SA Machanical Engineer Jan2013

S MECHANICAL A ENGINEER Jan 2013

Publication of the Institution of Mechanical Engineering Incorporating News of Associate Organisations

bmg

l CUTTING CORNERS COSTLY IN THE LONG RUN l l ENERGY FROM WASTE GAS l THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER

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AN ENGINEER’S VIEW

Chris Reay

The Steady Decline to Lowest Common Denominator

W

hy uphold compliance with nature’s laws when it is much easier to change the need for them by a politically driven relaxation? It is clearly far easier to decide to set regulations for practitioners and contractors to use the surplus numbers of unqualified persons to be awarded government contracts for purposes of building the infrastructure. After all, with this policy and approach we can meet the necessary political targets which seem to be far more important than ensuring compliance with structural, life-cycle and safety standards that have evolved over decades of proven engineering practice.

Chairman of the Working Committee: Communications (SA Institution of Mechanical Engineering)

We must learn to be satisfied with our new-found decrees from those who rule, and we can even indulge in some self-praise when we comment “… that bridge was nearly strong enough…… we were quite close really”.

That bridge was nearly strong enough…… we were quite close really”.

So, in keeping with the above aspiration to continue our acceptance of adjusted standards and drive for the common denominator leading to “a better life for all”, the Minister, ably assisted by the cidb, has recently decreed the following.

"The key amendments include the removal of the requirement for contractors to have registered professionals in their permanent employ; this is to be removed as it is not viable to have such professionals in a contractor’s full-time employ. The requirement for the Registered Professional is therefore being moved from a contractor registration requirement to a contract management requirement as a condition of contract”.

Self-inflicted war games

Essentially, the roles of the Professional Engineer, Technologist and Technician will now effectively be subservient to that of the registered Construction Manager on matters where professional engineering judgment is required. I guess with the comedy of the self-inflicted war games that have been played out between ECSA and the CBE over the important subject of Identification of Engineering Work (IDoEW), not much more could have been expected. Those unregistered Engineers or at least those practising as such can continue to act without any fear of liability as the rules that govern registration, ethics and safe

practice do not apply to them. The IDoEW deliberations commenced in 2006. It’s now 2013 and we are still counting. The profession has messed about arguing while we witness a steady entropic decline in the built environment.

On the topic of training of young Engineers in industry, I thought I would recall some gems that arose in 2012 while endeavouring to persuade certain employers to consider taking on basically good candidates and provide some development and experience to assist feeding talent into the skills pool.

“We do not have the time, the money or the systems to train anyone. Just find us a qualified and experienced Engineer. We need a PDI between 30 and 35, with 15 years experience as an Engineering Manager”. (Allowed cost to company will remain undisclosed here to protect the guilty.)

“We do not have time to train or develop anyone into this specialised role. Please find us fully qualified candidates who can hit the ground running”.

No acceptable candidates have emerged to date.

Does not know that he does not know

Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed that the ANC policy is to spend R845 billion on infrastructure in the next three years. I found that his recent TV interview conveyed blind optimism and was most unconvincing. I can only assume that he does not know that he does not know what is needed to do that properly. Professional government and provincial owners’ teams and supply contractor capacity appear not to feature in his model.

Anyone who cares about developing professional engineering skills should be made aware of the new candidate training curriculum that will be instituted by ECSA and the Voluntary Engineering Associations in April 2013. It identifies the exit level outcomes that define the professional and will be the fastest and most effective route to competence and registration that can be envisaged.

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INDUTEC

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January 2013 VOLUME 63 NUMBER 1

On the Cover BMG Contact: Keith van Wyk, Tel: (031) 5766200 Email: keithvw@bmgworld.net

Contents Cover Story 8 Eight Decades of Service

Copyright

All rights reserved. No editorial matter published in “SA Mechanical Engineer” may be reproduced in any form or language without written permission of the publishers. While every effort is made to ensure accurate reproduction, the editor, authors, publishers and their employees or agents shall not be responsible or in any way liable for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies in the publication, whether arising from negligence or otherwise or for any consequences arising therefrom. The inclusion or exclusion of any product does not mean that the publisher or editorial board advocates or rejects its use either generally or in any particular field or fields.

Computers In Engineering 30 Analysis Saves Design Time

Monthly Column

33 Cutting Corners Can Be Costly

11 Prominent Professionals

Fliters and Filtration

SASSDA Awards

34 Now’s the Time to Clean Up

12 Top Marks

Corrosion

Power Transmission

37 Money Corroding Away

15 Easy On, Easy Off Bearings 18 Custom-engineered Vibrator Designs

Education

POWER GENERATION TODAY 21 Energy from Waste Gas 25 Power Generation News

Opinion 29 Soapbox

39 PneuDrive Challenge

Regulars 3 An Engineer’s View 6 Institution News 10 SAINT 28 SAIT 40 Market Forum

The monthly circulation is 4 242

Produced by: PROMECH PUBLISHING, P O Box 373, Pinegowrie, 2123, Republic of South Africa Tel: (011) 781-1401, Fax: (011) 781-1403 Managing Editor Susan Custers Editor Kowie Hamman Circulation Catherine Macdiva Advertising Mark Bennett DTP Zinobia Docrat / Donovan Vadivalu Subscriptions Please email us at accounts@promech.co.za if you wish to subscribe to “SA Mechanical Engineer” at R405,00 (excl postage and VAT) per year; R1 020,00 per year for Africa/Overseas.

Disclaimer

PROMECH Publishing and The South African Institution of Mechanical Engineering as well as any other body do not take responsibility for the opinions expressed by individuals.

Printed by: Typo Colour Printing, Tel: (011) 402-3468/9 FSC (Forestry Stewardship Accreditation)

Official Publication of THE SA INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING and endorsed by:

 CORROSION INSTITUTE OF SA  SA PUMP MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION  SA VALVE AND ACTUATORS MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION  THE SA INSTITUTE OF TRIBOLOGY  NUCLEAR INSTITUTE  SA INSTITUTE FOR NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING  NATIONAL SOCIETY OF BLACK ENGINEERS  INSTITUTE FOR CERTIFICATED MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS  SOUTH AFRICAN ASSOCIATION OF CONSULTING ENGINEERS  ASSOCIATION OF SOCIETIES FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH  THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN ASSOCIATION FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY (SAEE)

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THE SA INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

The Central Branch of Council 2012 - 2014 Office Bearers

President ............................................. KK Nyangoni (Kudzai) Vice President .............................................. D Findeis (Dirk) National Treasurer ........................,................. A Roos (Andre) Immediate Past President............................ G Barbic (George )

Branch Chairpersons

Central ................................................. S Murefu (Stephen) Eastern Cape ................................................ W Rall (William) KwaZulu/Natal ................................................. J Moto (John) Mpumalanga Highveld.............................. L Odendaal (Louis) Western Cape ........................................ Dr D Blaine (Debbie)

Fluor SA (Pty) Ltd

Portfolios:

Communications/Strategic Planning/ Specialist Group..........................................CD Reay (Chris) Young Engineers Forum.........Prof B Collier-Reed (Brandon) Education: Universities of Technology....... E Zawilska (Ewa) Membership ........................................... E Zawilska (Ewa) Professional Development Programme...M Black (Malcolm) Technology Programme .......................... SZ Hrabar (Steve) To be confirmed..................................G Bartholomew (Bart)

Chief Executive Officer: Vaughan Rimbault National Office Manager: Anisa Nanabhay PO Box 511, Bruma, 2026 Tel: (011) 615-5660, Fax: (011) 388-5356 Email: info@saimeche.org.za

SAIMechE President, Kudzai Nyangoni, his wife Venus, pictured here with the National Office Manager, Anisa Nanabhay and Lynne Smedley-Williams, also of SAIMechE

Website: www.saimeche.org.za Membership: Central, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, Highveld & KZN: membership@saimeche.org.za Membership: Western Cape: saimeche.wc@vodamail.co.za

Company Affiliates Alstom Power Service SA

RSD a division of DCD-Dorbyl

Babcock Africa Limited

S.A.M.E Water

Bateman Engineered Technologies

Sasol Technologies

Bosch Projects

SEW Eurodrive

Fluor SA

Siemens

GEA Air-cooled Systems

SNC-Lavalin SA

Hansen Transmissions SA

Spicer Axle SA

Hatch Africa

Spirax Sarco SA

Howden Power

Technical Systems

Howden Projects

Thyssenkrupp Engineering

Industrial Water Cooling

Transvaal Pressed Nuts & Bolts

MBE Minerals (SA) (Pty) Ltd (previously KHD Humboldt Wedag SA)

Ultra-Flow Engineering Services

Megchem Eng & Drafting Services

Vital Engineering

Mod-U-Flow

Weir Minerals Africa

Osborn Engineered Products SA

Winder Controls

Rotek Engineering

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SAIMechE John Orr Lecture: SKA Telescope This year, we were honoured when Dr Bernie Fanaroff accepted our invitation to present the 2012 Lecture. Dr Fanaroff is the Project Director of the SKA (SA) Project. He presented the lecture titled “The SKA Telescope - a Science & Engineering Challenge & Opportunity�, which was held on 27 November 2012.

Due to his schedule, Dr Fanaroff could only present one lecture at Wits instead of the usual tour of lectures around the country. This afforded us the chance to stream the lecture live on the internet, thus making it available to a much wider audience.

In addition, this also provided a unique opportunity for anyone to be enlightened about the finer details of this exceptional project.

The exercise of utilising a professional live internet feed has intrigued us almost as much as the SKA project, and we recognise the tremendous potential on offer for a wider dissemination of information.

The lecture webcast will remain accessible online for six months. The link for this webcast is available on our website at www.saimeche.org.za.

January 2013

THE SA INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

SAIMechE hosted their annual dinner dance The Central Branch of SAIMechE hosted their annual dinner dance at The Wanderers Golf Club on 3 November. SAIMechE is very grateful for the wonderful support received from company affiliates: Fluor SA (Pty) Ltd, Osborn Engineered Products SA (Pty) Ltd, and Howden. Other organisations who hosted tables included Bekker Mining, Proplan, Vital Engineering, George Barbic & Associates, Zest WEG, Modena, Washtech and Rapid Allweiller Pumps.

Graeme Lloyd of GL Consulting with his wife, Paddy

The winner of the “Best Jive� couple went to Central Branch Vice Chairman, Carel Kruger of SAPPI and his wife, Theresa

Western Cape Branch Dinner and Dance The Western Cape Branch dinner and dance was held against spectacular views of Cape Town from across Table Bay. The Lagoon Beach Hotel was a perfect venue, and the weather played its part as well. A scrumptious buffet meal accompanied a number of key awards and presentations during the evening, all perfectly managed

by Dirk Findeis, Master of Ceremonies for the evening.

Having noted that three other Past Presidents were at the dinner, immediate Past-President George Barbic formally handed the Presidential "reins" to Kudzai Nyangoni.

Chris Reay presented John Walmsley with SAIMechE's Silver Medal and certificate in recognition of his contribution to the nuclear industry debate in South Africa.

Willem Esterhuyse of the SKA (SA) Project delivered a comprehensive presentation on this exciting project.

The evening closed with a number of lively twirls on the dance floor (and some hardened party animals trawled Long Street clubs into the early hours of Saturday mornChris Reay presenting John Walmsley with a Silver award ing). A very good evening was enjoyed by all.

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COVER STORY

Eight Decades of Service Eighty-five years of service in South Africa speaks volumes for a company, not only in terms of the longevity of its product range, but also as far as the business philosophy of the company is concerned; to provide industries across the globe with a full range of all the required power transmission components to make up a complete drive train. ings. Keith explains, “Aside from the well-known shaft mounted speed reducer (SMSR) range, the Fenaflex tyre couplings, the grid coupling range, the Fenlock range of shaft fixing devices and the Fenner PowerTwist Plus V-belts are all widely used products which have a proven track record across all industries in various applications.

“To give you an idea, the main movers in South Africa in this product range are v-belts and wedge belts, of which we sell around 1.2 million items annually,” adds Keith. “We move about half a million pulleys and sprockets a year while chain sales average out at around 750 000 metres annually.

These products are sourced locally and from one of the many Fenner factories across the world who have been making these products for many years.”

Gearbox Keith van Wyk

F

orty years after establishing Fenner PLC in the United Kingdom, the South African branch, Fenner Power Transmission (FPT) opened, and today, as the leading power transmission brand of the Bearing Man Group (BMG), the company is still leading the field in bringing quality power transmission solutions to industries right across the African continent.

We urge clients to stay away from buying cheap and nasty, emphasis on the word ‘nasty’ which has a habit of wrong-footing clients at exactly the wrong moment “SA Mechanical Engineer” speaks to Keith van Wyk, divisional director of Fenner products at BMG, about the 85th anniversary of the Fenner brand which BMG will be celebrating throughout the year ahead. “Our aim has always been to bring industry a complete single-source drive train solution; from the motor right through to couplings, speed reducers, belts and pulleys,” he says. “Thus we acquired FPT in 1998, specifically to extend our market offering to offer a complete solution.”

One source

Although the Fenner range of products does just that, there are five key Fenner products which form part and parcel of most drive solution offer-

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One of the most widely known products in the Fenner range is undoubtedly the SMSR, a high flexible speed reducer used in all industries and probably one of the products most copied by other manufacturers trying to grab their piece of the pie.

Keith remarks, “Of course, there’s nothing like the real thing to do the job properly and we urge clients to stay away from buying cheap and nasty, emphasis on the word ‘nasty’ which has a habit of wrongfooting clients at exactly the wrong moment.”

Shaft-mounted speed reducers provide an efficient method of reducing speed in diverse applications, including conveyors, mixers and mills, cranes, hoists and winches, as well as machinery and tools. This range, which provides a wide choice of final driven speeds, is available in 12 different gear case sizes, with four ratios

January 2013

COVER STORY

and capable of handling powers up to 250 kW.

Critical feature

The SMSR is mounted directly on the driven shaft instead of requiring foundations of its own, eliminating the need for flexible couplings and an external belt take-up arrangement. “A torque arm anchors the reducer and provides quick, easy adjustment of the wedge belt by means of a turnbuckle system,” explains Keith. “This motor mounting assembly accommodates different motor frame sizes and provides full adjustment of drive centres ensuring that a standard belt can be fitted and easily re-tensioned as is required. We also have a motor mounting which automatically adjusts the belt tension as necessary.

“This design is unique and has a smaller inventory of parts than conventional models, ensuring a good power to weight ratio within compact dimensions,” he adds. “Another critical feature is the optional taper grip locking system which simplifies installation and removal of the gearbox. It is fully interchangeable and specifically resistant to fretting corrosion, yet has a significantly improved shaft grip.”

Couplings

Torsionally elastic Fenaflex tyre couplings offer different flange combinations to ensure optimum flexibility in any application. “These couplings, manufactured from natural rubber compounds, can accommodate simultaneous maximum misalignment in planes without imposing undue loads on adjacent bearings,” says Keith. “The flexing tyre of this coupling reduces torsional vibration, suppresses the initial shock load and eliminates stresses common to power driven machinery like centrifugal compressors and pumps, machine tools, metal presses, mills, winches and fans.

“On the other hand, the Fenner grid couplings, which are taper grid steel flexible couplings, are designed to accommodate angular, parallel and axial misalignment between driving and driven machines,” elaborates Keith. “This coupling also absorbs considerable torque overloads, thus achieving smoother running, with consequent reduction of wear and tear on machinery. An important feature of Fenagrid is that parts are interchangeable so that machines fitted with half couplings can be interchanged quickly, with a minimum loss of production time.”

applications is the Fenner PowerTwist Plus V-belt range.

“This product is manufactured from a high strength polyurethane elastomer and reinforced with multiple plies of polyester fabric to offer excellent resistance to abrasion, oils and greases, water and steam, as well as industrial solvents and chemicals,” explains Keith.

These V-belts have a unique design which enables belts to be custom-sized for each Tyre coupling sheave groove, reducing wear and providing a perfectly matched set of belts when mounted on a drive.

An important feature of Fenagrid is that parts are interchangeable so that machines fitted with half couplings can be interchanged quickly “The latest addition to this range is a version called the Super T-link PowerTwist belt,” Keith says in conclusion. “The PowerTwist has the same power rating as a standard V-belt, but the Super T-Link version now has the same power rating as a wedge belt, essentially doubling the power rating of the belt compared with a conventional v-belt.”

Eighty-five years obviously doesn’t mean standing still as Fenner keeps its eyes on the future to stay ahead of the pack.

SMSR

Keith van Wyk, BMG, Tel: (031) 5766200 Email: keithvw@bmgworld.net

Fenner also has a shaft fixing device, the FenLock, which transmits about three times more torque than other conventional quick-fit shaft fixing devices.

“By avoiding the use of keys and keyways, simple installation and disassembly is possible,” says Keith. “This shaft fixing range prevents backlash, ensures easy axial and angular positioning, as well as quick adjustment in all applications.”

V-belts

A product which has become widely used in all THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER

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THE SA INSTITUTE OF NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING

Zero Margin for Error “It is not the biggest discontinuity that you can find, but rather the smallest that you can miss.”

S

outh Africans are extraordinary people. We have the infrastructure and personnel to handle NDT surveys anywhere in the world with unsurpassed excellence.

The goal of any inspection process is to achieve as high a probability of detection as possible to mitigate risk of part failure.

Nishaan Kanaye

The objective of Non-Destructive Testing is to ensure maximum reliability by providing a means of obtaining a visual image or screen presentation, of an indication related to a discontinuity. Disclosing the nature of the discontinuity without impairing the material in any way whatsoever, and separating acceptable and unacceptable material in accordance with predetermined acceptance standards, is the aim.

Validity must commence with the establishment of sound work procedures, while adhering to these

Bearings International

procedures under all circumstances.

It is of paramount importance to follow a procedure with stepwise refinement, eliminating application inconsistencies, and omission of steps.

Integrity

The elements required to make a good NDT inspector are several, he or she needs an excellent knowledge of materials and processes and the origins of defects, he needs experience, patience, but most of all he needs integrity. If you are working on a project with an exceptional design and manufacturing team, you may test metres of fabrication without finding any relevant indications. Under these circumstances, the temptation to relax your vigilance will increase.

The inspection only remains valid as long as you devote all your attentiveness to the task at hand.

From the members of SAINT, we wish you a Nondestructive 2013.

Nishaan Kanaye, Tel: (031) 708-3433 Email: nish@nondestructive.co.za SAINT, Robin Marshall, Tel: 719-5717, Email: saint@saint.org.za, www.saint.org.za

On top of our game

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Technical Expertise - Service - Quality - Training • Bearings • Couplings • Chains • Sprockets • Pulleys • V-Belts • Gearboxes • Geared Motors • Electric Motors • Oil Seals • Lubricants and Cleaners • Many other allied products

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After Hours National Hotline: 083 250 9191

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For your FREE GIFT, scan

or visit www.bearings.co.za

January 2013

MONTHLY COLUMN

Prominent Professionals Thinus Schmidt, Principal Mechanical Engineer, Anglo American Thermal Coal

6 6 Eskom’s Merit Award for best Technikon student on National Level.

Future – a concept, a dream or a wish

A competitive local manufacturing industry.

Academic School:

Projects

Technical High School, Springs

Graduate studies:

Most challenging

BTech Mechanical Engineering

I took the Phola and Zibulo projects over when the construction of civil Post-Graduate: foundations was well advanced and BSc (hons) Structures, University of Pretoria steel erection had already commenced.

Professional Bodies Every chute and transfer station on the ECSA, SAIMechE coal handling systems of the projects had to be re-designed within the conCareer Path straints of existing foundations and height restrictions. I still reminisce First employer Thinus Schmidt, Principal Mechanical Engineer, over long sleepless nights when I see Iscor Vanderbijlpark Anglo American Thermal Coal accolades claimed for the projects in Growth path glossy magazines...

6 6 Technologist - Iscor Vanderbijlpark & Pretoria head office: Most rewarding 1995 to 1999 It’s been a great experience to oversee the development of 6 6 Project Engineer for Consulting Engineers at Saldanha the coal handling systems on the New Largo Project over the Steel: 1999 to 2000 past four years. I’m hoping to see it through into successful 6 6 CAE Engineer & Structural Technologist, Anglo American: implementation.

2000 to 2005 6 6 Principal Mechanical Engineer, Anglo American Thermal Coal: 2005 until present

Present employer and position

Principal Mechanical Engineer, Anglo American Thermal Coal

Achievements A project

Projects are team efforts but nevertheless, out of all the past and present studies and implementation projects, the New Largo Project stands out because of the complexity of the scope and the opportunity to develop the coal handling systems right from the start in 2008. We have successfully completed the pre-feasibility and feasibility studies since. The detail design for the first phase is currently well advanced.

Commentary

Are there shortcomings in the Mechanical Engineering Industry in South Africa?

Is this a loaded question? The skills shortage topic has been exhausted by now but remains a reality that we have to deal with on a daily basis. Staff turn-over throughout the industry adversely effects continuity on projects and operations. Too few engineering graduates aspire to ever become engineers or specialists.

As an industry we can influence their thinking to pursue a focussed engineering career alongside experienced mentors.

A large percentage of specialists are already beyond retirement age which implies significant opportunities or future challenges if we don’t take action.

Any awards

Message to young engineers

6 6 Best Mechanical Engineering student during all study terms,

Project design and engineering is probably much more interesting and rewarding than more glamorous managerial roles.

6 6 Bentley Achievement Award for Structural Engineering,

we’re engineered to share Over R7.3 billion in profits shared between our members* in the last 5 years.

Now that’s a unique benefit of mutuality. For more benefits and info, SMS ‘MECH’ and your NAME to 42097, visit www.pps.co.za or consult a PPS product-accredited financial adviser.

PPS is an authorised Financial Services Provider. *Members with PPS Provider™ Policies.

Terms, conditions and standard SMS rates apply.

61714 SA Mechanics FINAL.indd 1

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SASSDA AWARDS

Top Marks The Stainless Steel Awards banquet was held on Wednesday 24 October at the Theatre on the Track in Kyalami, Johannesburg. The winner in the innovation category was Rebcon for the design and manufacture of the connection brackets for the Moses Mabhida Stadium’s façade. Velo SA was runner up, with its innovative small wine cellars and Solar PriMeg scooped a merit award for its innovative stainless steel solar heating system for the low-income market.

VELO SA

Velo SA is an engineering company that specialises in the manufacture of stainless steel tanks. Orders during the last year have been divided approximately equally between the winery industry and the liquid fertiliser, beverage, dairy and distillation industries, with a minority of orders going to bakeries and drinking water treatment plants.

Strong enough to be transported by means of a forklift Big local contracts have included an order for sixtyfour 26 000 litre stainless steel wine tanks to a winery in the Breede River Valley, an order that was filled in two months. The tanks have double compartments for the fermentation or storage of wine: 16 000 litres at the bottom and 10 000 litres at the top.

Additional regional wine tank contracts include three

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300 000 litre fully isolated stainless steel tanks with cooling jackets ordered by a cellar in Paarl in 2011 and five 230 000 litre stainless steel tanks, also fully-isolated with cooling jackets, delivered to another Boland cellar in 2011.

Export

On the export side, Velo SA has been exceptionally active, manufacturing stainless steel tanks earmarked for destinations in Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Mauritius and the USA. It is the latter market that has been responsible for one of Velo SA’s most recent manufacturing innovations.

The market is growing year on year and Chris Wium, the company’s managing director, considers Velo SA to be very fortunate to be part of this vibrant sector.

Velo SA’s role in the export supply chain is firmly manufacturing based – much to Wium’s relief. “We

January 2013

SASSDA AWARDS

are fortunately not involved in the export of the tanks themselves, we only manufacture and then the exporter, Desfarges, takes over from there with regard to loading of containers, documentation, payments, offloading in the US, delivering, installation, etc.”

Stackable

New to Velo is the square 1 000 litre storage tank.

Chris explains, “This is actually an old German design dating back many years and was originally designed for small wineries with space problems, because of the possibility to stack them on top of each other with a forklift, moving them around in the cellar, or taking them outside to empty. A cylindrical tank, although cheaper to make because of the design, takes up more space and cannot be transported around as easily as a square tank.”

The new tank, based on the original design, was adapted by Velo SA in consultation with Laurent Desfarges to be “acceptable and workable for the US market”.

Special care had to be taken with the design and the thicknesses of the steel used in the tanks because they had to be strong enough to be transported by means of a forklift and to withstand the weight of the other tanks once stacked on top of each other.

“Some cellars stack 3 to 4 tanks on top of each other,” adds Chris.

“The outlook for exports is good and seems to keep on growing every year. We are definitely aiming for more exports into Africa, but would like to find the right partner in this sector. I think the correct channels to market our tanks need some attention because of certain hindrances: language problems, contacts with the right person or companies, payment negotiations, payment guarantees, shipping problems with abnormal size tanks, etc. At the moment we are manufacturing tanks for Africa, but through local companies that are exporting them to different countries,” says Wium.

SOLAR PRIMEG

This Durban-based company has over 30 years experience in the industry and has just developed the first flat plate low-cost solar system to compete with imported systems used in low-cost housing.

“This is the first flat plate collector system developed in South Africa for low-cost system usage,” says Solar PriMeg’s Megandren Moodley. “The system has passed SABS testing and achieved accreditation with-

in the Eskom Rebate Program.” The manufacturer offers the largest Eskom rebate for the KZN area for both industrial and domestic units.

Eskom is currently considering buying the low-cost system as a bulk purchase. Eskom also recently awarded Solar PriMeg an additional 20% on the current rebate due to the local content in the solar system. The manufacturer is being incentivised for being a local manufacturer that uses local product.

An additional 20% on the current rebate due to the local content in the solar system Solar PriMeg has been manufacturing solar water systems since 1993, when its founder and director, Peter Moodley, developed the current low-cost system as an alternative to imported products from the East. “As a South African company Solar PriMeg often has to compete with China on a price basis, which is difficult but we have done our best to try,” says Peter.

The company’s low-cost system is based on the technology developed for its high pressure equipment. “It was important to us that low cost did not equal low quality,” says Peter. “We therefore used the best materials to ensure the product lasts longer for the end user.”

Solar PriMeg has delivered a high Q factor on the unit. A higher Q factor means a lower rate of energy loss relative to the stored energy. Using the experience from the high pressure units, this unit was developed to achieve a targeted Q factor that would prevent an overdesign of the system. The new direct low-cost system is Solar PriMeg’s most efficient system on the Eskom Rebate Program. This is based on a ratio of Q factor/ litre. “The ratio even out-performs some high pressure units,” says Peter.

“Low-cost solar units are the answer to households that have never had constant hot water before.”

During the development of this system, Solar PriMeg has used various materials of construction for the internal pressure vessels. Its initial material of choice was copper and subsequently enamel coated mild

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SASSDA AWARDS

steel, but for the past 8 years the manufacturer has been using stainless steel.

As the market uses mild steel predominantly, which is baked to cure the enamel coating, using stainless steel is a major advantage. The fact that international players had already made the move meant that the technology did exist and Solar PriMeg could save the expense of a baking furnace.

The inner tank is made of stainless steel and is three times thicker than most units on the market.

The material of choice is a superior stainless steel, grade CS 444, the same material used on Solar PriMeg’s high pressure solar system. This means the system is resistant to corrosion and has a superior mechanical strength compared with standard inner gauge material.

Low cost did not equal low quality With the assistance of the Columbus Stainless team, the ferritic range was chosen to prevent stress corrosion cracking and grade CS 444 in particular to improve the quality and enable the manufacturer to increase the material thickness. Choosing stainless steel means the product’s corrosion barrier is self generating and using grade CS 444 allows for a thicker tank; both of which significantly increase the product’s longevity and guarantee.

SABS testing has been completed and the system is currently on the Eskom Rebate Program. It has also been highlighted that Eskom will be considering buying these low-cost systems as a bulk purchase.

The current low-cost system is a direct system suitable for non-freezing areas only. However, work is currently being done on the development of a system for freezing areas.

Solar PriMeg has learnt from these developments and is now investigating the use of stainless steel for the solar absorber and copper pipes in the solar panel, another first for South Africa.

PROJECT CATEGORY

The 21 entries in the Project category exceeded the judges’ expectations; it was therefore decided that the category should be split into three subcategories; one for art, one for engineering and one for architecture.

Metso ND was the winner of the project: engineering category for its ammonium sulphate crystallizer plant - Ambatovy Nickel Project, in Madagascar; the biggest ever to be built in the world. While the same company also scooped the runner up award in the category for its Sappi Ngodwana Go-Cell digesters.

Full details will follow in the February issue.

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Easy On, Easy Off Bearings

Anyone who has ever assembled a drive train will know that fitting the plummer block bearing mounts is one of the most tricky parts of the exercise: getting the bearings locked onto the shaft, aligning the bearings and setting the bearing clearances properly.

causing varying degrees of damage to the shaft in the removal process.

One complete unit

This universal problem has been addressed by Baldor, an American power transmission equipment manufacturer, which makes the Dodge range of bearings.

South Africans who know the Dodge bearing swear by it and never use any other make

“SA Mechanical Engineer” speaks to Tony Patten, the owner of Specialised Bearings & Transmission, Baldor’s channel into the local market. “The Dodge ISN spherical roller bearings feature a patented Imperial adaptor mount system, consisting of a complete, shaft-ready mounted bearing, which dramatically reduces installation time,” he explains. “Just fifteen minutes is the new standard installation time, not up to a couple of hours as is the case with most other split housing bearings.”

Just fifteen minutes is the new standard installation time, not up to a couple of hours as is the case with most other split housing bearings Extended life

Tony Patten (right) and partner in Specialised Bearings & Transmission, Jenny Chance

N

ot only is this time consuming, but it also requires a certain amount of skill to do it right. In the case of a replacement bearing, the whole operation usually takes even longer because the old bearing is more often than not so stuck to the shaft that it takes the better part of a day to remove the bearing, inevitably

South Africans who know the Dodge bearing swear by it and never use any other make, but they’ve always had to import stock from the USA. “Since Baldor was bought out by an international company a while back, the product range is being marketed globally and is now also available in South Africa through us,” says Tony. “During a demonstration on how our system works at a mine, the mechanical foreman came forward and told us how he had bought his first Dodge bearings over the internet to solve a problem on their linear screens.

“He used to get three to four week’s life out of

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The parts of the Dodge bearing

The longer life they’ve achieved is not only due to mounting the bearing accurately with ease, but also as a result of using the correct amount of lubrication

This bearing simply cannot be over-lubricated as it comes off the factory floor as a pre-assembled, pre-greased unit.

conventional bearings before a colleague, who uses Dodge bearings on a South American sugar mill, suggested he try this ISN bearing which is widely used in the sugar industry,” elaborates Tony. “He bought four, two to fit and two for spares, and now, two years later, the two spare bearings are still in his store.”

To demonstrate just how easy and quick it is to assemble this pillow block bearing, Tony pulls out a demo-kit and does it all within minutes, all by hand with no special tools. “You simply turn the nut clockwise to tighten the adaptor onto the shaft,” he explains. “There is no need for feeler gauges to set the clearance in the bearing because this is set automatically when you tighten the nut. An easy-to-attach lock plate holds the adaptor nut in place to maintain the clearance setting.

How it works

The longer life they’ve achieved is not only due to mounting the bearing accurately with ease, but also as a result of using the correct amount of lubrication.

“What’s more, this bearing features a built-in bearing puller, making removal as easy as fitting it,” he adds. “After removing the lock plate, you turn the nut counter clockwise, gently pushing the bearing off the adaptor sleeve. Removing this bearing from the shaft is that simple, it is no longer an all-day affair with a blow torch and hammer. Above all, there is not even the slightest chance of any shaft damage as a consequence of forced removal.”

Sealing

In terms of lubrication, the seal design in this bearing saves the day, in ensuring lubrication at the right places while keeping contamination at bay.

While running, the ISN bearing has an outstanding sealing system which provides 100% contact at 100% constant pressure, all of the time. Tony explains, “The Trident seal is a triple-lip and a face-rubbing seal which offers an improvement over other systems.”

The Trident seals and the labyrith seal arrangement

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For greater protection, this patented seal has a flinger design, shielding the seal and bearing from contamination and damage. An exclusion lip, which makes contact with the flinger, provides an January 2013

POWER TRANSMISSION

The Dodge bearing (front) and a conventional bearing behind it

additional barrier against contaminants. For high speed or high temperature applications, there is a patented labyrinth seal option which provides perfect sealing in hot environments. It also offers a 15% increase in maximum speed over the standard SAF adapter mounted sphericals of the same shaft size.

Greasing

“The design is such that the seal runs on the inner race of the bearing and there is no contact between the seal and the shaft,” explains Tony. “From a regreasing point of view, the grease comes in right in the centre of the bearing in a special grease slot from where it works its way through the two rows of rollers into the space on either side of the bearing. Here the seal, tightly seated on the taper, allows the old grease to purge out only one way without a chance of it returning into the bearing.

You thus simply apply new grease until fresh grease comes out the sides and you know the bearing is greased sufficiently.

“The bearing unit comes from the factory set as a fixed or an expansion bearing, but if you want to convert it either way, it’s simply a matter of moving the circlip to the inboard or outboard position and, voilà, you have a converted bearing,” says Tony in conclusion. “In today’s industry, where even basic skills are in short supply, an innovation like this saves the day.”

Tony Patten, Specialised Bearings & Transmission, Tel: 083.776-1413, Email: sbt@telkomsa.net

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Custom-engineered Vibrator Designs

T

Custom-engineered vibration technology is now being offered to manufacturers of shakers, separators, wash plants and other process equipment that uses vibration as a working force. By adding the new capability to its extensive lineup of stock vibrators, Martin Engineering will open up a wide range of new possibilities for equipment designers who have traditionally been forced to engineer their products around existing vibrator models.

he design and engineering will be performed at Martin Engineering’s new Centre for Innovation, at the company’s Illinois headquarters in the US.

Custom-engineered drives are already being manufactured at locations in the US and China, and as the business grows, the firm plans to supply them from all eight of its business units around the world, including South Africa. “Global manufacturers need to be able to count on worldwide availability of customised solutions like these,” observes VP of Operations, Robert Nogaj.

Indoor test block: The massive 10,000-lb (4,545 kilo) test block in the Centre for Innovation is used for the development and trial of new vibration designs.

“The target market for these new services is any manufacturer that supplies vibratory equipment of virtually any kind,” Robert continues. “If an OEM has a unique need for a drive that hasn’t been (or couldn’t be) designed before, or if there’s a design for a machine that they could not find a drive for, now there’s a cost-effective resource for developing them.”

Any location

Martin Engineering is targeting continuous-duty

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Dynamometer: Martin Engineering’s new capabilities include sophisticated dynamometer testing that allows the company to map the shape and values of an electric motor’s torque curve.

applications that often require explosion-proof construction and multi-year reliability, backing the products with an industry-first three-year warranty, plus three additional years on bearings and electrical parts. A key to the new technology is its global availability, as the company will be able to manufacture custom designs in any of the countries in which the firm does business. Customers will benefit from regional engineering, manufacturing and service in virtually any location.

“There are many suppliers who provide off-theshelf solutions, and we will continue offering conventional vibrators in a wide range of sizes and force outputs,” Robert continues. “But for the builders of next-generation equipment, we can now deliver design options that engineers have never had before. Instead of being limited to an off-theshelf vibrator, manufacturers can specify the exact sizes and parameters they need to suit new and emerging designs.”

Robert adds that custom-engineered vibration is likely to find utility in high frequency vibratory screens and dewatering screens, as well as other vibratory equipment for the oil and gas industries, processing of gold, platinum and other elements, silica sand, pharmaceuticals and even food applications.

No more handcuffs

While traditional designs will remain a cornerstone of their vibration products, the company is now able to custom-engineer the size and shape of the drives, torque curves, weight and many other features, in both electrical and mechanical units.

This will allow OEMs to build equipment that hasn’t been available in the past. “Rather than being handcuffed into using the stock designs that are on the market now, customers can order the exact vibrator properties, profile and output that they need,” Robert explains An important component in the decision to offer custom-engineered vibration is the company’s extensive new R&D capabilities. For example, the firm has recently added four massive, spring-mounted 4 545 kilo test blocks specifically for development and trial of new vibrator designs.

It will be a huge competitive advantage for manufacturers trying to develop new products, giving

Outdoor testing: Supporting the custom engineering concept is an outdoor endurance testing station to evaluate new vibratory drives and screen designs under real-world conditions.

them a design freedom that wasn’t possible before.”

Sophisticated testing

Martin Engineering’s new capabilities also include sophisticated dynamometer testing that allows the company to map the shape and values of an electric motor’s torque curve. “The dyno testing helps us analyse existing designs, but it also means that customers can come to us to obtain a specific torque curve,” Robert remarks. “This can be an extremely valuable asset for new product development, and until now it’s been a service that has been nearly impossible to find without investing huge amounts of money.”

Specify the exact sizes and parameters they need to suit new and emerging designs Further supporting the custom engineering concept is an endurance testing station located outside Illinois, where engineers can evaluate new vibratory drives and screen designs on any of five different shakers. “The outdoor test stations are intended to duplicate tough real-world operating conditions,” Robert adds. “The setup at Illinois has one shaker design with a 4-pole drive unit that can develop as much as 10 Gs of force, helping us to engineer the highest quality, longest-lasting vibrators in the world.”

No-excuses guarantee

The company will offer an extensive range of designs and features for specific applications, including explosion-proof models, vertical shaft units, flangemounted designs and even low-profile vibrators that can be incorporated as part of a support structure.

“This capability allows us to take a huge leap beyond the conventional 4-footed designs that dominate the market today,” Robert remarks.

Martin Engineering vibrators deliver the highest force to weight ratio of any electric vibrator manufacturer.

Its products are supplied with the industry’s best warranty and the company’s absolutely-no-excuses guarantee.

Martin Engineering, Robert Nogaj, Email: info@martin-eng.com, Web site: www.martin-eng.com

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IEE energy Energy

Swiss Confederation Federal Department of Economic Affairs FDEA State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO

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T O D A Y

PROMECH PUBLISHING Tel: (011) 781-1401 Fax: (011) 781-1403 Email: samecheng@promech.co.za Website: www.promech.co.za Managing Editor: Susan Custers Editorial: Kowie Hamman Advertising: Mark Bennett Circulation: Catherine Macdiva DTP: Zinobia Docrat/

Donovan Vadivalu Disclaimer PROMECH Publishing does not take responsibility for the opinions expressed by individuals.

Copyright

TICKER TAPE

All rights reserved. No editorial matter published in “Power Generation Today” may be reproduced in any form or language without written permission of the publishers.

While every effort is made to ensure accurate reproduction, the editor, authors, publishers and their employees or agents shall not be responsible or in any way liable for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies in the publication, whether arising from negligence or otherwise or for any consequences arising therefrom. The inclusion or exclusion of any product does not mean that the publisher or editorial board advocates or rejects its use either generally or in any particular field or fields.

(Left to right) Chris Coetzee, Nicole Andrew and Luther Els

Energy from Waste Gas

O

ff-gas from furnaces, especially ferro-alloy furnaces, contains huge amounts of energy in the form of heat, but this gas is also heavily polluted and needs to be scrubbed and filtered before being released to atmosphere.

With the dual pressures on industry to clean these gases while using energy more

The Department of Trade and Industry has, together with the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (Sapvia) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), commissioned a photovoltaic (PV) localisation study, which aims to gauge the readiness of the PV industry to respond to calls for greater localisation in various programmes driven by government.

efficiently, moves are afoot to recover this waste energy for both heating and power generation purposes.

Resonant Environmental Technologies in Centurion near Pretoria, has been involved in the modelling and design of off-gas cleaning systems for many years, boasting large furnace plant projects as far afield as

approved up to $250-million in financial support for a 60 MW solar power project to be developed in the Free State.

The Ncondezi coal mine in Mozambique is currently undergoing a power definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the use of the mine’s domestic-grade coal to feed the mine-mouth power plant, scalable to 1 800 MW in incremental 300 MW units.

Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has

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Russia and South Korea. They have now developed a unique software tool which allows a much more accurate design, not only of the gas cleaning system, but also of optimal energy recovery from the waste gas.

“SA Mechanical Engineer” speaks to managing director, Chris Coetzee, about the development of this tool which has placed Resonant at the forefront of flue gas modelling and system design.

TICKER TAPE

With our software, developed in-house over many years of working on various furnaces and continuously collecting actual measured off-gas data, it’s no longer about guessing or working on theoretical estimates

22

The municipality of Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, has installed its first 50 kWp photovoltaic (PV) system on the roof of the capital’s city hall.

The installation is expected to generate a minimum of 90 000 kWh a year.

Last year, US ethanol distilleries consumed 40% of the country’s maize crop but contributed less than 3% to US petrol volumes.

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“In the past the amount of energy coming off a furnace was pretty much guesswork in that you knew more or less how much energy would come off certain fuels being fed into the furnace,” he explains.

“Firstly, however, this was never very accurate and secondly, the gas cleaning system couldn’t always handle the off gas efficiently.

New software tool

“With our software, developed in-house over many years of working on various furnaces and continuously collecting actual measured off-gas data, it’s no longer about guessing or working on theoretical estimates,” he adds. “We now model a design very accurately because we’re able to South African Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies has confirmed that government will “most likely” have a “fleet approach” to its planned new nuclear build and localisation programme. South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan 2010 foresees the construction of a number of nuclear power plants (NPPs) with a total capacity of 9.6 GW by 2030.

A partnership between French hydroturbine designer and manufacturer Hydro Power Plant (HPP) and Boksburg-based mechanical engineering company

January 2013

POWER GENERATION

use actual data measured by ourselves on each individual furnace installation.

“This not only means we’re designing a gas cleaning system which is custom built for each individual furnace, but the amount of energy which can be recovered from this gas is quantified. As a result, we can recommend the correct equipment the client may want to install for heat recovery, or for power generation purposes as a secondary process to the furnace operation.”

Co-generation

“Originally we started developing this tool so that we could, through computer modelling, determine the correct size and type of bag filters for the air purification system,” explains Luther Els, process director at Resonant. “However, now that everyone is looking at co-generation, especially where they can use captured process heat, or the energy in off-gas to generate electricity, we’re able to utilise the software much more broadly.

“Our analysis software tool allows us to model and accurately determine the quality and the amount of energy that will come off each type of furnace installation complete with its ancillary equipment, and for each of the many different types of fuels used in furnaces,” he explains. “Unfortunately,

Wright Dixon Engineering will result in a substantial amount of hydropower equipment being manufactured in South Africa.

Abengoa of Spain is developing the 50 MWK hi Solar One power tower concentrating solar power (CSP) projects, near Upington, in the Northern Cape, as well as a 100 MW parabolic trough CSP plant, dubbed KaXu Solar One, which will be situated near Pofadder also in the sun drenched Northern Cape province.

we’ve come across several instances where costly co-generation engines, bought to run on this gas, turned out to be the wrong type for the gas quality coming off the furnace and the engines had to be rebuilt at huge costs. We can now not only tell a client which type of engine to get, but it may even turn out that a boiler system would be a better co-generation option for a particular situation.”

Our analysis software tool allows us to model and accurately determine the quality and the amount of energy that will come off each type of furnace installation complete with its ancillary equipment Correlating data

Although they base their calculation on historical data collected over the years, they continuously extend the database by correlating measurements after the plant has been built to make sure their theoretical database is adjusted accordingly, Chris explains, “This gives us a high level of confidence in terms of considering real life operational conditions in our modelling, especially when you’re working on a 500 million Rand upgrade project.

“Nine times out of ten, when the post commissioning data doesn’t match our predictions, we go back to re-check every single input we entered into the programme. Inevitably, we find a leaking valve, or a fan that doesn’t run properly and so on.

Subsequently, a list of faults is presented to client which he can attend to in order to achieve the results we predicted in theory. In this industry there are so many variables that the only thing which is for sure is the fact that nothing is a surety.”

Spin-offs

One of Resonant’s young engineers, Nicole Andrew, pops into the boardroom in her overalls, apologising profusely because she’s just come from site. “I am working on a unique heat transfer problem,” she explains. “It’s for a smaller furnace, I used the same

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methodology to program a model from first principles to analyse possible solutions.

On site test measurements were used to corroborate the results.”

So many variables that the only thing which is for sure is the fact that nothing is a surety “We’ve gained a lot of credibility in the market because our predictions have been spot-on time and again, making our designs optimally supreme to anything the industry has ever seen before,” Chris remarks in conclusion. “The secret to this success is testing, testing and testing. You have to verify things. You can’t just put something on the table which you ‘think’ will work. We can now design gas purification systems based on real-time data, out with guesswork and in with definite outcomes.”

Chris Coetzee, Resonant Environmental Technologies Tel: (012) 665-1446 Email: chris@resonant.co.za

KAPPA

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First of its Kind for South Africa The wet flue gas desulphurisation (WFGD) system being installed at Kusile Power Station by the Cosira Group/Alstom Consortium, is the first of its kind in South Africa. The WFGD will dramatically reduce the sulphur dioxide (SO2), content from the power plants flue gases.

Sulphur dioxide (SO2) exists in flue gases as a result of burning fossil flues during power generation and is the foremost contributor towards acid rain.

WFGD has been a popular choice for fossil-fuelled power stations for over 25 years in Europe and the United States. The technology is set to become a standard in developing countries as awareness of its benefits increases. There is no doubt that the WFGD is the preferred environmentally ‘friendly’ choice as it removes at minimum 95% of sulphur dioxide gases from the emissions.

John da Silva: chief executive officer Cosira Group

Sophisticated sensors interconnected with the WFGD Plants control systems continually record fuel gas emissions.

These sensors provide the control systems with accurate monitoring information

One of the most promising technologies Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) on its own is probably the most promising of large-scale renewable energy technologies in South Africa, says Kadri Nassiep, CEO of the South African National Energy Development Institute (Sanedi).

According to Kadri there is a definite opportunity to consider steam augmentation of a coal-fired power plant using CSP. He explains, "With the reduction in coal consumption there is the added benefit of reducing overall plant costs due to shared components. The use of CSP extends to other aspects of electricity production including supporting the cooling cycle of the water used in power production."

CSP will allow South Africa to continue using coal in the case of steam augmentation plants. "This will benefit the coal mining industry in terms of jobs retained or created. CSP's promise lies not only in the size and reliability of plants, but also in the capacity to store heat and use this heat during off-sun periods of the

necessary to ensure that emissions are kept to the performance levels of the plant. Should emissions exceed the acceptable levels; alarms will trigger control mechanisms which adjust the plants’ inputs to correct the levels.

Cosira Group Richard De Arruda Tel: (011) 817-6600 Web: www.cosiragroup.com

Energy-saving calculators A new tool from industrial automation leader Rockwell Automation conveniently allows manufacturers to use mobile devices or computers to calculate potential savings derived from variable frequency drives to power pumps and fans. Manufacturers can use the online energy savings calculator or download the free mobile application to their iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry or Android systems.

Kadri says it is too early to quote success stories but that for Sanedi, "The opportunity lies in positioning South Africa as a pioneer in this field, possibly leading to further innovative solutions. Such was the case with dry cooling for Eskom power stations that were located in water scarce regions."

With this new tool, users can compare conventional methods, such as valves for pump control and dampers for fan control, to variable frequency drives and see estimated cost savings of installing an Allen-Bradley PowerFlex drive. The tool offers two ways to calculate energy consumption: users can enter the minimum pump or flow percentages, annual operating hours, cost per kilowatt and other information about their own factory, or use the sample data provided by Rockwell Automation and built into the tool.

He adds, "CSP has a role, not only on its own, as has been seen in the REBID programme, but also as a means of extending the life of the coal-fired plants that could be built in South Africa in the future. The localisation of components will, however, be critical in ensuring the technology thrives, as job creation and economic growth are at the top of the list of priorities for the green economy to succeed."

The tool is part of the Rockwell Automation Intelligent Motor Control portfolio, which helps manufacturers easily access and control their motor assets. The technology behind Intelligent Motor Control – including variable frequency drives, intelligent software and condition-monitoring devices – helps manufacturers improve motor control performance for greater overall production efficiency.

day. CSP may well be the closest to a base load power plant that renewable energies can provide for, without the costs becoming uneconomically high."

South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI), Kadri Nassiep, Tel: (010) 201-4800, Web: www.sanedi.org.za

Rockewell Automation, Jeff Sandison, Tel: 011 654 9700, Fax: 011 654 9706 E-mail: jksandison@ra.rockwell.com

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THE ENERGY EFFICIENT INSULATION LEGISLATION SOLUTION EPS is a lightweight cellular material derived from petroleum and natural gas by-products. EPS sheets and boards are utilized for thermal and sound insulation in walls, roofs, and on floors. Loose beads are used in lightweight concrete, plasters and renderings. Other uses include under-floor heating systems, drainage boards, permanent formwork, foundation and prefabricated wall systems.

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Recyclable. Products include skirtings, poles, decking and picture frames.

Energy-saving: helps conserve other energy usage.

Compatible with advanced and conventional building materials.

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P. O. Box 7861 Halfway House 1685 t: 011 805 5002 f: 011 805 5033 epsasa@aaamsa.com

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Back to the future A demonstration of renewable energy at Green Point. The water wheel used to light up Green Point Urban Park at night.

The City of Cape Town and the Danish Embassy have used the recommendations of consulting engineering company, GIBB and the Reclaim Camissa Trust at Green Point Urban Park.

The use of water to generate power is demonstrated at Green Point Urban Park with a turbine and a water wheel.

The water wheel, which is 3.5m in diameter makes use of about 20l/second of water coming from the Main Spring (Stadsfontein) in Oranjezicht to generate around 0.2kW of power.

As this water fills the buckets on the water wheel, the extra weight on one side turns the wheel and drive shaft thus generating electricity. The Main Spring is the original source of water that enabled Cape Town to be established in 1652. The reliable flow from these springs was identified by mariners, and

supported those who lived here many centuries ago.

The demonstration of renewable energy at Green Point also includes taking the 500kPa pressure and flow of water (20l/ second) in the pipeline bringing the water from the spring to Green Point Common through a water turbine prior to discharge over the water wheel. The turbine spins a generator at high speed to provide 3 kW electrical power. This water then goes to the water wheel at low pressure, and runs through the ponds. A portion of the power is stored in a battery for lighting part of the Green Point Urban Park at night.

"Cape Town was one of the first to make electrical power available for use by its citizens in 1895, with hydroelectric power generated using water from Table Mountain. This use more than Course

100 years ago made Cape Town the first municipality in South Africa to make use of renewable energy to generate electricity," says Dave Crombie, Senior Associate at GIBB. "The current Department of Energy initiative to use renewable energy to sustainably meet South Africa's power needs has inspired this demonstration of the hydroelectric power generation at Green Point Common. The same engineering techniques are used in the very large 1 300MW Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme currently under construction in little Drakensberg, and where GIBB is also providing engineering skills," he explains.

Gibb, Dave Crombie, Tel: (021) 469-9100, Web: www.gibb.co.za

Places

Energy Training Foundation Courses for 2013

Certified Energy Manager (CEM速)

For further details, conatct

Certified Measurement and VeriJohannesburg fication Professional (CMVP速) Johannesburg

Yolanda de Lange Energy Cybernetics (Pty) Ltd Tel: +27(0)41 367 1041 Cell: +27(0)84 622 4770 Email:media@energycybernetics.com Website: www.energycybernetics.com

Dates

Credits

Cape Town

11 - 15 March 2013

Johannesburg

14 - 18 October 2013

Johannesburg

20 - 24 May 2013

Port Elizabeth

March 2014

Port Elizabeth

18 - 20 March 2013

Energy Management System Johannesburg Implementation (EnMSI) Johannesburg

22 - 24 May 2013

2 CPD credits

16 - 18 October 2013 20 - 21 May 2013 16 - 17 October 2013

Cape Town

12 - 14 February 2013

Johannesburg

16 - 18 April 2013

Fundamentals for Energy Management Training (FEMT) Durban

5 CPD credits

23 - 25 July 2013

Bloemfontein

13 - 15 August 2013

Johannesburg

17 - 19 September 2013

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2 CPD credits

3 CPD credits

January 2013

27

SAIT

Through the Doors!

The SAIT began its existence as ‘The Wear Club’ of the University of the Witwatersrand in July 1982. In March 1985 it was inaugurated as the South African Institute of Tribology.

T

he SAIT is a member of the International Tribology Council and has regularly been represented by a small delegation at the World Tribology Congresses held in London in 1997, Vienna in 2001, Washington in 2005, Kyoto in 2009, and in 2013 in Torino, Italy. As well as attending the congresses, SAIT members have presented well-researched and –received papers.

2012 was an extremely busy and successful year for the SAIT, with two extra Five-day ‘Lubrication Engineering’ Courses being introduced into our curriculum. Over the year, 110 delegates wrote the Lubrication Engineering exam at the end of these five-day courses, with a total of 74 passes, 32 distinctions and 4 failures. These courses are run regularly in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, and can be presented in-house on request.

During 2012, four Introductory Courses in ‘Lubrication Engineering’ and in ‘Wear and Materials’ were held, attended by 41 delegates.

The SAIT courses were introduced in 1989. Since then a total of 106 five-day ‘Lubrication Engineering’,

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23 one-day ‘Introduction to Lubrication Engineering’, and 15 one-day ‘Introduction to Wear and Materials courses have been run and recently 2 one-day ‘Introduction to Lubricating Oils’ courses.

The 3-day course, ‘Materials and Wear’, of which 11 have been held, was replaced by the Introductory Courses. A total of 3 068 students have attended the SAIT Courses in the last 23 years.

The year’s educational programme ended with our hosting of the STLE - CLS, OMA & CMFS exams and “SAIT CLS study course”, the most recent addition to our courses.

In addition to our educational programme, the SAIT hosts an International Tribology Conference every three years, the first being in 1986. We are currently looking forward to our 11th Conference in 2014.

We also host several short seminars each year, last year topics covered were ‘Energy Reduction through Materials Selection’ in May and ‘Metal-Working Fluids’ in October.

Several times a year we host evening Technical Presentations, the most recent was given by Charles du Bois on the ‘Lubrication of Non-Moving Parts’.

The SAIT anticipates an equally busy and successful 2013.

By Gill Fuller and Isabel Bradley, SAIT Secretariat.

January 2013

OPINION

Soapbox On his rounds, Kowie Hamman, our Editor, is conducting an informal survey on the lighter side of engineering. We follow up from last month with two pertinent questions.

What’s your hobby?

Chris Coetzee of Resonant Solutions I like fishing.

Rudolph Beer of Martin Engineering

Hunting / fixing broken things.

Willem Sullivan of Hansen

Fishing and doing computer stuff.

Greg Perry of SEW Family time and DIY.

Brian Volk of PHC Projects Do-it-Yourself cars.

Phildy Schlotz of DRA

I would give everyone that elusive super power known as “Common Sense”, so that whenever things start going pear shaped they can say: “My common sense is tingling”, and then solve the bloody problems.

Brian Volk of PHC Projects Corruption.

Phildy Schlotz of DRA

Personally I think a good education for all is a priority. Through educational upliftment we’ll get better participation from everyone, removing many concerning issues.

Thalefang Mtombeni of Schaeffler

I’d like to see more opportunities being presented to young people out there. It’s amazing how many people don’t have a clue of all the opportunities which are available to them. These opportunities should be marketed better by industry.

I love tiger fishing, my best catch was a 6.5kg tiger caught at Coborabassa dam where we regularly go fishing. I also spend a lot of time keeping fit.

Izak van Niekerk of Bell Equipment

Thalefang Mtombeni of Schaeffler

Tom Esterhuizen of Tom Esterhuizen & Associates

Dancing is number one and music follows as a close second pastime.

The basic education system, with easy access to the best schools and teachers for every South African child. This will have the greatest impact on our future prosperity.

The world would be a much better place if people were less judgemental.

Izak van Niekerk of Bell Equipment

Being outdoors, waterskiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, travelling.

Tom Esterhuizen of Tom Esterhuizen & Associates

Now it is golf… but before that it was office work.

If you could change one thing in South Africa, what would it be?

Chris Coetzee of Resonant Solutions Do you really want me to answer that?

Greg Perry of SEW History.

Rudolph Beer of Martin Engineering

Let people understand that life is what you make of it.

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Analysis Saves Design Time Software development is a dynamic phenomenon, constantly changing to accommodate more functionality as user requirements grow. Perpetually changing trends in the market make it almost ‘fashionable’ to have certain functionalities in software packages.

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his is how simulation software became part and parcel of most CAD software packages, leaving dedicated simulation software developers with the challenge of making their simulation software more accessible, more affordable and easier to use on the desktop PC by ordinary engineers.

To find out about new developments in this regard, “SA Mechanical Engineer” speaks to Izak Vorster, business development manager at Qfinsoft, the distributors of Ansys software in South Africa. “Since the foundation of Ansys in the early 1970’s, FEA and CFD as engineering tools were only accessible

Izak Vorster of Qfinsoft

to large companies and expert engineers,” he says.

“However, given the exponential growth of the software industry as well as the rapid improvement of

The conventional design cycle allows for design changes to be made only after the prototype is built, costing product development dearly compared with a product development cycle which is simulation driven right from the start

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adds Izak. “These tools not only allow designers to validate their ideas before an item is built, but also contribute to their gaining the fundamental knowledge and experience of simulation processes, optimisation and parameterisation. Design engineers have, therefore, not only learnt to obtain accurate results quickly, but they’re also understanding the behaviour of the products they design better, allowing them to make better decisions in a shorter time resulting in more efficient engineering.”

Given the exponential growth of the software industry as well as the rapid improvement of computer hardware, the more advanced analysis tools have now become available to the desktop engineer and designer as well Doing things better

The simulation capability of analysis software bundled with CAD programmes does have limitations in terms of accuracy though. “The intention was never really to replace dedicated high-end FEA or CFD analysis, but rather as a validation guide to highlight problems in the early stages of a design while still working on the CAD programme,” Izak explains. “Although some users did push the limits of the bundled simulation software, most recognised the limitations in terms of the meshing required for proper professional analysis.”

Those who ‘got the picture’ have opted for the Ansys Professional licence, for example, as it provides designers and engineers with an FEA licence which solves more complex problems more accurately. Izak adds, “Features like the fully-automated meshing inside Ansys give designers more functionality at an affordable price. Above all, our simulation solutions today interface with most mainstream CAD systems’ geometry, be it SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor, SolidEdge, Pro Engineer/Creo Elements or NX.”

The design cycle

In some cases, companies don’t need to undertake complex analysis on a regular basis. Says Izak, “For them it is ideal to use the packaged simulation tools of the CAD package up to a certain stage. A professional analysis can then be carried out by any of a number of companies, like ourselves, for example, until their simulation work increases and justifies investing in one of the Ansys simulation modules.”

Simulation solution is split up into various modules, allowing users to build up a suite as design requires analysis of the different physics involved

computer hardware, the more advanced analysis tools have now become available to the desktop engineer and designer as well.

“Over the last couple of years we have seen design validation software in all major CAD programmes in the form of structural and fluid simulation,”

The fact that Qfinsoft was recently awarded the Ansys territorial award for best renewal sales in the world indicates that the South African engineering design community has realised the value of simulation as part of the design cycle. “It has been proved over and over again that the sooner simulation is brought into the design cycle, the more you save,” says Izak. “The conventional design cycle allows for design changes to be made only after the prototype is built, costing product development dearly compared with a product development cycle which

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Design engineers understand the behaviour of the products they design better

It has been proved over and over again that the sooner simulation is brought into the design cycle, the more you save is simulation driven right from the start.”

Look into the future

One of the main reasons for Qfinsoft’s success is that the Ansys simulation solution is split up into various modules, allowing users to build up a suite as design requires analysis of the different physics involved. “In the past, you had to purchase the whole package just to do a single type of analysis,” explains Izak. “It has become much more cost effective now to start small and add modules gradually to arrive at the multi-physics required of complex designs.

“Some people make the mistake of buying a FEA package outright, for example, because that’s what they need at the time, but lose sight of the fact that tomorrow they might also need to do CFD which means bringing in a new stand-alone solution altogether, complete with a new user interface, new training and so on,” he warns in conclusion. “There are not many products out there which allow you to build up into a multiphysics solution like Ansys.

It’s wise to look ahead to where the company is going in the future and plan ahead to extend the simulations to cover multi-physics.”

Izak Vorster, Qfinsoft, Tel: (012) 345-1917, Email: izak@qfinsoft.co.za

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Cutting Corners Can be Costly

Change management is not sexy or exciting - but neither is project failure. "When implementing enterprise software projects, change management along with system testing is one of the most frequently neglected aspects of the implementation," according to Johani Marais, country manager of HansaWorld South Africa.

Additional steps

That staff are likely to find fault with new processes is a given, she continues. “The innovation which goes into the advancement of enterprise systems includes introducing, for example, additional steps to financial processes in order to close loopholes which may have existed in their predecessors. It is these sorts of changes that individuals can find bewildering.”

Change management, therefore, is not merely a matter of instructing staff on how things are to be done with the new system, it is also potentially a matter of sharing the bigger picture. “This means providing insight into why things are done differently – and not just showing that they are done differently,” Johani notes.

Johani Marais

A

cross a long career in ERP project management, she has seen first-hand the tendency to skimp on change management and the occasionally disastrous results of that penny pinching. “Implementing any new system means it will be replacing old ways of doing things with new.

That is an integral part of the value proposition of more modern systems,” says Johani.

Managers tend to see the benefits very quickly without considering the impact of changed ways of working on their staff While she says it is a relatively straight-forward process to configure technology systems to execute these new processes and methods, reprogramming people is not quite so cut-and-dried. “Change management is, to a large degree, about helping staff to ‘unlearn’ habits, processes and ways of working which are, in many instances, second nature.”

Changing those habits is not easy but it is essential.

If the people who work with the system don’t like it, or if they perceive it to be unnecessarily complex with ‘more steps’ than the old one to achieve the same goals, user resistance is inevitable.

Considerable reinforcement is required; project champions must keep morale high, identifying and managing dissent and conflict which can result from disgruntled and frustrated employees. “The activities and techniques involved in change management are numerous and substantial. However, what is often the sticking point for company bosses is that these interventions add hours to the project budget.”

User resistance

While the temptation to steamroll a new system into action with minimal attention to change management may be great, Johani says doing so is risky.

“Managers tend to see the benefits very quickly without considering the impact of changed ways of working on their staff. However, even with very good change management, user resistance is likely.

Combating this is critical, requiring continual attention to training, reinforcement and getting the buy-in of those who work with the system,” she stresses.

It is not easily achieved and requires repetition and continual focus. But good change management remains a cornerstone of projects which are not only successfully delivered, but also which provide lasting value to the companies which have implemented them.

HansaWorld SA, Johani Marais, Tel: (021) 685-9231 011 656 6113, Email: johani@hansaworld.com

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FILTERS AND FILTRATION

Now’s the Time to Clean Up

Woitek Liberda, general manager Des Tuck, marketing and sales of Actom Air Pollution Control manager of Actom Air Pollution Control

The clock is ticking for the official implementation of new emission control regulations for South African industry, leaving very little time at this stage for those industries that have not yet started planning to upgrade or install sufficient gas cleaning filtration equipment.

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o look at developments in this regard, “SA Mechanical Engineer” meets with Woitek Liberda, general manager and Des Tuck, marketing and sales manager of Actom Air Pollution Control, which offers equipment that is tried and tested in South Africa and widely used in the processing industry. “The deadline for the

We’ve seen an increase in the number of enquiries from owners of existing plants, but not as many actual orders, a clear indication that companies are leaving it to the last minute

implementation of the new regulations is set for 2015,” Woitek says. “But, if you consider that large gas cleaning plant falls into a cost range of around fifty million rand and upwards and that it can take two to three years for clients to budget for, make decisions regarding their requirements and obtain approval for this type of capital expenditure, then now is the time to start planning ahead.

Plant upgrades

“We’ve seen an increase in the number of enquiries from owners of existing plants, but not as many

When the older processing plants were built originally, the emission control systems were probably adequate at the time, but today they’re not

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In many cases older bag filter technology no longer meets the requirements and these are upgraded or replaced by pulse jet technology

actual orders, a clear indication that companies are leaving it to the last minute,” Woitek adds.

“Over the past two years we’ve undertaken several upgrade projects and, in our experience, it can be a lengthy procedure from the day we submit the first budget quotation to completion of the plant. It’s a process of submitting studies, the client budgeting for capital and running costs, auditing the plant, designing the system for the specific application, manufacturing the equipment and then installing and commissioning it.”

Smaller plants do not have more leeway in terms of time, as these are approached with the same criteria.

Outdated systems

Des Tuck warns, “Here we’re specifically talking about retrofitting old plants in need of upgrading because any new plant being built today has to comply, making emission control an integral part of plant design right from the start.

The big change in technology choice across the world, however, is in a plant having to switch from other technologies to a bag filtration system “When the older processing plants were built originally, the emission control systems were probably adequate at the time, but today they’re not,” he adds. “As requirements changed over the years so technology evolved and improved, but not everyone upgraded their systems to meet the changing requirements, leaving some gas cleaning systems out there completely outdated. For this reason we need to evaluate each individual situation to identify

the problems and then engineer a solution to suit.

It’s no longer just a matter of selling gas cleaning equipment, but much more a case of finding a solution for each given situation.”

Trends

A good example of how filtration technology has changed in relation to plant evolution is indicated in the increasing use of bag filters rather than electrostatic precipitators. In many cases older bag filter technology no longer meets the requirements and these are upgraded or replaced by pulse jet technology. ESPs do, however, still have a place in the market, particularly when high temperatures are involved.

“A large portion of our business comes from bag filter systems,” explains Des. “The filtration technology used generally depends on the application. For example, in a small percentage of cases scrubbers are preferred over bag filters purely because the conditions are wet or explosive and therefore bags aren’t suitable. The big change in technology choice across the world, however, is in plants having to switch from other technologies to a bag filtration system,” adds Des.

An example

This is exactly what’s happening at a plant of a cement producer where Actom Air Pollution Control was awarded a turnkey contract to replace an existing ESP system at the plant’s kiln with a reverse-pulse bag filter system. “The supply and installation of a 350 000 cubic metre per hour bag filter system to de-dust kiln 6 and raw mill 6 at the factory is part of an extensive upgrade at the plant,” says Des. The bag filtration system will be fitted with glass

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A complete solution for air pollution control

Over the past two years, several upgrade projects have been undertaken

fibre bags which are capable of withstanding temperatures up to 260º C, specially designed to reduce dust emissions in line with the minimum emissions standard as is contemplated with the new regulations due in 2015. “This expansion is all in aid of coping with the higher gas volumes of a bigger plant,” says Des. “In addition to the bags, we’re not only upgrading the existing forced draft fan with a higher capacity induced draft fan, but also have to install a new material handling system to collect, transport and feed the collected dust back to the clinker production process.”

Do it now!

It’s clear then that meeting the new requirements is a long process which needs careful planning. In conclusion, Woitek says, “We can offer a complete solution for air pollution control, especially in view of the anticipated high demand which can be expected in the next couple of years when everyone will be scrambling to comply with the new standards.”

Des Tuck, Actom Air Pollution Control, Tel: (011) 478-9765, Email: des.tuck@actom.co.za

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Money Corroding Away Generally industry perceives corrosion as visible rust, rather than the rust which could have been prevented.

This attitude is costing millions across the world, literally wasting capital which could be applied much more profitably in the development of businesses, and the economic growth of the country as a whole.

From left to right: Anthony Harris, Chairman of the Polymers and Composites Institute; Bob Wilmot, Executive Director of HDGASA; Andrew Copley, Chairman of SAQCC; Beverley van Niekerk, Secretary at the Corrosion Institute of Southern Africa; Louis Pretorius, immediate past President of the Corrosion Institute of Southern Africa; Bill Scurr, Executive Director of SASSDA (Southern Africa Stainless Steel Development Association); Rob White, Manager of IZASA (International Zinc Association SA); Deryck Spence, Executive Director of SAPMA (SA Paint Manufacturing Association); Lavine Warries, Copper Development Association; Bruce Trembling, Vice President of the Corrosion Institute of Southern Africa; Evert Swanepoel, Director of the Copper Development Association; Vanessa Sealy-Fisher, President of the Corrosion Institute of Southern Africa; Kevin Richardson, Honorary Secretary of the Corrosion Institute of Southern Africa; Bryan Perrie, Managing Director of the Cement and Concrete Institute; Brenda Maree, Secretary at the Corrosion Institute of Southern Africa; David Beard, President of SAIT (SA Institute of Tribology); and Hennie de Klerk of the Steel Institute

B

Vanessa Sealy-Fisher

ringing this home to each and every player in industry is the huge challenge facing the Corrosion Institute of Southern Africa

Our members come from all sectors of industry using a wide variety of materials in the manufacture and construction of products, buildings and structures

(CorriSA). “SA Mechanical Engineer” met up with Vanessa Sealy-Fisher, President of CorriSA, and the who’s who of the industry at a breakfast late last year.

Diverse membership

“Because corrosion impacts such a broad spectrum, our members come from all sectors of industry using a wide variety of materials in the manufacture and construction of products, buildings and structures today,” she explains. “A number of the

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official institutes, associations and suppliers from the different metal groups are members of CorriSA. So are organisations and businesses such as those manufacturing and supplying specialised heavy-duty coatings and linings as well as those who provide the special equipment used to apply these protection materials. Then we have grit blasting companies and also several metallurgical experts, corrosion engineers and researchers as members.

The more each one knows and understands about the other’s business, the better we function as a whole “In spite of the very challenging task of meeting the needs of such a diverse membership, there is, however, a shortage when it comes to representation from the consulting engineering sector as well as the mining industry,” Vanessa says. “Yet, these are the industrial sectors where corrosion protection is often crucially important, especially at the early stages of project development.

industry to be on board: corrosion affects everybody.”

Correct design, the right selection of materials and use of an appropriate coating or lining could probably reduce the cost of corrosion in South Africa by up to 25 percent. Considering that corrosion costs South Africa about 130 billion a year, this is a significant saving which can be re-invested in the country’s economy.

“We should all start taking corrosion much more seriously,” says Vanessa in conclusion.

Vanessa Sealy-Fisher, Corrosion Institute of Southern Africa, Tel: 086-026-7772, Email: mail@corrosioninstitute.org.za, www.corrosioninstitute.org.za

Join forces

“We operate like a spoked wheel where members understand that they are the spokes, forming an integral part of the wheel; the more each one knows and understands about the other’s business, the better we function as a whole,” she emphasises.

“That’s why we need everyone from all sectors of

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Promech Publishing has a BEE rating of 168.75%

EDUCATION

PneuDrive Challenge The PneuDrive Challenge 2012 Engineering Design Competition, sponsored by SEW Eurodrive and Festo, and endorsed by the SAIMechE, presented South African engineering students with an opportunity to use their academic and design aptitude to propose an engineering solution that could improve the lives of South African disadvantaged communities.

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ith a theme that was the most openended since the competition began five years ago, a range of creative and thought-provoking designs were submitted by six South African Universities.

1st Place – Tshwane University of Technology – Gel Seed Planter

Students Mias Swanepoel, Byron Nielson, JP Joubert and Gerrit Botha‘s research into the area of plant yields revealed that significant improvements could be made in the areas of seed propagation and planting. They designed a high-speed, automated seeding machine that brings together new research in “arboriculture hydrogels" and mass production (10 000 trays per day) in order to improve the process of preparing seeds for planting.

Bradley Rautenbach, Rohan Graham, Greg Whitbread and Rowan Carstensen

3rd Place – WITS - Karoo Seed Planter

Madikoti Motimele, Meshi Hamese, Lefa Madire and Mduduzi Masuku designed a machine that would allow a remote operator to extract GPS coordinates from platforms such as Google Maps to plan and navigate a seedling planter to a selected area. The machine is designed to operate on solar power and is surely a sign of things to some.

Madikoti Motimele, Meshi Hamese, Lefa Madire and Mduduzi Masuku

Prizes Mias Swanepoel, Byron Nielson, JP Joubert and Gerrit Botha

2nd Place – WITS - Roof Tile Tyre Cutter

Wits students, Bradley Rautenbach, Rohan Graham, Greg Whitbread and Rowan Carstensen came up with an innovative and refreshing way of looking at recycling tyres worldwide. By finding a use for processed rubber tyres and linking South Africa's need for housing, this entry proposed a relatively cheap roofing alternative for low cost housing.

The winning team for this year’s competition received a ten day all expenses paid trip to Germany for their group, and the runners up received a Canon digital camera each. Furthermore, the winning university received R100 000 worth of products from SEW Eurodrive and Festo while each participating university is entitled to R40 000 worth of sponsor products for completing the competition.

Sew Eurodrive , Rene Rose, Tel: (011) 248-7000, Email: rrose@sew.co.za, pneudrive@sew.co.za www.sew.co.za

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MARKET FORUM

Reducing project cost “Our innovative and automated skid mounted electrolysis plants are ideal for the effective on-site production of chlorine, caustic soda and hydrogen, as well as bleach and hydrochloric acid derivatives,” says Bruce Bassett, general manager: Technical Sales for ThyssenKrupp PDNA Engineering (Pty) Ltd. Designed by Uhdenora (a joint company of Uhde/Germany and Industrie De Nora/Italy), the rated production capacity is 15 000 tons of chlorine per annum per skid mounted train. These best-in-class quality modular solutions are economical and cost effective, ensuring fast plant start-up between twelve to fourteen months.

Depending on site characteristics, different plant arrangements are possible and Bruce says that the engineering

standardisation plays a key role in reducing project costs. “The pricing for skids can be easily calculated and fast project implementation is possible as skid procurement and civil activities at site can run in parallel from the get-go.

The flexibility of the project is further increased by the possibility to install only the skid units needed for the specific markets, ie, salt to bleach and/or hydrochloric acid. Plant standardisation also ensures optimised spare part inventories,” explains Bruce.

Uhde’s comprehensive services for oil and gas plants range from project definition, process consulting and licensing of technologies to complete project execution for upstream and downstream oil and gas industries. “Our services meet project specifications to the letter,” remarks

Bruce. Together with technology partners, Uhde has constructed a number of gas processing plants globally including the recently completed expansion from 122 PJ/a to 183 PJ/a, for Sasol Petroleum Temane gas conditioning facility in Mozambique. The turnkey service from the Uhde division of ThyssenKrupp PDNA Engineering included the supply of a slug catcher, twelve new gas exchangers, a new dew point correction unit and triethylene glycol unit, two high pressure compressors , a condensate stabilisation unit, additional condensate storage facility and substation extension.

Uhde (Pty) Ltd, a division of ThyssenKrupp PDNA Engineering, Bruce Bassett, Tel: (011) 208-1542, Email: bruce.bassett@thyssenkrupp.com, www.uhde.co.za

Weir Minerals Africa has embarked on an innovative collaborative programme with Wits University’s Faculty of Engineering, which is seeing third - year mechanical engineering students receive hands-on experience in design and application.

Weir Minerals Africa’s human resources director, Neil Voller, says, “The university has collaborated with us on this initiative and the programme was introduced for the first time at the beginning of the 2012 academic year.

Weir Minerals Africa design engineer, Pieter Anker, demonstrates the company's state-of-the-art 3D modelling software used in the equipment design process.

outcomes and evaluate its impact,” Neil says.

“When I was an engineering student we did four years of theory and only worked in a hands-on scenario for short periods,” he says.

“So when we started this project with Wits, I realised that field experience had been sorely missing from my own training — in those days students were quite divorced from the final field of application.

A group of Wits engineering students takes the opportunity to ask the design engineer various questions.

Third year students can earn up to 25% of their year mark through this practical exercise. Since the slurry pump is all-embracing as a pump design, the students have been tasked with coming up with a brand new design.

“We’ve given the university a commitment to run this programme for three years, after which we’ll assess all the

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“That’s why the initiative with Wits

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University is so exciting to us. The students will benefit immensely from first hand exposure to application engineering. In this field, if the equipment being designed doesn’t work, we are expected to go back to the drawing board until it does work. For these students, to all intents and purposes, the project is an enactment of the life that awaits them — a real live case study. This puts a whole new spin on their academic work.”

Weir Minerals Africa, Rene Calitz, Tel: (011) 929 2622, Email: r.calitz@weirminerals.com www.weirminerals.com

MARKET FORUM

Food for Thought

Monitoring your compressors Atlas Copco’s first mobile app for the compressor market, the Elektronikon App, is directly linked to the controllers in Atlas Copco’s compressors and dryers. Users can monitor their installation anywhere, anytime on their smartphones or iOS (Apple) and Android operated mobile devices.

When a leading South African health food distributor based in Alrode, Germiston, experienced frequent break-downs on its potato peelers due to bearing contamination, SKF’s Authorised distribution partner, Bearing Services Alrode, offered a solution.

maintenance schedule from three weeks to over three months. There has been no bearing-related unplanned downtime.

This has translated into substantial cost savings for the customer,” explains Patricia van der Hulst, key accounts manager – Food and Beverage.

The bearings were exposed to aggressive materials such as sand, grit, water and potato juices. To avoid unplanned downtime, the company altered the maintenance schedule to ensure bearing change every three weeks but the planned shuts proved costly for the customer with increased bearing and related consumable replacement costs, downtime, as well as increased stock holding.

“The elimination of re-lubrication downtime increased productivity. There has been an improvement in foreign body prevention which has eliminated dripping grease or purge contamination (bearings are filled with NSF H1 approved grease for the food industry), while reduced grease use is positive for the environment. The risk of lubrication points being missed through human error has also been eliminated.”

The solution from Bearing Services Alrode consisted of the SKF maintenance-free composite housing, Y-bearing units, with stainless steel inserts. “The Mean Time Between Repair (MTBR) increased the

SKF South Africa, Samantha Joubert, Tel: (011) 821-3500, Fax: (011) 821-3501 Email: samantha.joubert@skf.com, Web: www.skf.co.za

The new Elektronikon App has been released along with the new GA 30 to 90 (and VSD) oil-injected screw compressor. Previously, compressor operators could already monitor their installations’ performance over the intranet thanks to the Elektronikon Mk 5 controller. With this Elektronikon App, Atlas Copco takes user-friendly distribution of essential compressor room operation data to the next level.

The Elektronikon Mk5 in every compressor and dryer has an internal website that allows for real-time data to be sent over the intranet. “This put the status of the installation at the customer’s fingertips,” says Atlas Copco South Africa Business Line Manager - Industrial Air, Charl Ackerman. He explains: “One or multiple compressors and dryers can be combined into one installation. With the app, users can monitor that installation’s real-time status, like running hours, analog inputs, running/stopped status and much more. Both the Elektronikon controller and the app are available in the same 32 languages.”

Atlas Copco Industrial Air Division, Charl Ackerman, Tel: (011) 821- 9113, Email:charl.ackerman@za.atlascopco.com

Stepping Stone “After having been present in the Southern African market since the 1970's via a licensee, Jost Germany has now founded their own African subsidiary, JVT Vibrating Equipment (Pty) Ltd, with Jost Germany being the majority shareholder. The Jost Group has no ties with Joest (Pty) Ltd (RSA) anymore, effectively having cut the proverbial umbilical cord and all support that goes with it. This decision was driven mainly

to provide a route to the African market for the latest range of products coupled with an appropriate level of support for a premium brand,” says Fanie Swart, managing director of JVT Vibrating Equipment.

JVT Vibrating Equipment will manufacture the complete range of vibrating machines through a few selected and reputable sub-contractors while its own factory

is being built in Linbro Park during the course of 2013. An extensive local stock of Jost original spare drives and other spare components to provide service and repairs is on hand.

Christian Fuchs, Tel: (012) 683-8870 Fax: (012) 643-0204, Email: info@jvtvibration.co.za, www.jvtvibration.co.za

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Improved Flotation Cell Control

The DFPI with integrated positioner gives reliable maintenance-free service. The positioner and valves are situated inside the actuator barrel, which protects them from the surrounding operating environment.

The DFPI positioned over the flotation cell, at the mine where its superior control is improving the platinum recovery rate.

Automation solutions provider, Festo, has helped improve the platinum recovery rate from flotation cells at a mine in North West province.

The mine uses flotation cells to extract the platinum from crude ore: By agitating a mixture of ore, water, frothing reagents and collecting reagents, the mineral particles rise to form a froth on the surface. The waste material (gangue) settles to the bottom. The froth is skimmed off, and

the water and chemicals are distilled or otherwise removed, leaving a clean concentrate.

When the fluid levels within the flotation cell are not accurately controlled, the mineral-rich foam doesn’t form or the concentrations are not optimal. The original design had all actuators controlled via an external positioner with feedback fed through a series of linkages. This type of system is inherently weak and needs

Keeping an Eye Watson-Marlow Bredel SA has started the 'no valve metering revolution' with the launch of its Qdos 30 pump range.

Developed in response to extensive industrial customer feedback for improved chemical metering, the Qdos 30 pump range eliminates ancillary equipment, enhances productivity and reduces chemical waste through more accurate, linear and repeatable metering than typical solenoid or stepper-driven diaphragm metering pumps.

"This new range of pumps can be in-

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stalled in restricted environments and is suitable for chemical metering applications such as disinfection and pH adjustment of drinking water, flocculation, industrial cooling water preparation and reagent dosing in mineral processing," says Watson-Marlow Bredel SA general manager, Nico van Schalkwyk.

According to Nico, the pumps can safely handle caustic, abrasive, viscous, shearsensitive and gaseous fluids, as well as those that are slurries or contain suspended solids. The Qdos 30 Universal

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regular maintenance and recalibration – a time-consuming process that was happening too often for the mine. In addition, the system needed to operate in a potentially corrosive environment with exposure to sulphuric acid.

Based on experience gained with Festo installations at mines across the world, Festo sales engineer, Koot Viljoen says, “The design of the DFPI is compact so the positioner and valves are situated inside the actuator barrel and are therefore protected from the environment.”

Festo, Tracey Swart, Tel: 08600 FESTO (33786), Fax: 011 974 2157 Web: www.festo.co.za

is the premium model in the range and features a fully configurable response to the 4–20mA input signal and 4–20mA and alarm outputs. Four other pump variants are available in the range.

“Watson-Marlow has given particular consideration to customer preferences during development of the new Qdos 30 pump,” says Nico. He cites the display of the residual level in the tank as an example. Users can now keep an eye on the level at a glance. Linear dosing is another outstanding feature of the Qdos 30 series pumps which are described as 'valveless pumps'.

Watson-Marlow Bredel, Nico van Schalkwyk, Tel: (011) 796-2960, www.watson-marlow.com

MARKET FORUM

Walks the Torque Largest in the world

Metso is set to provide an HRC-3000 for Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold's Morenci copper mine in Arizona, USA. This HRC(TM), which will be the world's largest machine of its kind, is Metso's new concept in high pressure grinding roll (HPGR) technology.

The HRC-3000 will perform tertiary crushing in the comminution circuit, which includes crushers and ball mills (also supplied by Metso) and will provide a highly efficient solution for this application.

The HRC's ability to meet the demands of this application is a result of its innovative design, which improves throughput and efficiency of the existing HPGR technology. Over 8 000 hours of testing including 4 000 hours in a pilot plant operating at Morenci have proven the design and efficiency of the HRC. Design features include a patented arch frame which creates an even gap setting across the width of the tires, limiting skewing that results in downtime for mining operations. This anti-skewing arch frame also prevents damage to the roller bearings (caused by misalignment) that often occurs with the traditional HPGR design.

Voith torque converters for high speed applications

Global drive specialist, Voith, manufactures and supplies a range of compact and robust torque converters ideally suited for motors that are sensitive to power absorption and high speed applications.

“This hydrodynamic torque converter with combined speed and torque variation is mainly used on hyperbolic or constant torque applications or any mixed characteristic”, explains Derain Pillay – Voith Divisional Manager – Energy, Oil & Gas. The liquid flow, produced by the pump, drives the turbine; the power is constantly controlled by the converter which decreases output speeds resulting in energy savings.

Voith‘s range of torque converters are engineered to suit any power conversion application providing a wide speed range and a flat efficiency curve. The

torque converters are equipped with anti friction bearings on the input side and sleeve bearings on the output side.

Available power ranges from 280 kW up to 3 700kW. Also available is a torque converter with continuous turning gear and a two position solenoid valve for guide vane adjustment with power ranging from 2 200kW to 10 000kW. Derain states that two of the main features of these torque converters are the ease of installation and low operation costs. ”The shock and vibration dampening ensure minimal downtime risk with overload protection motors managing any risk areas while maintenance costs are kept low,” Voith Turbo, Terry-Lynn McIntosh Tel: (011) 418-4036, www.voith.com

Used in place of spring-loaded cheek plates, flanges help maintain even pressure while crushing ore. This even pressure minimises the amount of material that bypasses the crushing zone, enabling greater circuit capacity and increasing overall crushing efficiency. Addition of the flanges also distributes even wear on the surface of the tires, providing an increased life for the machine's most significant wear part.

These design changes were implemented precisely for the type of application in which the HRC-3000, scheduled to be online by early 2014, will be operating: high-tonnage tertiary crushing of hard rock. And the incentive for operators is long-term benefits in operating cost.

Metso Mining and Construction Technology, Darryl Moss, Tel: (011) 961-4000, Fax: (011) 397-5084, Email: darryl.moss@metso.com

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MARKET FORUM

Distribution rights

French-based Soméflu Pumps has awarded product distribution rights in South Africa and neighbouring states exclusively to Ecochem Pumps of Germiston.

First orders for the new range have been taken, and the first delivery of twelve pumps made to a mine in Northwest Province. Further orders are expected soon. The distribution agreement was signed in August 2012.

Soméflu’s product range comprises a complete line of horizontal and vertical centrifugal pumps made of thermoplastics (PP, PVDF, PE, PEHD, PFA, PTFE) or stainless steel (316, 316L, 904L, Hastelloy).

Designed to handle corrosive, abrasive and hazardous fluids, either with or without suspended solids, the pumps are equipped with mechanical seals or magnetic drives.

Som

éflu

ces c pro i l l a t e on-m tal n n o z i hor

p s pum

Recuperator Tubes High temperature alloys supplied by approved Sandvik Materials Technology distributor, Multi Alloys, may be used successfully in recuperator tube applications that realise significant energy and fuel savings for steel mills.

Recuperators save energy by utilising waste heat to preheat combustion air in the steel production process.

44

This can be significantly enhanced by raising the preheating temperatures and increasing the operational life cycle and efficiency of the recuperators resulting in substantial annual savings through considerably lower fuel consumption.

Sandvik high-alloy recuperator tubes may achieve well over double the average operational life, even in highly corrosive environments and Multi Alloys managing member, Ken Perel, says that the tubes are ideally suited to any industry that pursues energy efficiency. The successful use of high temperature alloys such as Sandvik 253 MA in recuperator tube applications has been operationally

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Pump types include horizontal endsuction, close coupled, self-priming, recessed impeller and vertical configurations, with applications in water treatment, gas treatment, chemicals and petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, mining, surface treatment, desalination, stripping, pickling and agricultural production.

Ecochem Pumps, Richard Rudling, Tel: (011) 455-5710, Fax: (011) 455-5842 E-mail: richard@ecochempumps.co.za

proven in steel manufacturing plants across the globe. Actual performance will depend on operating conditions such as fuel type, etc. One of the largest steel producers in Turkey recently reported substantial energy savings as well as a 60% increase in production after installing tubes in grade Sandvik 253 MA into four recuperators.

The effectiveness of the alloy is its excellent oxide-forming properties that retard degradation under cyclic conditions.

This cuts maintenance schedules and reduces costly tube replacement and maximises plant uptime.

Multi-Alloys, Ken Perel, Tel: 011 466 2480, Fax: 011 466 1692 Email: kenp@wwtrade.co.za, Web: www.multialloys.co.za

MARKET FORUM

Steamline Ai-Tec has recently completed the installation of a new 300m main steamline at Vergenoeg Flouride Mine in Rust de Winter, Limpopo province.

“This project, which encompassed the installation of schedule 40 x 150 mm steam pipes, will significantly improve production efficiencies on the mine,” says Arnold Retief, business development director, Ai-Tec. “These steam pipes, which have been installed from the boiler house to the flotation plant, carry steam to prevent raw product from settling in the tank. Steam is used to heat the water in the flotation tanks, as well as to stir the raw flouride in these vessels.

“A challenge of this project was the difficult terrain and existing dams.”

These steam pipes, which are manufactured from a seamless, mild steel, undergo a lagging and cladding process to inhibit heat loss, to prevent corrosion and for extended service life.

Advanced Industrial Technology (Ai-TEC), Arnold Retief, Tel: 0861 248 320 Email: ArnoldR@ai-tec.co.za, www.ai-tec.co.za

Ai-Tec installation of a new main steamline at Vergenoeg Flouride Mine in Rus de Winter, Limpopo province.

Safe and reliable lifting

Becker Mining South Africa’s Simplex range of hydraulic and mechanical equipment includes heavy duty air-overhydraulic power pumps, designed for

safe and reliable lifting and positioning of industrial equipment.

Simplex GA9 series air-over-oil single speed pumps are available in either

single or double acting valve configurations, with a 10 000 psi hydraulic pressure capability.

“These compact pumps, which are lightweight and easy to carry, can be used to power a wide range of small to medium sized tools and have been designed for quiet operation (85 dba) in diverse indoor and outdoor applications,” says Eugene Davids, product manager for Becker Mining SA. “Key operational features of this hydraulic pump platform include minimal air input requirements, a high rate spring for rapid response, high performance inlet/outlet check assemblies, safety overload protection and 11 cu. in. @ 10 000 psi (700 bar).”

Becker Mining, Eugene Davids, Tel: (011) 617 6300, info@za.becker-mining. com, www.za-becker-mining.com

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MARKET FORUM

Index to Advertisers Axiom

Outside Back Cover

Bearings International BMG

10

Outside Front Cover

Bonfiglioli

Inside Back Cover

Energy Cybernetics

36

Largest Acquisition to Date

Epsasa 26

From left George Angelos, CEO, Man-Dirk, with Charles Walters, CEO BMG

Engineer Placements

BMG has successfully completed its largest acquisition to date with the purchase of Man-Dirk (Pty) Ltd, a prominent supplier of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) tools and equipment to the mining, power generation and government sectors in Southern Africa.

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Indutec 4 IEE 20 Kappa 24 PPS 11 SEW

Inside Front Cover

Walter Meano Yellotec

38 17, 28

On the Move

“BMG has increased its turnover to R2,7billion in the fiscal year to March 2012, largely as a result of strategic acquisitive growth,” says BMG’s CEO, Charles Walters. “We believe the acquisition of Man-Dirk, the largest local acquisition made to date to BMG’s operation, will significantly extend the Group’s service in the tool and equipment sector – a key area of growth for BMG.” Man-Dirk’s extensive range of products include hand tools, tool kits, power tools, personal protective equipment, locks and lockouts, lifting equipment, environmental products, measuring and electrical testing equipment, welding

and abrasives, cutting and workshop equipment.

Man-Dirk’s Randfontein head office is supported by a network of 21 branches in South Africa and Mozambique, of which eight are Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) sites. “One of the fundamental strategic decisions taken by BMG to enhance the product offering and services to our customers was the importance of onsite VMI operations,” says Ian King, sales and marketing director for BMG. “Man-Dirk’s strategic locations significantly improve supply chain performance and also have the benefit of reducing a customer’s total cost of ownership, making it a very attractive addition to the substantial BMG offering. The company also exports to Zambia, Botswana, Tanzania, Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo.”

BMG, Veronique Bezuidenhout, Tel: (031) 576-6221, Email veroniqueb@bmgworld.net www.bmgworld.net

Markus Labuschagne joined Konecranes at their new Cape Town branch as Regional Manager Western Cape.

Leo Middelberg has been appointed as technical and engineering executive, and Henry van der Merwe has been appointed as operations executive responsible for Marthinusen & Coutts (M&C) Welkom and Rustenburg operations as well as its activities in the power generation sector.

Humulani Marketing (Pty) Ltd, trading Markus Labuschagne as CSE - Construction Specialised Equipment, has appointed Alex Ackron, divisional managing director.

Leo Middelberg

Henry van der Merwe

Alex Ackron

Gordon Sneddon

Andrew Habgood

Bradley Reddy

Dhiren Singh, a qualified Chartered Accountant, has been appointed as financial director, and Gordon Sneddon has been appointed as projects director of Wade Walker.

Magnet, has appointed Andrew Habgood as project engineer, Richards Bay and, Bradley Reddy is a sales engineer, specialising in 3M abrasives.

Dhiren Singh

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SAMHYDRAULIK, which is one of the leaders in the field of hydraulic transmission, has been operating for over 25 years in the international market, offering a complete range of orbital hydraulic motors and power steering units, axial pumps and motors for medium and high pressure ranges, all characterised by excellent performances.

SAMHYDRAULIK employs 120 people who operate inside a very modern and efficient plant that spans over 6 000 square metres to assure a high standard and flexible production capacity.

The latest computer technology is used for both design and production, combined with strict quality control procedures during all production phases, which translates into innovative, reliable and functional products that meet the various needs of the market.

Its ISO 9001 certification, held since 1994, is the result of a qualityorientated philosophy on which SAMHYDRAULIK has always based its operation.

A H 4814

AXIOM HYDRAULICS (PTY) LTD Tel: (011) 334-3068 / 334-3086 Fax: (011) 334-4543 E-mail: axiomjhb@mweb.co.za 17 Heidelberg Road, Village Main, Johannesburg, 2000 P O Box 260248, Excom, South Africa, 2023

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER 6362 January 2013 THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL VOL May 2012