CEO Message

Bulk solids handling and processing systems can and should operate as well as any other part of a plant. Over the years we have seen increasing attention being given to the design of such systems, though still too many problems exist that can cause process inefficiencies, limited production capacity, poor quality products, and in some cases unsafe conditions for the operators. We are committed to bring the technology and the experience necessary to ensure that such systems work without problems everywhere, all the time. In this mission, we are continuing to grow our team of engineers and our global presence, and are continuing to offer training opportunities through courses and webinars to fill the void left by the traditional engineering curricula.

You will read about two of our team members in this issue, along with examples of problems solved, and training opportunities. If you have any questions on the technical content or would like to have a discussion with one of our engineers, please contact any one of our offices.

Our Next Webinar

Jenike & Johanson will be conducting a webinar entitled How to Keep Your Material Flowing Without Fear of Plugging, Arches, or Ratholes on March 10, 2015. This webinar will focus on common causes of material flow problems, such as plugging, arching and bridging, and ratholing. You will learn the basics of flow property testing and the definition of the two key flow patterns that can occur in a silo, bin, or hopper. There will be discussion around the advantages and disadvantages of these flow patterns and their impact on flow problems. The session will outline an effective, practical, and proven approach to solving or preventing bulk material flow issues.

Transfer Chute Plugging Solution

A major iron ore exporter in South Africa was experiencing major delays in the material loading operation created by flow stoppages. This disrupted schedules, leading to higher shipping costs. A key right-angle transfer chute in the process had to handle iron ore at 10,000 TPH. The facility experienced severe plugging problems with this chute that feeds into their main iron ore handling system. Iron ore plugging would occur several times per shift, requiring operators to use high pressure water hoses to unplug the chute. At times, the iron ore was bone dry and dusty, leading to severe dust generation during handling in the chute.

Meet Corin Holmes and Jonathan Cheung

Corin Holmes came to Perth in 2012 taking on the role of Technical Officer, and helping to establish Jenike & Johanson’s Australian subsidiary.

Jonathan Cheung is a project engineer in the Toronto, Canada office. His primary responsibility is helping to design and make recommendations to avoid solids flow-related problems.

It’s All in the Details – by Jonathan Cheung

Have you ever tried building something only to find out that it doesn’t work? You’ve followed the design plan and assembled the parts but at the end of the day it just doesn’t operate correctly. This happened to me during a recent R&D project here at J&J and I don’t want it to happen to you. A tool that has been gaining a lot of popularity for simulating flow is Discrete Element Method (DEM) modeling. As you may have read from one of the other articles on our blog page, DEM is not a simple plug-and-play tool.

Mining Engineering – Improving Handling of Ores in Mining Operations

In a typical mining operation, run-of-mine (ROM) ore is crushed and screened to achieve a desired particle size distribution and then fed to processing equipment for further refining. For an operation to be profitable, the ore handling system, from the mine face to final product load out must be reliable. However, the handling system components do not always perform as expected and production problems related to material flow occur.

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