Engineering a Specialised Back Plate
The problem
Our client’s mining site’s conditions have drastically changed with an influx of minerals in the underground water, further lowering the water pH and quickly corroding and eroding Dewatering Pumps SHD Back Plate.
The solution, develop a custom Back Plate to suit the changed conditions.
The corrosion and erosion caused to the SHD back plate and volute was disintegrating at a fast rate, and something had to be done.
Our Approach
We sent one of our specialists to the mining site to see first-hand the damage caused by these new conditions. Step one: understand what’s going on and why the water quality was causing corrosion and eroding the existing Back Plate surface.
Taking the time to understand the process, the ‘flow’ and the machines/components involved was key to figuring out the solution.
Our MTP specialists identified that a combination of the low pH water quality and water slurry mix flowing into the SHD underground discharge tanks were corroding the Back Plate at a very fast rate and if something was not done quickly, this could have caused the mining site delays and a lot of money replacing the Back Plate regularly.
The Solution
Focusing on our Stalker Pump SHD Back Plate, we determined that a special protective coating would help absorb the effects of corrosive attack on the Back Plate. The team had to work through several material options to come up with the best option for the job; the selected material was inspired by our very own MTP Stalker foundry.Our MTP engineering team confirmed and selected the appropriate urethane coating for the job, developed new engineering drawings to support this custom build, and submitted it through the MTP change process, ensuring it maintained our strict product quality standards.Once engineered, the MTP team went back on site to fit the custom backplate to the pump.
The Result
With the new backplate installed, the changed conditions are no longer affecting the pump and operations have gone back to smooth sailing.Please get in touch with the team at Malcolm Thompson Pumps to discuss how we can help you.
