Improved impact energy absorption
1st Quarter 2014
Other technologies
Specialist engineering company, Horne, reports positive market acceptance of its improved Technogrid energy absorption system, widely used for arresting failed conveyor belt counterweights, runaway gantry cranes, mine cages in over-wind or under-wind conditions and runaway underground trains. It is smaller and lighter than its predecessor, with a higher energy absorption per unit mass. Recent sales include several hundred units to platinum mines in South Africa, with further orders received from mines in Mongolia and Mexico.
Technogrid functions by absorbing a moving body’s kinetic or potential energy through deformation of a metal grid of known design and characteristics. The product comprises a series of multi-bar units connected in a staggered grid shape, which upon impact allow the metal bars to yield and deform under double curvature bending, opening up the units and absorbing the impact energy through strain hardening. The product is easy to install and maintenance free and it can absorb any impact as long as the catch framework is designed to put the grid into tension.
In the case of a conveyor counter-weight, for example, the Technogrids are simply positioned vertically next to or below the counter-weight with a catch frame attached to their lower ends and positioned just below the lowest point of normal vertical movement. Should the conveyor belt fail and the counterweight fall into the catch frame, the Technogrids will stop its fall, absorbing all impact energy. Individual Technogrid units can be designed to absorb energies from 24 kJ to over 40 000 kJ and impact speeds of up to 120 km/h.
For more information contact André du Preez, Horne Group, +27 (0)11 974 1004, [email protected], www.horne-group.com
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