Sandvik introduces ceramic screening technology

Sandvik's new ceramic liners for screening operations helped boost productivity at a quarry in the UK. Construction materials supplier Hanson - a subsidiary of Heidelberg Cement - replaced the existing quenched steel liners at its Ingleton quarry site in Yorkshire, northern England, with the ceramic inserts.

The company admited it was "initially sceptical" about Sandvik's solution to the problem of having to frequently change noisy steel wear protection plates used in the screening process, but was impressed by the results.

Sandvik WT9200 ceramic wear protection plates for heavy duty work are intended for the toughest applications, with very high material flow containing coarse material. The ceramic wear plates have large and hard ceramic bricks, vulcanised into a matrix of wear resistant rubber. Due to its elastic properties, the rubber acts as a noise and impact dampener - making applications with a lot of impact possible without the risk of crushing the ceramic bricks.

Initially, Sandvik replaced the 30mm steel backed rubber elements that Hanson had been using on the feedbox leading into the primary screen. Due to the heavy duty nature of the screening operation, these liners had to be changed every four months. In contrast, using the WT9200, 27mm thick ceramic liners resulted in 18 months of trouble free service, even though the application was very tough.
Due to the extended life of the liners used on the primary screens feedbox, Hanson asked Sandvik to look at other applications that would benefit from the use of ceramic liners at the site. The discharge chute at the end of the screening operation was identified as a candidate - a wet application on a final 1.8m X 4.9m (6 ft x 16 ft) screen dealing with very fine material.

The steel liner for this application lasted three months before having to be replaced, but the ceramic liners have now been in operation for over 12 months and are showing no signs of wear - freeing up many hours that would normally be spent replating.

In addition, through the replacement of steel liners with WT9200 ceramic ones, Hanson has reduced the sound emissions emanating from their operation due to the dampening effect of the liners, reducing overall noise on site.