Engineering & Mining Journal

JAN 2017

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48 E&MJ; • JANUARY 2017 www.e-mj.com SUPPLIERS REPORT The Horton Thermoset Engineered Com- posite (HTEC) 1800 fan, a "perfect scale" diminution of the predecessor 2500, is engineered to be customizable for specif- ic mining trucks, remote radiator packag- es, generator sets and fracking units, the company reported at its November media summit. Available in diameters of 48 to 72 inches (in.), and weighing a minimum of 30 pounds (lb), it has a maximum tip speed of 22,000 feet per minute (fpm), as well as other advantages over steel, aluminum or plastic equivalents. Manish Virmani, vice president, glob- al market development, said the fans are configurable and were designed to "ob- solete" metal predecessor fans used in the industry. "You can form it into just the optimal shape so you can get much higher efficiencies" than you would with comparable metal or plastic fans, he said. "Also, you have the best-in-class durabil- ity and corrosion resistance." The fan's tip speed reportedly is 20%- 25% faster than the current industry stan- dard of roughly 18,000 fpm, said Neal Shawaluk, lead sales engineer, off-highway. "High strength-to-weight ratio is what al- lows us to run these fans so fast," he said. According to Shawaluk, the compres- sion-molded blades contain glass fibers that orient themselves and provide part of the structural strength of the material. Compared to a plastic blade, with an av- erage structural integrity of 78 megapas- cals (MPa), HTEC blades are rated at 186 MPa, he added. "That is more than twice the tensile strength," he said. "That translates into a more durable and robust product." Blade shape was engineered to maxi- mize airflow per unit of power. "We went through probably 50 iterations of this blade, running computational fluid dy- namics to optimize it," Shawaluk said. "It is very difficult to get that kind of ge- ometry in a metal blade." Blade shape can be modified to be application-specific and to meet the re- quirements of the customer, Virmani said. Additionally, blade count and fan size can be customized. "You have the same blade, but you can adjust the center disc size to get a different size fan with very good performance," he said. With the advent of the Environmental Protection Agency's Tier 4 (emissions) re- quirements, "everyone is trying to pack- age more in with the same or less space. Heat rejection is higher; everything is hot- ter. You've got to get more airflow. You've got to have quieter equipment, and you want to be more fuel efficient," Shawa- luk said. "Higher efficiency means more airflow per unit of power. We typically see 10 percentage points higher efficiency versus a metal fan. If you can get 40% efficiency with a metal fan, we can get to 50% static efficiency." The fan runs quieter than a steel equivalent, he added. The HTEC 1800 is designed to last, the company reported. "From a fatigue stand- point, from a structural standpoint, they are designed for infinite life," Shawaluk said. The blade is "anti-spark" and "has 15% less deflection" at standard tempera- tures than a plastic equivalent, he said. Being a molded composite, a ther- moset glass-reinforced resin, it is corro- sion-resistant, which adds to its longev- ity. In many mines, "a harsh chemical environment exists where metal fans may see significant corrosion," Shawaluk said. Free of lamination and rivets, the HTEC fan "eliminates that potential failure in a corrosive environment," he added. "The material is inert to salt, phosphorus and sulfur, so it will have a superior life." Being lightweight, the HTEC 1800 reduces wear on supporting equipment parts, such as drive line components, belts, pullies and bearings. Abuse testing has revealed the fan has a higher "stress safety factor" than its metal equivalent, Shawaluk said. "We do what is called in-vehicle stress testing," he said. "For a given application, the HTEC would almost always have a higher stress reserve value." Outside the North American market, third-party licensees, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and radiator man- ufacturers receive tools and training from Horton, and then market, build, service and represent the product. Belt Cleaner Replacement Program Keeps a Fresh Edge on Conveyor Surface Martin Engineering has announced a new factory-direct replacement program for belt cleaners, delivering fresh polyure- thane blades, specified and custom-fitted on-site and installed free of charge. The new program, said the company, assures customers of accurately sized and profes- sionally installed replacement blades that are matched to their specific application. The "Mr. Blade" program eliminates ship- ping and labor costs by having new blades New Composite Custom Fan Beats Standard Tip Speed, Improves Efficiency Horton to Launch Fan Analytic Software Third-party licensees, OEMs and radiator manufacturers will soon be able to use Horton software to determine fan configuration and specifications based on site- and applica- tion-specific requirements. As early as the first quarter of 2017, Horton will release software to allow customers to generate performance estimates based on fan design, site constraints and application spe- cifics. "It allows our customers, as they are designing their cooling system, to select a fan based on the performance characteristics they need," said Manish Virmani, vice president, global market development. "The fans are very configurable. You can configure something that has never been built before and we will be able to calculate the performance." HTEC 1800 Fan

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