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INTERNATIONAL MINING PROFILES
VR STEEL ’ S ADVANCED MULTI-PHYSICS ANALYSIS CAPABILITY DRIVES OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY
Mining operations are becoming ever
more complex and integrated . The strive for higher operational efficiency , while on everyone ’ s radar , may have the unintended consequence of a fragile ecosystem - where each cog in the mining machine is required to do its part to meet the target output . This drive for optimum efficiency requires the continuous implementation of the latest technological innovations available on the market . More often than not , these innovative solutions have only been tested in a limited capacity , which makes many mines testing grounds for innovative solutions . If these prototypes deliver on what was promised , it could further refine the well-oiled mining machine and drive production to the next level . However , if these innovations fail , it can become a costly exercise with a sizeable downstream ripple effect across operations and production .
From a design perspective , it is essential to replicate the operational characteristics of a new product concept in a simulation environment in an attempt to replicate reality as closely as possible . The simulation environment will also depend on the problem at hand . CAE ( Computer-Aided Engineering ) packages exist to simulate particle material flow ( Discrete Element Methods ), dynamics and kinematics ( Multi-body Dynamics ), structural stress analysis ( Finite Element Analysis ) and a host of other real-world physical characteristics . All these packages generally operate in isolation and simplify the analysis to the confines of the software package ’ s ability .
Through an extensive iterative optimisation process , VR ’ s 2nd generation taper bucket
revealed an improvement of 8.3 % in efficiency . This increase was quickly validated when the first 2nd generation bucket hit the dirt .
Being able to replicate real-life mining conditions enables VR Engineers to continually improve and expand upon their product offering with minimal risk to the end user . This makes VR Steel a highly sought-after technology partner in the mining industry .
13A Clarke Street North , Alrode 1451 , South Africa . Phone : (+ 27 ) 11 864 7630
Jackie van Eeden ( jackiev @ vrsteel . co . za ) Sales Manager : SADC
www . vrsteel . net
From left to right : VR products include customised rope shovel dippers , wheel loaders , truck trays , face shovels , excavator and dragline buckets
32 International Mining | JANUARY 2021