Load Cells protect loading booms.
Thames Side Sensors has supplied load cells for two
new bulk material ship loading chutes in Italy, manufactured
by Cleveland Cascades.
The load cells enable the weight of the chute, suspended from
a ship loading boom, to be monitored, keeping it under the
maximum operating weight. In the case of overload the transfer
of material to the chute will be automatically stopped, protecting
the boom.
The loading chutes are an ingenious, simple design, consisting
of a series of truncated, oppositely-inclined cones. They enable
materials to be loaded in mass flow but at low velocity, minimising
dust emissions and reducing product segregation. One chute will
be used to load alumina, one of the world's most difficult materials
to handle in bulk, at rates of up to 1,400t/hr. The other chute is
28 metres long and will be used to load cement and cement clinker
at rates of up to 350t/hr.
The first chute, installed at the port of Portoscuso, uses a T90
folded shear beam load cell. This is used in tension to measure
the weight of the speed reducer at the bottom of the chute, as
any overload will become apparent there first. On the second
chute, installed at the port of Taranto, the T62 single ended shear
beam load cell has been used to monitor the weight of the whole
chute. Its 10 tonne capacity and compact size made it ideal for
an installation short of space at the boom.
Thames Side Sensors's load cells are installed on many of
Cleveland Cascades' chutes around the world. The T90, for
example, is used for cereal loading in Spain and zinc concentrate
loading in Ireland, while the T62 is used for grain loading in China.
In addition to supplying standard load cells Thames Side Sensors
has also supplied Cleveland Cascades customised solutions for
specific applications, including a rugged measurement solution
for apatite loading at Murmansk Commercial Seaport.
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November 2002
