost savings and being able to provide local support, including inventory holding, to customers,” Cneut says. “Manufacturing these products locally speeds up the entire supply chain.”

FLSmidth screening and vibrat-ing equipment is differentiated in the marketplace by its robust designs that deliver a longer lifespan and incorporate unique features, such as an integral feed box as a separate component from the screen unit, which can be replaced without the need to cut or modify the screen. The unit simply unbolts from the screen frame and is replaced with a new one. FLSmidth is one of only a few companies to offer this design feature in Africa. The company is also differenti-ated by designing and manufacturing a range of exciter drives used on the bigger banana screens.

“In addition to the standard de-signs in the range, we’re also able to tailor-make screens to suit individual customer applications,” Cneut adds. “For example, we’ve just completed a year-long test of a 4,8 m wide screen designed for the coal industry, which has proved that a screen of this size can work extremely efficiently over the long term. Another recently completed large screen, destined for a customer in South America, is a double deck unit weighing 54 t.”

FLSmidth’s Ludowici range of vi-brating equipment comprises primarily



A BPS system polyurethane panel. FLSmidth South Africa is one of the few vibrating screen manufacturers to have its own in-house panel manufacturing operation under the FLSmidth Screen Media (formerly Meshcape) brand.

linear motion, high G force heavy duty designs suitable for all mining and mineral processing applications. Sizes range from 0,6 m wide up to 4,8 m wide with lengths from 1,2 m to 11 m. The range largely consists of heavy and medium duty vibrating screens, primary grizzly feeders and heavy and medium duty vibrating feeders. Of further interest in the product range is the FLSmidth Ludowici Jetslinger that distributes free-flowing bulk materials, inaccessible by other mechanical means, to form storage piles, and the FLSmidth Ludowici stockpile discharger that facilitates a controlled out-loading rate of up to 8 000 t of coal per hour. The stockpile discharger effectively prevents rat-holing and bridging of the material to achieve a greater live area in the stockpile.

FLSmidth is an African market leader in the supply of centri-fuges that have an unequalled track record of performance and reliability. The range includes coarse and fine coal centrifuges featuring high capacity, advanced technology, durability, value and efficiency. All centrifuges are backed by professional support and on-site service. The fine screen products range is completed by the company’s innovative reflux classifier technology, now accepted as the preferred fines gravity separator by the major global producers of metallurgical coal.

“Our local customers benefit greatly from our access to the global FLSmidth organisation’s process teams, enabling us to efficiently streamline all this equipment to suit individual client applications,” Cneut says. “As a group, we’re substantially big-ger than an OEM that simply manufactures screens. Drawing on this immense knowledge base, we can examine upstream and downstream processes to ensure our screening and vibrating equipment improves the efficiency of the total process.

“Our corporate philosophy drives our capability to offer the majority of plant equipment from ‘one source’ making it easier for our customers to know they are receiving integrated solutions that are optimised for maximum efficiencies. As an ISO 9001 accredited company, we build all our equipment to global qual-ity standards.”

Safety is a major driver in the organisation, driven by the desire to keep the end-user safe. FLSmidth considers health and safety as a key element for sustainable business, closely integrated with engineering, quality and production. q

www.barloworld-equipment.com

www.hansenindustrialgearboxes.co.za



ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solu-tions provides customers in the mining and cement industry, as well as the minerals processing

and bulk materials handling sectors with a comprehensive product portfolio combined with a tightly meshed sales and service network including engineer-ing, design and manufacture of equip-ment for materials handling, minerals processing and complete cement and lime plants. Field assembly, commis-sioning as well as comprehensive after sales services for complete production lines, individual products, plant conver-sions and upgrades compliment the company’s capabilities. A global leader in engineering with a presence on five continents and more than 150 years of experience, the company’s turnkey of-ferings have access to group-wide R&D, innovations and new technologies.

Comminution and materials handling solutionsThe merger of its Polysius and Thys-senKrupp Materials Handling divisions is a natural fit in terms of both market focus and product range from crush-ing to grinding equipment, including high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGR). To meet higher throughput targets on a processing plant, HPGR technology is combined with mills at various stages of the crushing process.

With a global market share of 44% in primary crushing, the company has added its industry-proven range of crushing equipment, fully and semi-mobile, to its portfolio and now offers a total solution for the comminution circuit.

The capabilities of the newly-formed company Resource Technologies

Grinding and crushing showcase at EMA 2014Polysius and ThyssenKrupp Materials Handling, now known as Resource Technologies, a business unit of ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions Africa, will showcase its grinding and crushing technologies for materials handling, minerals processing, and cement and lime plants with a model of a semi-mobile crushing plant and a working model mill at this year’s Electra Mining Africa (EMA) exhibition.

ThyssenKrupp Resource Technologies’ high pressure grinding roll (HPGR).

Along with its fixed and mobile crushers and HPGRs and grinding mills, the company can offer total solutions for any comminution circuit.

include materials han-dling equipment, which allows the company to offer its clients pit-to-port solutions. This includes equipment such as bucket wheel excavators, stackers, reclaimers, overland conveyors, load-out sta-tions as well as wagon tipplers, stockyard con-veyors and ship load-ers. In addition, clients receive on-the-ground engineering know-how, quality and long-lasting equipment, backed by local engineers and service personnel.

Laboratory automation and serviceThe company’s innovative laboratory automation solutions and intelligent control systems provide the technol-ogy to analyse complex ore bodies and minerals as required by today’s ore deposits. These quality control systems and know-how have been offered by the company for more than four decades.

The focus over the next few years will be on service in the African mar-ket and implementing operational, maintenance and service contracts, with the service centre in Chloorkop as the main service hub. The com-pany is moving service closer to its clients and, to this end, has already established offices in Ghana and Mozambique where it has equipment operating.

The company has also identified the need for a training facility, which will support its current apprenticeship

programme as well as customer-related training. ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions Africa will be at Stand J3 in Hall 6 at Electra Mining Africa. q

⎪ Heating, cooling, ventilation and air conditioning ⎪


Johnson Controls is well known in South Africa for its York chillers, which offer industry-leading effi-ciencies with excellent reliability

and design life. But from an economical perspective, these industrialised, robust and efficient systems are not always easy to justify on smaller buildings. “So Johnson Controls has been working on developing a range of units for smaller buildings – of around 10 000 m2 – that can be installed at a lower cost but without the efficiency disadvantages of the basic units commonly used in the past,” Cameron begins.

The results of this work are now available in the form of a cost-effective rooftop packaged unit with efficien-cies and features that are much closer to those of high-end sophisticated systems.

A rooftop unit is typically a combi-

nation of a chiller and an air-handling unit, packaged together so that it can be delivered in a box. The box contains a compressor, condenser, evaporator, heat exchangers and fans. By compressing a refrigerant, its temperature is raised. If the compressed gas is then cooled and condensed, this heat is removed. When near to ambient temperature, the liquid is then expanded. It evaporates and cools in the process; to a temperature well below ambient. Incoming air is blown through the chilled coils to cool the air, which is then ducted into the building.

“Traditional entry level rooftop solu-tions for small office buildings have these basic elements, but they do not have many controls or adjustments,” says Cameron. The only way to regu-late the temperature of air entering the building on simple systems is to switch the compressor on and off, based on

The smarter rooftop HVAC solution

York’s new modular rooftop packaged units, according to Cameron, are ideal for smaller office build-ings and shopping centres and are an economical solution for rental spaces.

The new generation of high efficiency York Activa smart rooftop packaged units

Johnson Controls, though its Building Efficiency business unit, is known for its high-end HVAC equipment: chillers, refrigeration and air-conditioning systems, security control and building management systems (BMS). Recently, however, mid-range modular rooftop packaged units have been added to its offering. MechTech talks to Neil Cameron, the business unit’s South African area general manager.

a single temperature measurement somewhere in the building, a regulation technique crudely known as ‘bang-bang’ control.

“But technology has become cheap-er and sophistications that used to cost a fortune are now much less expensive. The new York rooftop units now come with built-in variable speed drives (VSDs), which allow the compressor speed to be varied continuously keep-ing the temperature of the conditioning air at the desired set-point,” Cameron informs MechTech. This immediately raises the efficiency of the unit, because

the compressor motor is seldom draw-ing full power and energy use is more accurately matched to the heating or cooling demand.

The new York range of modular rooftop packaged units, according to Cameron, is ideal for smaller office buildings and shopping centres. “In particular, these units are an economi-cal solution for rental spaces,” he adds.

In the rental market, it is often not viable for owners to install sophisticated energy-efficient units when the tenant does not sign a long lease. “Owners of smaller rental properties preferred split units, which can be installed on a one-off basis for each office requiring air-conditioning. If a rooftop system was chosen, it was usually a low-grade unsophisticated unit, which is not always efficient. Owners cannot justify expensive infrastructure for properties on a five-year lease,” says Cameron.

Also, the next tenant might have



different requirements. “The new York rooftop units are not only more sophisticated and effi-cient, they are also cost effective and modular. The entire unit comes pre-packaged in a single box. To install it, all that is required is a power connection on the roof and some ducting to channel air into the building. On delivery, the units are lowered onto the roof and can be up and running that same day,”

Addressing improved efficiency and flex-ibility, Cameron says that these units also come with a built in economiser cycle. “An economiser cycle allows the return air out of the building, which is often still cooler than the ambient air, to be recirculated and chilled, instead of simply exhausting it and drawing in fresh air.”

Using a winter heating cycle as an example, he says that if the outside air is at zero degrees

“you don’t want to continuously

heat up air from zero degrees to keep the building warm. Instead, the return air, which will be much warmer than the outside air, can have its temperature topped up before being recirculated to meet the requirement. This is much more efficient than exhausting air that is warmer than the outside air,” he explains. “Economisers save substantial amounts of energy during hot summers and cold winter conditions.”

In addition, York economiser cycles are used in conjunction with CO2 sensors installed in the return air ducting. “To prevent CO2 accu-mulation, a minimum amount of fresh air from outside – set at 15% – has to be drawn into a building unless a CO2 sensor is installed. And since these are also now much more afford-able, they can further improve the efficiency and air quality of the economiser system built onto the rooftop unit. By measuring actual CO2 content in the exhaust air duct, it is possible to accurately regulate the amount of fresh air needed, which can be less than the 15% minimum if the building is relatively empty,

but sometimes, in a hall packed with students, for example, you might need 30% fresh air to stop everyone falling asleep,” Cameron tells MechTech.

Adding to the cost effective argument for these units is the flexibility offered by modern control technology. “Previously, these control-lers used to simply switch on and off based on the air temperature inside the building, and perhaps a simple timer would be added. Today, the York rooftop system is fully compat-ible with modern building management sys-tem (BMS) protocols: Bacnet, Lonworks and MODBUS. Adding a simple communication chip to a controller is very cheap nowadays. So rooftop units are now easy to interface with any BMS, which enables more flexibility and control than ever before.”

First off, a BMS can trigger a host of alarms to warn of imminent problems or failures. Second, though, the rooftop unit can be more smartly managed. If the building is not occupied, the system can be shut down auto-matically, for example, and because of wire-less technology, data can be sent to remote cellphones, tablets or computers. “Because of open protocols on BMS systems, all the data is accessible anywhere. If you receive a complaint on a Sunday morning, for example, you can log onto a website and remotely check conditions in the building. Then, without hav-ing to visit the site, you adjust the set points to the tenants’ preferences,” he explains.

The unit, and its associated BMS, can easily be moved to a new building at the end of a lease: “Because it is one consolidated unit, once the power and the inlet ducting is disconnected, the unit can be easily moved. This enables tenants to invest is such systems, because they can always take it with them if they move on,” Cameron suggests.

York rooftop packaged units are available with cooling capacities from 17 to 84 kW and units can be coupled together for increases capacity and because of the built-in VSD, an 84 kW unit can be used at 17 kW, so it is easy to meet normal demand requirements without having to over size the units.

“Efficiency wise, these rooftop units are more comparable to sophisticated chiller-based systems. We can now achieve coef-ficients of performance (COPs) close to 3,0. This means that for every kW of energy used, the unit produces 3,0 kW of cooling. Previously, rooftop units struggled to achieve COPs above 2,0. The 50% savings on energy costs that accrue because of this COP increase result in 18-months payback periods on en-ergy alone,” Cameron concludes, adding that the economics makes sense on a lease as short as two years. q

www.za.becker-mining.com



Some data centre trends and best practices – most aimed at improving performance, ef-ficiency, and manageability un-

der normal operating conditions – may adversely impact operating conditions following a power outage. This is ac-cording to a published paper by Schnei-der Electric, ‘Data centre temperature rise during a cooling system outage’, authored by Paul Lin, senior research analyst at Schneider Electric’s Data Centre Science Centre; Simon Zhang, a Schneider Electric senior research engineer working on data centre design, operation and management software platforms; and James van Gilder, re-sponsible for Schneider Electric’s data centre cooling software encompassing both software development and related research.

Within the paper, the authors explore these trends and practices, focusing on:• Right-sizing cooling capacity. • Increasing power density and virtu-

alisation.

Managing trends that could harm data centre cooling

Cold Aisle containment systems in data centres are improving cooling efficiency and can often have short payback times.

Three researchers at Schneider Electric’s Data Centre collaborated on a paper that explores trends and best practices that impact the operating conditions of data centres, how to manage temperature rises following power failures and strategies to slow the rate of heating.

• Increasing IT inlet and chiller set-point temperatures.

• Air containment of racks and rows.Ling, Zhang and Van Gilder say that aligning capacity to the actual IT load or right-sizing the capacity of the overall cooling system provides several benefits, including increased energy efficiency and lower capital costs. How-ever, excess cooling capacity is desir-able when faced with unacceptably high temperatures following a power outage. In fact, if the total cooling capacity per-fectly matched the heat load, the facility could, theoretically, never be cooled to its original state, because after a power outage there would always be heat in excess of the IT load. Just as multiple window air-conditioners effectively cool a bedroom more quickly than a single unit, additional computer room air handler (CRAH) or computer room air conditioner (CRAC) capacity helps return the data centre to pre-power-failure conditions quickly.

When it comes to increasing power

density and virtualisation, Ling, Zhang and Van Gilder maintain that compac-tion of IT equipment produces increased rack power densities in the data centre. The emergence of equipment like blade severs and certain communications equipment can result in rack power densities exceeding 40 kW per rack.

They add that another technology trend, virtualisation, has greatly in-creased the ability to utilise and scale-compute power. For example, virtuali-sation can increase the CPU utilisation of a typical non-virtualised server from 5% to 10% to 50% or higher.

Since both increasing the rack power density and virtualisation make it pos-sible to dissipate more heat in a given space, they can also reduce the time available to data centre operators before the IT inlet temperatures reach critical levels following a power outage.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), Inc. technical committee 9.9 (mission critical facili-ties, technology spaces and electronic equipment) developed and expanded the recommended thermal operating envelope for data centres. Increasing the IT inlet and chilled water set point temperature results in an increased number of hours that cooling systems can operate on economiser mode, ex-plain Lin, Zhang and Van Gilder.

It has been estimated that for every 1,0 °C increase in chiller set point temperature, about 3,5% of the chiller power can be saved. In other words, it gets increasingly expensive to cool chilled water the more the set point temperature is reduced below a fixed ambient temperature. While this ap-plies directly to chilled-water systems, the same trend applies to air-cooled DX systems. Consequently, higher IT inlet temperatures leave less time for data centre operators to react in a power-failure scenario.

Lastly, when it comes to air contain-ment of racks and rows, the authors say that containment can improve the predictability and efficiency of traditional data centre cooling systems such as perimeter cooling systems with raised floors or hard floors, that is, flooded supplies. However, containment sys-tems prevent air streams from mixing with the rest of the data centre room and this will affect the temperature rise during cooling outages. The temperature



rise performance will vary for different containment systems depending on the connectivity of cooling equipment to backup power.

For hot-aisle containment with row-based chilled-water coolers, if the coolers are not on UPSs and contain-ment doors remain shut during a loss of cooling airflow, then there could be a substantial amount of re-circulated hot air into the IT inlets through various leakage paths and IT inlet temperatures will rise quickly. If coolers are on UPSs, but the chilled water pumps are not, then the coolers will pump hot air into the cold aisle without providing active cooling. In this case, only the thermal mass of the cooler (including cooling coils and water inside the coil) is utilised. If both coolers and chilled water pumps are on UPSs, then the temperature rise depends on the chilled water plant configuration (that is stor-age tank configuration, chiller start time, and more).

For cold-aisle containment with perforated tiles, the thermal mass in the raised-floor plenum associated with the concrete slab, chilled water pipes and

so on, can help moderate temperature rise. For cold-aisle containment with row-based chilled-water coolers, if the coolers are not on UPSs, then the nega-tive pressure in the containment system will draw in hot exhaust air through the rack and containment structure leakage paths, thereby raising IT inlet tempera-tures. If row-based coolers are on UPSs, then the temperature rise depends on the chilled water plant configuration, that is, storage tank configuration, chiller start time, and more.

Rack-air containment systems be-have similarly to cold-aisle and hot-aisle containment with row-based coolers.

Despite the challenges provided by recent data centre trends, Lin, Zhang and Van Gilder state that it is possible to design the cooling system for any facility to allow for long runtimes on emergency power.

Depending on the mission of the facility, it may be more practical to maximise runtimes within the limits of the current architecture and, at the same time, plan to ultimately power down IT equipment during an extended outage. Lin, Zhang and Van Gilder

recommend four strategies to slow the rate of heating: maintain adequate reserve cooling capacity; connect cool-ing equipment to backup power; use equipment with shorter restart times and; use thermal storage to ride out chiller-restart times. q

Prefabricated data centre for Baidu Schneider Electric recently announced that it had won the bid from Baidu in Beijing, China to build an M1 containerised (prefabricated) data centre with In-Row cooling.

As Baidu’s first prefabricated data centre project, the eco-friendly data centre will fea-ture fast deployment, low input and high capa-bility operation from a standardised, modular and prefabricated data centre ideally suited to ‘age-of-cloud’ computing and ‘big data’.

The solutions are space and energy efficient without sacrificing any functionality or per-formance. Furthermore, this data centre can readily adapt to changing customer require-ments by quickly and flexibly re-deploying, expanding, and shifting to new tasks.

As the largest Chinese search engine and Chinese website in the world, Baidu processes billions of search and analysis requests from network users across the world every day.

www.webachutes.com


⎪ Manufacturing technology and plant automation ⎪

Mooted as “momentous event in SA’s Automotive Industry history” the first FAW commercial vehicle

built in South Africa rolled off the as-sembly line at the FAW Vehicle Manu-facturers SA production plant at Coega in the Eastern Cape on 10 July 2014. With South African president, Jacob Zuma, in attendance together with nu-merous dignitaries from the Government of China, the country saw the culmina-tion of a US$60-million investment in the Eastern Cape.

Says Zuma: “Following our BRICS trade agreements, this massive invest-ment by a Chinese Corporation augers well for the future of this partnership between our countries. Today’s FAW Coega plant opening has the added advantage that South Africa remains seen as an investment destination of choice. This is an example to other global companies, which can rest as-sured that the South African govern-ment is doing everything possible to maintain its world-class offering as a springboard into unlocking potential on the African continent.

Turning attention to power and

labour issues, he adds: “Our focus in the next five years is to provide a sustainable energy mix for the country. Energy security is key to enhancing SA’s global competitiveness. And as far as the current strike in the metal industries is concerned, I trust that this will be resolved amicably, without violence, reaching a speedy resolution. This is in the interest of all of South Africa.”

Zuma sees the opening of the FAW plant in Coega as “a remarkable ex-ample of the positive co-operation that we as South Africans can attract from

South Africa, the Eastern Cape and the Coega IDZ are set for rapid growth as Chinese vehicle manufacturer FAW Vehicle Manufacturers SA (Pty) Ltd officially opens its plant.

The first FAW commercial vehicle built in South Africa rolled off the assembly line at the FAW Coega plant on 10 July 2014.

Jacob Zuma and other dignitaries on a tour of the FAW Coega plant, which is a 103 000 m2 site with 28 000 m2 under roof.

FAW makes history in South Africa

foreign investors” and believes that in-vestments such as these are “imperative to job creation, our growth and future prosperity”.

Minister of Trade and Industries, Rob Davies, in his address indicated that FAW’s decision to build commer-cial vehicles locally from completely knocked down kits (CKD), the first OEM to do so in South Africa across its entire range, is a clear indication that government’s plan to extend the Automotive Production Development Plan (APDP) to commercial vehicle CKD manufacturers, bus manufacturers and local component manufacturing industry, will attract further expansion in the automotive industry.

Mr Qin Huanming, vice president of the China FAW Group Corporation, together with Jacob Zuma and Rob Davies, attended to the official ribbon-cutting ceremony as the first locally produced FAW Truck rolled off the Coega plant production line.

“As a shining pearl on the African continent, South Africa enjoys sound political, economic and legal systems, as well as excellent infrastructure and abundant labour resources. These fa-vourable conditions have strengthened FAW’s confidence to invest in South Africa,” says Huanming.

The decision to build the FAW plant



in South Africa is very significant from a global perspective, as it is one of the most important and largest invest-ments made by a Chinese entity in South Africa to date. The total invest-ment has been financed by China FAW Group Corporation, the China-Africa Development Fund (CAD-Fund) together with FAW Africa Investment Company (Ltd). This collaboration speaks vol-umes to the growing interest from global Chinese Industry in unlocking the true potential of Africa.

The investment constitutes a number of firsts for FAW SA:• At a cost of $60-million for the estab-

lishment of this modern, high-quality vehicle production plant and all its associated infrastructure, this is the single biggest recent vote of confi-dence in the local vehicle industry.

• The Coega plant, with its build-capacity of 5 000 units per annum, represents the first high-quality Chinese manufacturer to set-up and contribute on this scale, in the Eastern Cape region.

• FAW Vehicle Manufacturers SA will be the first OEM to locally build its

entire range of commercial vehicles sold here – 14 models spanning the medium, heavy and extra-heavy commercial vehicle segments. Henceforth all FAW trucks in South Africa will carry the ‘Made in South Africa’ badge of honour.

• Future plans include the commis-sioning of a body-building facility at the Coega plant. Tipper truck bodies, mixers and customised trailers will be built in a facility adjoining the main plant that is nearing comple-tion. FAW will also be the first SA-based OEM to offer its body-building services to other commercial vehicle manufacturers.

Originally announced in 2012, the decision to construct the local FAW plant was not one that was taken lightly, explains FAW Vehicle Manufacturers SA MD Richard Leiter: “We could have gone to Kenya, or Tanzania where FAW has been present in sales and service for over 30 years – but in the end we chose South Africa because of the infrastructure. It then came down to a choice between East London or Coega.”

In the end Coega was chosen be-

cause, as Leiter says, “the infrastructure is perfect”.

The first-phase of the Coega plant – covering 103 000 m2 of land with 28 000 m2 under roof – will allow the company to provide its client base with a sense of pride and patriotism by ‘buying local’. Expected to ramp-up to produce 5 000 trucks per annum, the Coega assembly plant will supply trucks to the South African market, as well as to the rest of Africa, in both right-hand and left-hand-drive derivatives. The current projections are that 40% of production will be destined for the South African territories, while 60% will be exported.

FAW is positive about the growth plan that has been formulated for the FAW brand in South Africa. “FAW rose as a result of political dispensations in China that allowed more free-market enterprise and encouraged overseas ex-ports. As China grew then, so will Africa grow now, and FAW is ideally placed to benefit from the demand for vehicles on the continent, because FAW has already established a solid presence, where it counts,” concludes Leiter. q

www.cbz.co.za

www.sew.co.za



The Weir Minerals Africa upgrade at its Isando manu-facturing plant

involves the addition of new CNC machines and leading safety controls, together with a heavy in-vestment in new manufac-turing technologies such as live shop floor control and monitoring, coordi-nate measuring machines (CMMs) and next gen-eration CAD/CAM software. Along with these improvements, a machine innova-tion group (MIG) has been tasked with ensuring the facility stays up to date with the latest manufacturing trends.

Patrick Taggart, plant manager at Weir Minerals Africa’s Isando facility, explains the rationale behind the up-grade: “Every machine shop strives to offer customers the raw capacity and the right process technology to machine productively and accurately, as well as the most appropriate form of organisa-tional support to meet changing market needs. Most small to medium enterprise machine shops are able to provide their customers with machining capacity, but their equipment often comprises outdated and manual machines that are unsafe and highly dependent on operator skill. In addition, there is often little organisational support to ensure continuous improvement on quality, cost and delivery.

“Weir Minerals Africa prides itself on producing high quality components to support the performance of our products in the abrasive and corrosive environ-ments in which they operate. To achieve this, we intend to push the manufac-turing envelope to produce machine components with tighter dimensional tolerances and with ever more complex part geometries. This cannot be done by simply investing in standard manual machines; sufficient investment in process technology and organisational

Creating a world class machining centre

Patrick Taggart, plant manager at Weir Minerals Africa’s Isando facility.

The company has invested in extensive operator train-ing to support the new technology.

The shop floor monitoring system displays up-to-date machining information electronically.

Weir Minerals Africa has embarked on a major investment programme to upgrade machining operations at its Isando manufacturing plant. The upgrade will not only increase supply capacity, but will support the safe production of high quality machined castings to the market through the introduction of world class process technology.

support structures is critical to attaining this objective, and this is where we have a com-petitive advantage.

“It’s really exciting to see our investment in people and technology paying off. Our shop floor monitoring system provides live web-based information on the sta-tus of our machines to any smartphone or

device. Managers are able to react to problems even when they are not on the shop floor, simply by using their tablets or smartphones. We also display machining information electronically across the shop floor in real time to ensure collaboration among machinists. With the development of mobile apps, we’ll soon be able to link our machining information to real time client demand, part database software and information forums via a mobile network.”

The company has invested in CMMs to enhance measuring during the ma-chining process. CMMs are far more sensitive than traditional measuring tools and have a higher reliability and repeatability, incorporating both scan-ning and probe measuring capability. Parts can be compared in real time to CAD models. This enables the manufac-turing facility to machine and measure to smaller tolerances.

Underpinning the impressive in-vestment in machining and measuring technology is the implementation of a series of upgrades to ensure operators are safe while machining. Coupled with stringent global safety standards, Weir Minerals Africa has invested in sophis-ticated safety controls to ensure that a safe operating environment is created and sustained.

In terms of operator skills, the com-pany has established external links with the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) in the United States, which has

developed online training programmes for machinists, in conjunction with an internal training programme managed through the MIG teams.

“The access we have to technology and people development platforms in our global environment today is nothing short of amazing,” Taggart concludes. “This is our competitive advantage and it will enable us to continue to manu-facture ever more sophisticated high quality components for our clients as the market evolves.” q



Transformer manufacturing in SAThe Zest WEG Group’s 2013 acquisition of a transformer manufacturing operation has increased its local manufacturing base and substantially increased its staff complement in South Africa to over 700 people.

Some of the first WEG transformers to leave Wadeville-based WEG Transformers Africa.

Wadevil le-based WEG Transformers Africa, for-merly Hawker Siddeley Electric Africa, is one

of the largest manufacturers of mini

substations, unit substations and dis-tribution transformers in the country, with the capability to design and manu-facture the complete range presently in use in the country’s industrial sector.

“The acquisition last year of this leading transformer operation is in line with the WEG Group’s 2020 vision to grow the business on this continent both organically and through acquisitions,” says Gary Daines, Zest WEG Group’s group sales and marketing director.

“WEG has a strategic plan to increase its sales by at least 17% year on year until 2020, when it aims to arrive at a turnover of US$10-billion. However, WEG is very aware that in order to par-ticipate in the African market, it needs to contribute to the local economy. As a growing local employer, the Zest WEG Group is on board to support the gov-ernment’s localisation drive and we’re achieving this by continuing to expand our production facilities and developing a robust technical skills base.

“From a group perspective, adding the transformer product range to the Zest WEG Group’s offering is definitely strategic as it complements all our activities and slots in perfectly with our aggressive Africa growth initiative.

www.sassda.co.za



Wadeville-based WEG Transformers Africa, formerly Hawker Siddeley Electric Africa, is one of the largest manufacturers of mini substations, unit substations and distribution transformers in the country.

We have a phenomenally strong national sales team, as well as a network of branches, which are already starting to sell and support the range.

“An important success factor is that the transformer products are ‘Africanised’ and suitable for local conditions. In their manufacture we ensure suitability for operation and for logistical movement in Africa. This has resulted in a very conservative design that will also place us in a strong position when we export these products into First World markets.”

Since last year’s takeover, WEG Transformers Africa has embarked on a significant upgrade initiative to enhance its equipment, processes and design packages. The initiative includes major improvements to its office buildings and staff amenities.

Danford Mugadza, managing director of WEG Transformers Africa, says the upgrades will bring the company in line with WEG’s technology platform and enable it to compete on the world market. At the same time, the cutting edge technologies being introduced will create significant employment oppor-tunities and increase the rate of skills transfer from WEG’s technical teams in Brazil to the local workforce.

“We’re finding it very rewarding to supplement our opera-tion with all levels of skills and to develop our people through a combination of training them to operate the new equipment and with general skills through the regular Zest WEG Group training programmes,” says Mugadza. “We have a current target to increase our workforce by about 40 people over the next 18 months – nearly a 50% increase in capacity – that will position us for future growth and expansion.

“We’ve set our sights on expanding supply not only within South Africa and to other African countries, but also into the Australasian, Middle Eastern and European markets where WEG has established customer bases. This requires a strong focus on achieving and maintaining world class quality levels and we are currently working on standardising our quality in line with other companies in the WEG Group. WEG Transformers Africa is ISO 9001 accredited but, as we

grow and develop the business, we need to ensure that our quality systems stay abreast of these advances. We’re also improving our environmental standards and investing heavily in making our facility ISO 14000 compliant.”

WEG Transformers Africa mini substations and unit substa-tions have a range from 100 kVA to 1 000 kVA in voltages up to 22 kV. The company specialises in Type B mini substations, fabricated in mild steel or 3CR12 corrosion resistant steel as recommended in SABS 1029, 1030 and NRS004, with the transformer section complying with SABS 780 and NRS005.

The standard size mini substations consist of 100 kVA, 160 kVA, 200 kVA, 315 kVA, 500 kVA, 630 kVA, 800 kVA and 1 000 kVA units. HT and LT switchgear can be provided to suit individual requirements with advice and recommen-dations on the most appropriate switchgear provided by the company’s experienced engineers.

WEG Transformers Africa’s standard distribution, power and special application transformers range from 50 kVA to 10 000 kVA in voltages up to 66 kV with off-load tap-switch or on-load tap-changers. In addition, the company manufactures special application units for mining, industrial, rectifier/traction, converter and thyristor drive applications. Dimensions are always within SABS recommendations.

Each unit is fully tested in accordance with SABS and other standard specifications and test certificates are avail-able on request. In addition, distribution transformers carry the SABS mark of approval corroborating that the company’s manufacturing facilities are subject to regular routine visits by SABS inspectors. q

www.johnsoncontrols.co.za


⎪ Innovative engineering ⎪

Designed by REACH Renew-able and AOS Consulting Engineers and implemented jointly by Industrial Solar,

Voltas Technologies and Luft Technik, with support from a professional team from ISF Services, Classen Auret, Pro-ject Works, DSM and Pentad, MTN’s new CSP cooling systems is driven by cutting-edge linear fresnel concentrating solar power technology that converts heat generated from the sun for use in absorption chillers to generate 330 kW of peak cooling capacity.

The CSP system consists of 242 solar mirrors covering a total area of 484 m2, which track the sun to gener-ate pressurised hot water at 16 bar and 180 °C. The mirrors track the move-ment of the sun, based on the GPS location, orientation and the date and time. This information guides the angles of the system’s mirrors to focus concen-trated sunlight onto a central absorber tube where heat is generated. Water is

MTN has reaffirmed its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint by unveiling Africa’s first concentrated solar powered (CSP) cooling system for use to cool its energy-hungry data centres. MechTech reports.

Cutting the ribbon to unveil MTN’s CSP plant are, from left, back row: Cristian F Cernat, Voltas Technologies; Tobias Schwind, Industrial Solar; Willem Weber, MTN; Olu Soluade, of AOS. Front row: Brandon Gombert, MTN; Gabriele Eichner, dena; Andreas Kuene, German Embassy; Frank Major, of REACH Renewable.

CSP data centre cooling system unveiled

circulated through this absorber tube until the required set point is reached. A close-loop control system is then used to bring the mirrors in and out of focus so as to maintain the set temperature and pressure. When it rains, the mirrors move into a self-cleaning position, and on cloudy days, the mirrors turn down into a protective stow position.

The hot water, in turn, powers Broad absorption chillers to produce chilled water that is circulated through the company’s data centre to cool the computer processing equipment. The absorption chillers use a lithium bromide solution with water as the refrigerant. The high temperature water from the CSP plant is used in the gen-erator sub-system of the chillers to boil the water (refrigerant) off the lithium bromide solution at a relatively high pressure. The refrigerant water is then re-condensed and its heat is rejected. By expanding the refrigerant through a throttling valve to a lower pressure, its

boiling temperature drops. This allows it to be re evaporated by absorbing heat from the return water in the chilled water circuit, that is, it chills the water flowing to the data centre.

The evaporated refrigerant water then flows into the absorber, where it is brought back into contact with the lithium bromide solution flowing from the generator. Since this has had water boiled off it, it is concentrated, which promotes the absorption of the refriger-ant water vapour to re-dilute the lithium bromide solution. The absorption pro-cess also reduces the vapour pressure and creates the vacuum necessary for the expansion process.

The only electrical energy required by absorption chillers is for recirculation pumps, which at MTN total 3,2 kW for a system generating 330 kW of cool-ing, giving a theoretical electrical COP of more than 100. This is, therefore, a particularly green solution with very low global warming potential and no ozone depletion potential (ODP = 0).

Zunaid Bulbulia, MTN South Africa chief executive officer, says the CSP system cements MTN’s green cre-dentials. MTN was awarded the first Silver Certified building in South Africa under the EBOM technical manual by United States Green Building Council (USGBC) for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) in rec-ognition of its sustainability efforts and commitment in all operational aspects at the MTN head office building.

“MTN is acutely aware of the im-pact of global warming and its adverse impact on emerging markets including


⎪ Innovative engineering ⎪

Above: According Cernat, installations such as these “create a real opportunity for local manufacturing and future job creation.” Left: The CSP system consists of 242 solar mirrors covering a total area of 484 m2, which track the sun to generate pressurised hot water at 16 bar and 180 °C. Right: A close-loop control system is used to bring the mirrors in and out of focus so as to maintain the set temperature and pressure.

The company’s involvedAOS Group: was established in 2006 and is effectively positioned to deliver energy efficiency projects. During the first year of full operation, AOS Consulting Engineers won the Young Company of the year 2009 award from Consulting Engineers South Africa/Glenrand MIB (CESA/Glenrand MIB) in South Africa followed by many In-ternational Awards for service excellence.REACH Renewable: is an innovative and dynamic company focusing on energy-efficient, integrated and comprehensive mechanical engineering solutions and turnkey EPC renewable energy system in-tegration. REACH Renewable South Africa

is part of the REACH GROUP Switzerland.Dena: the Deutsche Energie-Agentur (dena) – the German Energy Agency – is Germany’s centre of expertise for energy efficiency, renewable energy sources and intelligent energy systems. Dena’s aim is to ensure that energy is used in both a national and international context as effi-ciently, safely and economically as possible with the least possible impact on climate. Dena is working with stakeholders from the worlds of politics and business and from society at large to achieve this aim. Share-holders in dena are the Federal Republic of Germany, KfW Bankengruppe, Allianz SE, Deutsche Bank AG and DZ BANK AG.Industrial Solar: is a solution provider

for solar process heat and solar thermal cooling. It was founded in 2008 in the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Freiburg, Germany. The solu-tions of Industrial Solar are built upon its innovative linear concentrating Fresnel collector, which is optimised for industrial applications in the medium power range. Voltas Technologies: Voltas Technologies is a South African company and a Level 4 BEE contributor that acts as a distribu-tor and systems integrator in the field of cooling and heating for commercial and industrial applications. Voltas Technolo-gies acts as the exclusive distributor in South Africa for Industrial Solar and of Broad Absorption Chillers. q

South Africa. We continuously explore ways in which we can not only reduce our carbon footprint, but this system will substantially reduce our electricity consumption, which will release ad-ditional capacity for the national grid,” says Bulbulia.

Olu Soluade, managing director of AOS Consulting Engineers, says: “the development of sustainable solutions and the implementation of technolo-gies for the benefit of mankind is the prerogative of all of us. The continu-ous commitment to the reduction of our carbon footprint is the hallmark of sustainable development administered by professionals.”

Frank Major, of REACH Renewable, adds: “A sustainable way of life is es-sentially inevitable. It is our responsibil-ity and our commitment to design and develop innovative solutions that foster the sustainable use of our resources.”

Says Cristian F Cernat, MD of Voltas Technologies: “The opportunity to model and design the installation us-ing an architecturally integrated high temperature heat source, creates a real opportunity for local manufacturing and future job creation in the field of renew-able energy equipment production in our country.”

Adds Tobias Schwind, of Industrial Solar: “Beside such solar cooling sys-tems, our state-of-the-art Concentrating Solar Linear Fresnel technology can be used for various applications in all kinds of industries where process heat, cold air or air-conditioning is required.”

Gabriele Eichner from the German Energy Agency says: “This project is

part of the worldwide ‘dena Solar Roofs Programme’ coordinated by the German Energy Agency and supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). We are happy that this innovative system that generates green energy is now part of the MTN strategy to reduce its carbon footprint. This lighthouse project is a win-win-situation for all.” q


⎪ Products and services ⎪

Hydraulic maintenance tools at Electra Mining 2014Power Team South Africa, incorporating SPX Bolting Systems, is displaying and demonstrating some of its innovations and a few of its comprehensive range of hydraulic maintenance tools at Electra Mining Africa 2014, taking place at the Nasrec Exhibition Centre in Johannesburg from 15 to 19 September.

This year’s display will feature the reliable, low-weight, high-strength range of SPX bolting systems and hydraulic torque wrenches. The TWHC high cycle torque wrench has been designed for a lifecycle two to three times longer than existing technology. It has increased reliability, is made of corrosion resistant ma-terial, has a com-pact nose radius and many more advantages.

The TWLC low clearance torque

wrench was designed for the most inac-cessible bolting areas found in industry. It has a low height and a tight nose radius with a compact frame size, built-in reac-tion pad, fine tooth pawl and a floating piston design.

The TWSD series square drive torque wrenches are designed with low weight,

high strength and superior torsional strength,

fas t opera t ion cycle, a push but-ton reversal of the

square drive and a 360° reaction arm, among several other

unique features.Power Team products

and innovations will be in Hall 6, Stand 17A at Electra Mining Africa.

www.powerteam.co.za

New to Becker Mining South Africa’s range of Tractel personal protection equipment is the Tractelift climb and descent assist system. “The company’s new Tractelift climbing aid minimises worker fatigue and increases safety while ascending and descending lad-ders for access to installation and main-tenance procedures,” says Charlotte Megannon, product manager for Becker Mining South Africa. “This climb assist system is easy to install onto any kind of vertical ladder and requires minimal operator training.”

The Tractelift climb assist system, with a long lasting, reinforced synthetic belt, relieves the weight of workers, re-

duces effort and mi-nimises injuries, thus increasing productiv-ity. Features include a continuous run rope loop; an automatic start facility; and an automatic stop fa-cility. For increased safety, an emergency stop device is also

The SKF system 24 TLSD series lubri-cator is an electro-mechanical, single point, automatic lubricator that provides direct or remote lubrication.

The lubricator is a stand-alone de-vice consisting of a lubricant reservoir and a battery-powered unit that can be programmed to dispense accurate amounts of lubricant. The drive unit uses a simple rotary switch, protected by a clear plastic cap, which enables the programming of the TLSD to dis-pense lubricant at preferred intervals. Each machine is connected via either a direct mount or a feed line, terminating with a standard G1/4 thread.

The lubricators are easy to fit, simple

Tractelift: a ladder with climb- and descent-assist

The Tractelift II climb and descent assist system relieves the weight of workers, reduces effort and minimises injuries, thus increasing productivity.

available. Tractelift can be fitted with a fixed or detachable motor and controller, depending on user preference.

There are two models in the range with features enabling applications in confined spaces, on high eleva-tion inspection stations, wind power turbines and communication towers. Tractelift I is suitable for users who do not require the adjustable assist feature. It provides traction relief via a pulling force equivalent to 40 kg, preset using a sliding clutch.

The recently launched Tractelift II is controlled by an individual user remote,

which enables workers to choose their own levels of assist by adjusting the pulling force on site. This model has an adjustable pulling force equivalent to up to 75 kg. The remote, with ten levels of adjustment, has an illuminated LCD display and a low battery indicator. An adjustable speed control matches the level of assistance to the rate of climb and includes smooth running and soft stop/start features.

These are not fall arrest systems, however, so a suitable and compatible fall arrest system is used in combination with the Tractelift climb assist system.

www.za.becker-mining.com

The ENS hydraulic nut

splitter is specifically designed for removing

corroded and seized nuts.

to use and reliable. The programmable drive unit offers more options and greater flexibility. A transparent reservoir and an LED display make it quick to check the levels and operating status of the device, respectively.

The reservoir, which is available in two sizes (125 ml and 250 ml), is filled with SKF-specified high performance oils or greases. Maximum operating pressure is 5,0 bar.

The robust TLSD lubricator is espe-cially suitable for use in applications with high levels of vibration or fluctuat-ing operating temperatures. A special version is also available for operation in cold temperatures. The product offers an effective solution for the lubrication of bearings, shafts and spindles, help-ing to extend machine operating life and reduce maintenance costs across a wide range of applications including pumps, fans and blowers to conveyors, escalators and cranes. www.skf.com

Total lubrication solutions with the 24 TLSD

The SKF system 24 TLSD series provides simple automatic lubrication.


⎪ Products and services ⎪

Zinc-free oil for gas engines introducedFuchs Lubricants, the world’s largest independent manufacturer and supplier of lubri-cants, has devel-oped a zinc-free engine oil for sta-tionary gas driven engines. The com-pany’s TITAN Gan-ymet engine oil range, formerly used for diesel applications such as railway vehicles and dump trucks, is now also available for station-ary gas engines for use in power generation applications. Designed for plants generating power in the 800 to 1 950 kW range, TITAN Ganymet lubricants are also suitable for use with biogas.

Fuchs’ TITAN Ganymet Ultra has been successfully used in a field trial of more than 10 000 hours of operation with engine inspections being carried out as required by the approval procedure of onsite energy com-pany, MTU. The field test was operated using biogas fuel, which powered a V8 MTU gas engine capable of generating 800 kW. With an oil sump volume of 180 ℓ an oil change interval of more than 2 600 operating hours was possible.

“Experience has shown there are sig-nificant differences in the morphology of ash compounds. Ash deposits formed by the combustion of calcium are noticeably softer than those formed by the combustion of both calcium and zinc,” says John Anderson, au-tomotive OEM manager for Fuchs Lubricants South Africa. Zinc-free sulphated ash deposits lead to considerably less abrasive wear and are less tenacious, a factor which ultimately influences the cleanliness of the combustion chamber. Zinc-free lubricant technology in-volves replacing zinc with calcium compounds to gain a higher TBN (total base number) for the same sulphated ash content.

Fuchs Petrolub SE, founded as a family business in Germany in 1931, now has 55 branches in 45 countries worldwide and is the largest independent lubricant company and the ninth largest lubricants manufacturer in the world. www.fuchsoil.co.za

The new generation IP68-rated Sentient from Booyco Electronics is a handheld unit widely regarded as a cost effective, sophisticated and low maintenance gas detection device for the mining industry. This modern instrument was developed specifically to improve safety in un-derground mining and in any confined spaces in surface plants, and is the first multi-gas instrument in South Africa that also measures relative humidity as a standard offering.

The Sentient is also available with Fire Patrol capabilities. Distinguished by its bright red seal, the Fire Patrol Sentient is inserted into outstations located in specific areas underground, where it monitors and records the date, time, gas composition and humidity.

A downloading network configura-tion can gather data from up to 500 Sentient units in a matter of minutes. The data is sent to a Sentient download-ing server, where specialised software enables various reports to be generated, such as detailed information on gas de-

Established in 1991, Kelmeg Lifting Services (KLS) – part of Renttech SA – manufactures a range of quality lifting accessories such as polyester slings, web slings, endless round polyester slings, steel wire slings, chain blocks and cargo securing straps. Under the brand name Unilift, the company is well represented in the construction, power generation, petrochemical, paper and pulp, engineering, marine, agriculture, transport and mining industries.

In 2012, the company achieved ISO 9001:2008 certification. Manufacturing a quality product has always been Kelmeg’s main focus and, according to Young, the company adheres strictly to the highest possible industry standards.

“Over and above ISO 9001, we man-ufacture according to the SANS 94/1 2003 and SANS 94/2 2003 standards, as well as EN 1492/1 and 1492/2. When it comes to lifting and rigging equipment, safety is paramount, so we conduct stringent testing. This includes the involvement of third party organisa-tions such as the CSIR for batch testing.

While much of KLS’s focus has been on improving existing products, the company has also brought new prod-ucts to market. “These represent new

ideas based on existing concepts,” says Young. Product line extensions include KLS’s Tool Spider, a lanyard used to protect tools when working at height; cargo nets; and a range of 4×4 vehicle recovery equipment.

Being a local manufacturer, Kelmeg brings key benefits to its customers, including the ability to cater for specific customer requirements with short lead times. “Being local also means we have absolute control over the quality of our output and our customer service,” says Young. www.renttechsa.co.za

Kelmeg rigging and lifting equipment

Rodney Young, factory manager of Kelmeg Lifting Services (KLS), which is part of Renttech South Africa.

tected in the underground environment, peak values, TWA values, pre-shift tested values, calibration reports and ‘no movement reports’. Sentient soft-ware is web-based, making it possible to automatically email these reports to relevant personnel.

The low maintenance Sentient has no buttons and features a ‘drop

New generation gas detection

protection’ capability that automatically switches off the sensor if the instrument is dropped.

Booyco Electronics supplies spe-cialised electronic safety equipment, including collision intervention systems. Its range of reliable accurate warning, locating and monitoring systems is engineered in South Africa to operate in harsh African conditions.

www.booyco-electronics.co.za

Booyco Electronics’ new generation IP68-rated Sentient handheld gas detection devices for the mining industry.


⎪ Nota bene ⎪

Index to advertisers

Atlas Copco ............................................ 2Barloworld Equipment ........................... 23Bearings International ..................OFC, OBCBecker Mining ...................................... 27BMG ................................................... 18Clyde Bergemann Africa ......................... 31Crown Publications .............................. IBCEngen .................................................. 15Hansen ................................................ 24Johnson Controls .................................. 35M&J Engineering ................................... 29SASSDA ............................................... 34SEW Eurodrive...................................... 32SKF ..................................................... 21ThyssenKrupp ....................................... 17Wearcheck ........................................... 13Weir Minerals ...................................... IFC

Industry diary

September 2014Electra Mining Africa, 2014 15-19: Expo Centre, Johannesburg, SASpecialised Exhibitionswww.exsa.co.za/events/electra-mining-africa

October 2014Africa Oil and Gas Expo 20149-10 October, JohannesburgSandton Convention CentreOliver Kinross: [email protected]

Automotive Week and AfriMold 13-17 October, Gallagher Convention [email protected] [email protected]

Stratasys, a leading global pro-vider of 3D printing and additive manufacturing solutions, has

announced that UAV start-up company, Helico, has successfully introduced Air-Dog, the world’s first automated drone designed to track and video outdoor sports and activities.

Aimed primarily at the consumer market, AirDog is an innovative, yet simple-to-use, ‘quad-copter’ that oper-ates via a wrist-worn tracking device and accommodates a standard GoPro sports camera. Users can automatically capture exciting live aerial video footage and still photography of themselves, having set distance, speed and height levels for AirDog to follow. Helico is spe-cifically targeting the outdoor ‘extreme’ sports market and expects AirDog to be of particular interest to recreational par-ticipants of freestyle BMX, motocross and skateboarding, as well as water-sports such as surfing, kite-surfing and wake-boarding.

“AirDog not only grants end-users their own affordable and personal aerial video crew, but also provides thrilling footage from distances and angles previ-ously inaccessible to such consumers,” explains Edgars Rozentals, co-founder and chief executive officer of the Latvia-

based, Helico Aerospace Industries. Prior to investigating the use of 3D

printed parts, Rozentals was trying silicon-moulded designs through a sup-plier in China. However, not only did this entail a two-week turnaround time, but the resulting models proved too heavy for take-off and were ultimately scrapped.

“The benefits delivered by 3D printing compared to the method we trialled originally are numerous,” says Rozentals. “Above all, turnaround time is significantly reduced and if we need to make last minute changes to a de-sign, we can do so within a matter of hours, easily and cost-effectively. This was simply unachievable before as it necessitated time-consuming produc-tion of a costly new mould.

“In fact, I’m not sure how we would have arrived at the stage of having a functional part, were it not for Stratasys 3D printing technology. I founded the company two years ago and we’re a staff of three, so for start-ups like Helico, this technology isn’t just a game-changer, but the ticket to the game itself,” he explains.

According to Rozentals, AirDog might literally have not got off the ground, had it not been for the instrumental role 3D printing played during the prototyp-ing phase. The company sought the expertise of Stratasys’ Latvian partner, Baltic3D, who also worked with Polish reseller Bibus Menos to meet the re-quirements outlined by Helico’s team. In order to produce fully-functional parts that could perform in the real environment, both Stratasys’ FDM and PolyJet 3D printing technologies were employed for AirDog and its AirLeash

tracking device, respectively. The final AirDog drone was fully 3D

printed using Stratasys’ FDM-based ULTEM material, chosen thanks to its ability to provide parts of extreme strength and durability, with the light-weight characteristics vital for take-off and in-flight manoeuvrability. “We were particularly impressed by how far we could push the boundaries of the ULTEM material,” adds Rozentals. “The material’s functional stability enabled us to print very thin walls that further reduced AirDog’s overall weight.”

The accompanying AirLeash was de-veloped using Stratasys’ PolyJet multi-material 3D printing technology. 3D printed in a single pass, the wrist-worn device combines rigid and rubber-like materials to produce everything from the robust housing case to the soft but-tons on the keypad.

www.stratasys.com

World’s first auto-follow sports drone

BMG Expo – an industrial productivity exhibitionAs part of BMG’s 40th anniversary celebra-tions this year, the company will be hosting its first industrial productivity exhibition. “This two-day event will present a critical focus on productivity and how BMG inte-grates its vast product range and extensive technical services into tangible operational efficiencies,” says Dave Russell, director, BMG. “Working demonstrations at the event will interrelate electrical, hydraulic, mechanical, lubrication and fluid control interventions.

“BMG will actively reveal how its total

process solutions – from on-site breakdown maintenance and installation, to equipment optimisation – can positively influence the performance of a company’s productive assets and investment returns.”

Productivity and reliability improvement displays at the interactive event will offer practical solutions on how to increase output, reduce downtime, optimise cost per unit of production and limit energy consumption.

This exhibition will be held at BMG Park in Johannesburg on 18 and 19 September.

Helico’s AirDog drone is targeting the outdoor ‘extreme’ sports market.

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technol og y - crown publications - leading b2b …€¦ · · 2014-08-21performance...

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