Wear protection for conveyor systems

When transferring raw or recycled material in conveyor systems, the equipment often comes in contact with an extremely broad grain size distribution – from large chunks to fine dust. In such cases, wear is caused both by the grinding effect of the tiny particles and the impact forces of the large fragments.

The troughs of chain conveyor systems, wet ash extractors and screw conveyors are subject to heavy abrasion. ABRESIST (fused cast basalt) is typically used to provide those areas of a conveyor system with effective wear protection which represents both an extremely durable and an economically optimized solution. For special conveyor system applications, combination linings are also used, i.e. a combination of different wear protection materials, such as ABRESIST with KALMETALL (hardfacing) or KALOCER (high alumina ceramic). Screw conveyors can also be equipped with wear protection, e.g. by hard facing them with KALMETALL or lining them with KALOCER tiles.

The transfer points of conveyor belts are also elements which are subject to wear. Chutes and impact surfaces are equipped with wear protection, whereby the appropriate material is selected according to the specific conditions – e.g. composition, grain size distribution and drop height of the conveyed material. For impact surfaces, our KERALFLEX system is one of the recommended options. It is equipped with a choice of either metal (KALMETALL) or ceramic (KALOCER) wear protection material vulcanized in rubber. In conveyor systems, that material pairing combines the benefits of effective wear protection with noise reduction.

Fans used to convey solid-gas mixtures are subject to high friction and impact wear. The fan housing, as a static component, has to withstand not only abrasion, but also stresses caused by vibration and high temperatures, which must also be taken into account when selecting the material. A good wear protection solution is to manufacture the housing as a self-supporting structure with wear protection plates made of KALMETALL (hardfacing). But in applications subject to highly abrasive wear, housing interiors are also coated with KALOCER mosaic tiles (high alumina ceramics). Due to their rotational speed, the impellers are subject to high shear forces as well. Along with hardfacing with KALMETALL, special adhesive methods are also used, which makes it possible to use other materials such as KALOCER as well.