Chutes for Ports
Minimizing Spillage
We Transform Bulk Material Handling
Weba Chutes Tackle Iron Ore
Challenge at Port Saldanha
At the Port of Saldanha, Weba has supplied the first Weba Chute Systems in a shiploading application for installation on Portnet’s Shiploaders.
Two boom transfer chutes were designed to transfer 10 000 tph of iron ore and feature a levelling device to always keep them vertical during the luffing of the boom (in a range from 14 degrees to 5 degrees). This minimises spillage and blockages and ensures an even load of iron ore onto the boom conveyor.
The conveyor has a belt size of 1 650 mm and runs at a speed of 4 metres per second. Bulk density of the iron ore varies from 2.3 to 3 tons per cubic metre, and the maximum lump size is 40 mm, with a moisture content of about 3%.
Weba upgraded the moving head chutes at the Port of Saldanha to provide these conveyor transfer points with the ability to cope with the 10 000 tph ship loader capacity. The existing conventional chutes were plagued with spillage and blockage issues. Thus, Weba was contracted to design and fabricate chutes and re-instate all the required instrumentation and piping services.
- A Fine Element Analysis (FEA) was carried out to prevent future blockages, determine the iron ore flow, verify the chutes’ capability to handle 10 000 tph and load this material central to the ongoing conveyor.
