FUELS & LUBRICANTS
multiple pickup and return points to increase the
number of flow paths, average flow velocity, and
total cleaning coverage in any given tank.
Blutip fuel meters on a Caterpillar haul truck. Its
SmartRView platform enables operators of high
horsepower diesel equipment to precisely
quantify the production and efficiency impacts
attributable to specific changes under
consideration
Technologies uses proprietary ruggedised
positive displacement fuel meters and builds
models predicting fuel consumption in terms of
payload, ramp grade, vertical travel, distance
over ground, operator ID and other relevant
parameters. Once these models have converged,
half the population is reconfigured with the fuel,
lubricant or additive under examination. The
second phase, if necessary, is observed to ensure
that the full impact of the petrochemical
enhancement has been realised.
In the third and final phase, the fuel efficiency
modelling is repeated with the unchanged
population serving as a control for the
reconfigured assets. A co-efficient proportional
to the impact of the new petrochemical is
established along with error bands and
confidence levels in the result. Interestingly,Nthe
same approach can be applied to evaluate nearly
any change under consideration.
“Upon completion of the trial, the mine’s
supply chain team has third party, statistically
significant data upon which to base its
procurement decision. The supplier, if successful
upsells a customer and gains a powerful
reference and marketing tool. As a whole, the
industry benefits with access to the tools needed
to differentiate premium petrochemicals from
snake oil.”
With these simulations, AXI says it has
solidified claims that its patent pending
technology, Multi-Point Flow Path, dramatically
increases flow velocity and tank cleaning
coverage in base/belly tanks compared to
traditional fuel polishing configurations.
To take things a step further, the company has
also begun integrating particle counters on their
systems to provide real-time data regarding fuel
cleanliness to international cleanliness standards
(ISO 4406).
“Combined, these technologies bring AXI to
forefront of the fuel maintenance industry by
inspiring data driven design and producing data
backed results” says Jeff Poirier, COO.
Traditional fuel polishing configurations
feature a single point of pick-up to pull fuel into
the polisher and a point of return to transport the
newly clean fuel back to the tank. The mining
industry has considered this best practice for
maintaining fuel cleanliness.
AXI International hypothesised and later
proved this traditional approach was lacking in
tank cleaning effectiveness, which lead to the
creation of Multi-Point. This upgrade adds
To both optimise and demonstrate the
effectiveness of this upgrade the company
invested in complex simulation software. AXI
uses computation fluid dynamics (CFD) software
to demonstrate the fluid flow, velocity, and
cleaning coverage of fuel polishing
configurations of specific tanks.
“Through these simulations, AXI has
demonstrated the power of their Multi-Point Flow
Path upgrade in contrast with traditional setups.
Leveraging this insight, the company has begun
consulting on valve placement and tank design to
better optimise fuel flow for maintenance purposes.”
To further ensure a tank’s fuel is meeting the
international standards for cleanliness (ISO
4406), AXI now integrates particle counters into
their fuel maintenance systems as an additional
option. These particle counters use laser-based
detection to identify the size and number of
contaminant particles per 100 ml of fuel. The
result is a three number code used to determine
the overall cleanliness of the fuel as defined in
ISO 4406.
Evonik forms new Oil Additives
business line
In carefully designed and monitored field tests,
hydraulic fluids formulated with Evonik’s
DYNAVIS ® technology the company says have
achieved up to double-digit percentage
improvements in fuel savings, reducing operating
costs as well as CO 2 emissions.
Recently Evonik announced that it is merging
its specialty methacrylate monomers - the
Applications Monomers Product Line - with its
current oil additives business to become the new
Oil Additives business line within the Resource
Efficiency segment.
Application Monomers were formerly part of
Fuel tank maintenance
AXI International says it is disrupting the fuel
maintenance industry with a slew of new
technologies that simulate, improve, and
measure tank cleaning effectiveness. Through
the use of powerful software, the company says
it can now simulate the cleaning efficiencies of
their fuel polishing systems on different fuel tank
designs.
AXI International’s Multi-Point upgrade adds multiple pickup and return points to increase the number
of flow paths, average flow velocity, and total cleaning coverage in any given fuel storage tank
JULY 2019 | International Mining 23