LEC are your experts for critical mine-to-port assets
Bulk Materials Handling Machines
Assets such as stackers & reclaimers are critical for stockyard operations but are also susceptible to failure due to fatigue, inadequate design, improper balance or collision.
The team of experts at LEC have provided design consultancy services for all stages of machine service life, including:
independent third-party design reviews of new & existing machines
service life extensions of existing machines
condition inspections
failure investigations
These specialised services are carried out in accordance with the relevant industry standards for bulk materials handling machines:
Australian Standard AS4324.1
FEM Section II (2 131 / 2 132)
ISO 5049-1
LEC’s knowledge & experience of bulk materials handling machines (BMHM) includes:
Stackers
Bucketwheel reclaimers
Bucketwheel stacker reclaimers
Bridge scraper reclaimers
Portal scraper reclaimers
Radial stackers
Ship loaders
Grab ship-unloaders
Continuous ship-unloaders
These BMHM structures are often geometrically complex and therefore require expert knowledge of advanced finite element analysis (FEA) techniques to obtain a more accurate representation of the stresses within their thick plate structures.
Rail infrastructure
As a critical link in the mine-to-port supply chain, rail infrastructure assets are subjected to harsh environments, cyclical fatigue loading, high utilisation and demanding design criteria.
The team at LEC have extensive technical & practical knowledge of the design, fabrication, maintenance, life-extension and failure investigation of vital heavy-haul railway assets such as:
Heavy-haul rail wagons
Railway bridges & bearings
Surge Bins and Hoppers for wagon loading
Rotary Tipplers for wagon unloading
Utilising their knowledge of these structures in conjunction with expertise in finite element modelling & analysis, the team has successfully been able to undertake:
design verifications of new and existing assets
develop remedial structural solutions to address design deficiencies and/or extend the fatigue service life
investigate failures such as fatigue cracking
Ports & Terminals
Port assets such as wharves, ship loaders and ship unloaders are arguably the most high-risk structures in exporting mine products. Because export material will often come from a number of mines, large financial consequences can be incurred if the port assets experience structural failure or cannot be operated at full capacity.
Some of these risks include:
Increasing the throughput of a ship loader can create additional loads and consequently its structural integrity may be compromised, creating a greater risk of partial or catastrophic structural failure
Wharf structures are frequently not designed or detailed to minimise areas of high stress concentrations associated with supporting heavy rail-mounted ship loading machines. As a result, the repetitive loading can cause fatigue issues on the wharf structure.
It is best to identify any issues during the design phase of a project to avoid costly remediation work involved with rectifying an existing ship loader or wharf structure. If fatigue issues do occur post-commissioning, LEC have the ability to investigate the root cause of the issues and propose a remedial design solution.
Industrial & Processing Plants
Refineries & industrial processing plants are reliant on a range of complex structures that may be subjected to dynamic loading, vibration, and other fatigue-inducing loads. Often, these assets are used to store or process materials that could be hazardous to personnel and the surrounding environment if a failure occurred.
LEC offers expertise in design validation, remedial strengthening design, failure investigation and risk reduction for assets such as:
Process tanks (thickener tanks, mixing tanks, precipitator tanks)
Storage tanks
Silos, bins & hoppers
Crushers & drum scrubbers
Conveyor gantry structures & transfer towers
