HIGH PROFILE
Landing the loadout
A Not only underloading is a big issue - but also overloading and wrong load distribution . With underloading , train capacity is lost and this creates more transportation cost and more emissions . Overloading causes spillage and cleaning costs on tracks and has in addition caused derailments in many places in the world as tracks are usually decades old and at their axle load limit . Wrong load distribution with a variance between the front and rear bogies is a major risk that can also result in derailment .
Steelmaking coal loadout station equipped with indurad iLoadout radar system at Teck ' s Fording River Operations
Teck Resources recently announced its RACE21™ mining innovation team has supported an on-the-ground team in designing a new radar system to load railcars safely , efficiently and accurately . The iLoadout system was supplied by indurad - Paul Moore caught up with its Executive Director and Founder Reik Winkel about the technology and the advantages it brings in terms of functionality , performance and safety
Q Is it correct that iLoadout helps with both loading speed as well as preventing underloading ? Firstly , why is such a significant speed increase possible with iLoadout ? A Lets break this up in three major success drivers , which are all based on our unique radar machine vision technology . First the reduction in underloading is facilitated by 2D / 3D volumetric scanning close to the chute on the InGo side for residual and on the OutGo Side on full volume and we use this in a predictive control loop . Additional potential is unlocked with 3D surge bin scanning for buffer capacity . Finally , we include inflow iBelt volume scanning and compare this with belt & track scales in a smart density control loop . Secondly , the train speed has been driven up by providing proper locomotive collision avoidance as the chute is lowered for dust control and choke feed . We do this by using our Doppler speed radar and ‘ radar PE- Cells ’ and so model the virtual train movement . Thirdly , the reliability of our hardware to function in snow , dust and steam typically created by warm coal , whilst also being maintenance and cleaning free , provides transparency for things which are invisible to human eyes .
Q Secondly , is underloading a big problem in bulk minerals railcar loading and why ?
Q Is radar the only real option for railcar loading or are other technologies like laser also used ? Do they both have their own specific pros and cons ? A Laser is a perfect instrument for surveyors to use for high range scanning - the beam stays sharp over hundreds of metres - but this is not required for short range and for rough bulk surface scanning . When you go to Canadian mines , radar is really the only option . Hot humid coal is loaded in freezing weather causing steam with visibility of less than 1 m . Lasers reflect well and with steam being white , the dark coal behind is not visible any more . Fog causes the same issue . Within Australian coal , we have seen some installations with laser technology , however , auxiliary devices such as purge air are required to keep the lens clean - which need to be maintained and just mean there is an additional failure cause . Our first iron ore iLoadout automated at Vale Carajás in Brazil is still working with the original sensors supplied by us over 10 years ago and enables the train to carry 1 t of extra ore per car over 900 km to São Luis , so saving about every 100 th train - over a 10 year period that equates to about 500,000 t of saved CO 2 emissions .
Q What technology is currently used in railcar loading for railcar positioning and can this be improved with iLoadout ? A Key technology for positioning are photoelectric cells - referred to as ‘ PE-Cells ’ or light-barriers . However , these are discrete positioning information systems that commonly require 10-20 sensors to be installed - all with sensors and
Reik Winkel , indurad Executive Director and Founder
40 International Mining | JUNE 2022