SAME: Sep 2010

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010

AN ENGINEER’S VIEW
The Energy
Conundrum
Electrical energy is the lifeblood of any country’s economy and living standard,
and the degree of development must inevitably be linked in direct proportion to
its supply and consumption. With the pressure now growing to minimise the green
gas effects of fossil based power generation, the move to renewables is gathering Chris Reay
momentum. Added to this is the ongoing dispute over nuclear power generation Chairman of the Working
Committee: Communications
that is the only other form of large base-load technology with the exception of hy- (SA Institution of Mechanical
dro power that is itself limited by the availability of sufficient water capacity. Engineering)
W
hile the battle between the reductions in capacity installed and available by 2013. This is
fossil based power and nuclear contin- a statement made in August 2010.
ues with the usual largely misinformed
Every day of the year
input by the anti-nuclear protagonists,
Given the 28 months left until the start of 2013 by
renewable energy is receiving a lot of attention in the
which time the capacity must be installed, com-
forms of wind, solar, photovoltaic, biogas, wave and
missioned and connected to the grid which would
hydrogen. In South Africa, overlaying the issue is the
have to be upgraded to accept intermittent input
impact of the large increases in the cost of traditional
from diverse locations, then being very optimistic
fossil-based power created by the lack of vision and
and providing 16 months to set strategy, identify
unbelievable naïveté displayed by the government in
parties, get licences, do the EIAs, design, procure
the years following the era in which we had surplus
and deliver to a prepared site, we would have 12
capacity in our fossil stations. Completely beyond
months to erect 1425 x 2MW turbines based on
comprehension was the belief by government that
a load factor of 20% to compensate for the varied
the independent power producers would suddenly
wind blanket. This factor is the maximum the Ameri-
emerge and be prepared to provide power at below
cans and Europeans have found possible from wind
cost, and certainly at tariffs that at the time meant
power. On this basis, we would need to install and
a negative return on investment.
commission 1,6 x 2MW turbines every day of the
Adopt statistics like a drunk man uses a lamppost, year including weekends and public holidays.
mainly for support rather than illumination While I believe in ambitious targets, this just makes
one wonder who is advising the Minister and just
When the reality of the situation finally hit home
how easy it is to influence non-technical people
through the load shedding debacle, we were then
with illusory numbers. It took the Danes, the most
faced with the challenge of returning to the large “six
advanced wind power nation in the world, over
pack” stations that were the norm for Eskom and
30 years to install less than 7000 GWh in their
which now had to be resurrected hurriedly, the costs
well wind provided environment and with a grid
of which now meant massive annual tariff hikes that
that had been developed to accept the vagaries of
will be substantial for the next five years.
renewable supply.
Nero-fiddling playback One does wonder who is planning South Africa’s
The option of additional nuclear plants such as future infrastructure and how many engineering
Koeberg seemed to feature in a sort of Nero-fiddling knowledge sources are being consulted or charged
playback, and then we decided we had to dump the with developing such plans. Not once have the pow-
PBMR after spending enormous development costs ers-that-be approached the SAIMechE to provide
and creating what must be substantial intellectual input to any engineering based plans.
property that will, in the true form of these things,
never re-emerge other than with competitors who The uninformed, as Lang said, seem to adopt sta-
will attract our brainpower. tistics like a drunk man uses a lamppost, mainly
for support rather than illumination.
The next amazing feature of this now manic-level
response to the power challenge appears to be another
illusion of adequacy in assuming we know how to
plan ahead with renewables. One such illusion is the
“plan” to have 10 000 GWh per annum of renewable

September 2010 VOLUME 62 NUMBER 9
Featured on the cover: Contents

Atlas Copco
Obituary Oils & Lubrication
Tel: (011) 821-9120 9 Pauline Bouwer 30 Oiling The Way
Email: 33 Good Tribology Saves Time
Monthly Column
wayne.jacobs@za.atlascopco.
10 Vessels For Africa From Africa Compressors, Air Motors &
com
Cover Story Vacuum Pumps
13 Save Air, Save Energy 35 New Player In The Air Market
37 Catch Up
Cost Engineering
18 Uniting Disparate Professions Regulars
Crushers & Screens 3 An Engineer’s View
Copyright 6 Institution News
All rights reserved. No editorial 15 Lining Up For Success
19 A Revival 22 SAIT
matter published in “SA Mechani-
cal Engineer” may be reproduced 28 Nuclear Institute (SA Branch)
in any form or language without POWER GENERATION TODAY 29 SAINT
written permission of the publish- 23 Powered by Nature 39 Market Forum
ers. While every effort is made to 26 Power Generation News 46 On the Move
ensure accurate reproduction, the
editor, authors, publishers and
their employees or agents shall
not be responsible or in any way
liable for any errors, omissions or
inaccuracies in the publication,
whether arising from negligence or
otherwise or for any consequences
arising therefrom. The inclusion
or exclusion of any product does
not mean that the publisher or
editorial board advocates or rejects
its use either generally or in any
The monthly circulation is 4 242
particular field or fields.
Produced by:
Official Publication of
PROMECH PUBLISHING, THE SA INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
P O Box 373, Pinegowrie, 2123 and endorsed by:
Republic of South Africa
Tel: (011) 781-1401, Fax: (011) 781-1403  CORROSION INSTITUTE OF SA
Email: editorial@promech.co.za  SA PUMP MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION
Website: www.promech.co.za  SA VALVE AND ACTUATORS MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION
Managing Editor Susan Custers  THE SA INSTITUTE OF TRIBOLOGY
Editor Kowie Hamman  NUCLEAR INSTITUTE
Advertising Susan Custers  SA INSTITUTE FOR NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING
Circulation Catherine Macdiva
 NATIONAL SOCIETY OF BLACK ENGINEERS
DTP Zinobia Docrat/Sean Bacher
 INSTITUTE FOR CERTIFICATED MECHANICAL AND
Disclaimer ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS
PROMECH Publishing and The South African Institution of Mechanical
 SOUTH AFRICAN ASSOCIATION OF CONSULTING ENGINEERS
Engineering as well as any other body do not take responsibility for
the opinions expressed by individuals.  ASSOCIATION OF SOCIETIES FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY
Printed by: Typo Colour Printing, Tel: (011) 402-3468/9 AND HEALTH

THE SA INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
SAIMechE Training Events Calendar:

Sep to Nov 2010
Whilst every effort is made to ensure that events take
Council 2010/2011 place as scheduled, SAIMechE reserves the right
to change the schedule as circumstances dictate. A
registration form and full terms and conditions may
Office Bearers be obtained from Carey Evans on E-mail: carey@
President .................................................. G Barbic (George) saimeche.org.za or Tel. 031-764-7136. Also, detailed
individual event programmes are available from Carey.
President Elect ............................................. D Findeis (Dirk) Corporations wishing to book In-House Workshops may
National Treasurer ................................. K Nyangoni (Kudzai) contact Linda Robinson on E-mail: linda@saimeche.
org.za or Tel: (031) 764 -7136.
Branch Chairpersons Event Workshop & Dates Region
Central ...................................................... M Cramer (Mike) Code Seminar Names
Eastern Cape ................................................ W Rall (William)
H0610 The Engineer 14-Oct-10 Rivonia
KwaZulu/Natal ........................................... AG Fileczki (Alex)
As Manager
Western Cape ......................... Prof B Collier-Reed (Brandon)
AFP10 Fire Prevention 14-Oct-10 Durban
and Control
Portfolios:
Communications .............................................. CD Reay (Chris) EPS10 Engineering of 20-Oct-10 East Rand
Education - Universities................... Prof JL van Niekerk (Wikus) Piping Systems
Education: Universities of Technology............... E Zawilska (Ewa) A1410 Managing a 22-Oct-10 Durban
Membership .................................................... E Zawilska (Ewa) Coal-fired
Seminars and Workshops.................................. D Findeis (Dirk) Firetube Boiler
Technology Programme ................................. SZ Hrabar (Steve) A1210 Psychrometrics 27-Oct-10 Durban
& Psychrometric
Processes
Chief Executive Officer: Vaughan Rimbault
A0610 The Engineer As 28-Oct-10 Durban
National Office Manager: Anisa Nanabhay Manager
A4610 Value Engineering 02-Nov-10 Durban
PO Box 511, Bruma, 2026
& Value
Tel: (011) 615-5660, Fax: (011) 388-5356 Management
Email: info@saimeche.org.za
Website: www.saimeche.org.za
Membership: Central, Eastern Cape & KZN:
membership@saimeche.org.za The Central Branch
Membership: Western Cape: saimeche.wc@vodamail.co.za Dinner Dance
Date: Saturday 9th
October 2010
Time: 18:30 for 19:00
Company Affiliates Osborn Engineered Products SA Venue: Killarney
Alstom Power Service SA Rotek Engineering Golf Club
RSD a division of DCD-Dorbyl Dress: Black Tie/
Babcock Africa Limited
Traditional/Smart
Bateman Engineered Technologies S.A.M.E Water
Cost: R3 500 per table
Bosch Projects Sasol Technologies of 10 or R350 for
SEW Eurodrive individual tickets.
Fluor SA
Siemens R.S.V.P. to Lynne on (011)
GEA Air-cooled Systems
615-5660/ central@saimech.
Hansen Transmissions SA SNC-Lavalin SA org.za
Hatch Africa Spicer Axle SA
Howden Power Spirax Sarco SA
Howden Projects Thyssenkrupp Engineering

Transvaal Pressed Nuts & Bolts
Industrial Water Cooling
Ultra-Flow Engineering Services
MBE Minerals (SA) (Pty) Ltd
(previously KHD Humboldt Vital Engineering
Wedag SA
Weir Minerals Africa
Megchem Eng & Drafting Services Winder Controls

THE SA INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Obituary - Pauline Bouwer
It was with great sadness that
we heard the news of Pauline
Bouwer passing away on 9
September. Pauline suffered a
fatal heart attack while leaving
her home to come to our offices
that Thursday morning.
Having joined Promech on 1
September 1999, Pauline left for
a short while in 2003/2004 to
freelance on a wildlife magazine
before rejoining the company in
October 2004. In all 11 years
that we knew her, Pauline was
a dedicated salesperson who
was fiercely loyal to “The SA
Mechanical Engineer”. She was
openly proud of ‘her’ publication, The theme was “A” and Pauline came as
Efficient, cheerful, dedicated… ‘her’ editor, Kowie Hamman and an Angel with some hippy tendencies
all those at Promech.
The same dedication, loyalty and
support that Pauline applied to
her work was reflected in her
dealings with her colleagues at
Promech and her many clients.
But Pauline was not just a col-
league, she was also a caring,
supportive and valued friend who
could keep everyone going with
her wicked sense of humour and
her wonderful belly laugh. She
is deeply missed.
Pauline leaves behind her hus-
band, Nick, her daughter Bianca
and son-in-law, Nick, her son,
Justin, and her youngest daugh-
ter, Cassandra as well as her
four cats, four dogs and birds.
Pauline loved nothing better than
to sit in her garden surrounded
by her family and her animals,
although she’d never say no to
a trip to the bush or any wildlife
outing.
Our deepest condolences to
the Bouwer family, to Pauline’s
friends, clients and colleagues.
We were all privileged to have
known such a special lady.
Pictured here with Anisa of SAIMechE at Electra Pauline in a 5-year old get-up at our
Mining 2008 annual Casual Day function

MONTHLY COLUMN
Vessels up to 130 metres long makes SA Shipyards the biggest ship builder on the African continent
Tugboats are an integral part of harbour operations. As most large vessels simply cannot manoeuvre through
the harbour channels on their own power, they’re reliant on these specialised little workhorses to bring them
alongside the quay for docking.
Vessels for viz, Richards Bay, Durban, Saldanha, Cape Town,

Port Elizabeth and East London and the ships enter-
ing these harbours are getting bigger and bigger all
the time. As part of the port infrastructure upgrade
Africa from
programmes, several tugboats are being built, right
here in South Africa.
The design is a very stable tugboat built

to world-class standards
Africa New tugboats

“SA Mechanical Engineer” visits Southern African
Shipyards, a Durban-based company which spe-
cialises in tugboats and vessels up to 130 metres
E
long. “The third completed tugboat for the port
xceptionally powerful for their size and of Coega is undergoing sea trials as we speak,”
strongly built, tugboats were the first sea- says Prasheen Maharaj, chief financial officer of
going vessels to utilise steam propulsion the company. “We got into tug building just after
to free them from the restraint of the wind acquiring the company in 2007 after Transet put
which allowed the boat to go in any direction. As out a tender for the building of three tugs.
such, they were employed in harbours to assist
“Soon after getting this tender, we also won a
ships in docking and departure as well as moving
contract to build another two tugs for other ports
large barges or platforms with no independent
and soon had five under construction in our facility
means of propulsion.
that can turn out a tug every four months,” Pra-
Over ninety percent of South African imports and sheen adds. “The design is a very stable tugboat
exports are channelled through the six main ports, built to world-class standards and powered by the
10 THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010

MONTHLY COLUMN
The Voith Schneider propeller system
Prasjeen Maharaj of SA Shipyards
Voith Schneider propulsion system that A tug boat nearing

all top-class tugs use. Currently, the ports completion
want eight more tugs of a similar design
and we’re hoping to land some of those
contracts as well.”
Special drive
The Voith Schneider propeller (VSP), also
known as a cycloidal drive, is a specialised
marine propulsion system. It is highly ma-
noeuvrable, being able to change the direc-
tion of its thrust almost instantaneously. It is
widely used on tugs as well as ferries where
extreme manoeuvrability is needed.
The protection of marine

resources along our 2 798 km
coastline
Walking through the workshop, where several

tugs in various stages of completion are being
worked on, we see the VSP clearly. From
a circular plate, rotating around a vertical
axis, a circular array of vertical blades, in
the shape of hydrofoils, protrudes out of the
bottom of the ship. Each blade can rotate
itself around a vertical axis. An internal gear
changes the angle of attack of the blades
in sync with the rotation of the plate, so
that each blade can provide thrust in any
direction, very similar to the collective pitch
control and cyclic in a helicopter.
Unlike another popular marine propulsion
systems where a conventional propeller is
tilted on a vertical rudder axis to change
the direction of thrust, the VSP drive merely
requires changing the pattern of orientation
of the vertical blades. In a marine situation
this provides for a multi-directional drive, thus
doing away with the need for a rudder.
Opportunity galore
Being able to build vessels up to 130 metres
long makes SA Shipyards the biggest ship
builder on the African continent. “The govern-
THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010 11

MONTHLY COLUMN
business afloat, but there are lots of opportunities

in South Africa that we’ve been working on over
the last couple of years,” adds Prasheen. “The
Navy, for example, is looking at expanding their
fleet of patrol vessels for the protection of marine
resources along our 2 798 km coastline and they’ve
indicated that the ships have to be built in South
Africa. These vessels are usually 85 to 90 metres
long and we’re the only shipyard in South Africa
that can accommodate this length, so we should
definitely be in the running to land some of these
contracts.
The potential for this industry to develop

into a major source of income is
endless, not just in ship building, but
also in repairs
Ship building is a labour intensive industry
ment, including the Navy, are increasingly issuing Old-fashioned appy’s

tenders for locally-built ships which is a good thing The company is split into two distinct divisions;
because we can then invest more in training local ship building and ship repairs. “In reality the two
artisans in this specialised area,” says Prasheen. are quite different disciplines in terms of the artisan
“Officially we’re certified to manufacture and repair skills applied,” says Prasheen. “Ship building is a
large marine structures including container vessels, highly-disciplined process where very strict inter-
bulk carriers, tankers, patrol vessels, ferries, trawl- national class specifications have to be followed in
ers and oil rigs. a methodical sequence whereas ship repairs, also
“The tugboat contracts have been keeping the requiring high skill levels, are less methodical and
it’s always a rush to get the ship going again as
quickly as possible.
“To this end we’ve invested heavily in an artisan
training programme where we’ve opted to go the
old-fashioned route as they did back in the day with
harbours and port’s appy-ships,” Prasheen adds.
“It’s not just a learnership programme, but rather
about creating good professional artisans who have
pride in their work. Right now, for instance, we have
38 artisans training through this programme before
they do the official trade tests to qualify.
Government support
“Ship building is a very labour intensive industry
and I think the government has now come to realise
that industrialisation is key to creating jobs in South
Africa,” Prasheen says in conclusion. “That’s why
we’ve seen the formation of industrial clusters such
as the Marine Vessel Maintenance and Repair cluster
to officially assist in the development of specific
industrial sectors such as the marine industry.
“We’ve been driving hard to get ship building on
the national agenda so that everyone knows we
absolutely have the capabilities in South Africa.
The potential for this industry to develop into a
major source of income is endless, not just in ship
building, but also in repairs. It makes no sense for
ships to sail right past our ports to have repairs
undertaken elsewhere at a much higher cost when
they could do it right here.”
Prasheen Maharaj, Southern African Shipyards, Tel: (031)
274-1800, Email: prasheenm@sa-shipyards.co.za

COVER STORY
Save Air, Save Energy

New technology on its own does
not save you energy, especially
when it comes to industrial in-
stallations such as compressed
air installations. Many people
think a new compressor with
energy-saving features will re-
duce energy consumption, how-
ever they do nothing about the
other equipment, all integral to
the compressed air system.
Philip Herselman, business manager of the industrial air division at Atlas Copco (left) and
Wayne Jacobs, business manager of the oil-free air division at Atlas Copco
W
hile replacing an old compressor with bigger compressors at the source to get a specific
a new energy-saving model does bring working pressure at the delivery point.”
about a saving, it’s no use installing it
Maintenance
on an old network of leaking pipes with
“You have to look at the compressed air plant
pressure drops or mismatched ancillary equipment.
holistically and over the long term,” says Wayne.
Any savings whatsoever go straight out the window
“You’ll get a much higher percentage saving over
and people end up blaming the compressor for not
a shorter period of time with less capital outlay by
performing to specification.
addressing things such as leakages and pressure
Just one bar of pressure drop results in a 7 percent drops from the outset. In addition, it is crucial to
maintain the system regularly and at correct intervals.
energy loss
Of all the factors that influence energy consump-
tion in a compressor plant, proper maintenance of
More than meets the eye
the machines and the system as a whole can bring
There is much more to an effective compressed air
about one of the biggest savings.”
system than just the compressor, and to elaborate
on this crucial aspect of compressed air production The right dryer
“SA Mechanical Engineer” speaks to Wayne Jacobs, Another area where companies often make mistakes
business manager of the oil-free air division at Atlas in terms of selecting matching equipment in the air
Copco in Johannesburg. system is air dryers. “Although about 95 percent
“We regularly come across enquiries where people of compressed air installations in South Africa do
want to buy a new and bigger compressor that need air dryers, many people simply don’t under-
will, in spite of the cost of electricity, compensate stand the function of an air dryer, and when, the
for an ineffective system down the line,” he says. wrong one is fitted, more unwanted pressure drops
“They simply regard it as too much trouble to fix are experienced in the system,” says Wayne. “The
the leaks in the pipe work or have the system tested benefits of taking the moisture out of a system
for pressure drops. far outweigh the cost of a dryer, but we find that
people don’t understand the quality of the air dry-
“Just one bar of pressure drop due to mismatched ness they need and more often than not, end up
piping or ancillary equipment such as dryers or fil- over-specifying.
ters results in a 7 percent energy loss,” adds Philip
Herselman, business manager of the industrial air “It often happens that companies buy a more ex-
division at Atlas Copco. “Due to a lack of mainte- pensive dryer than necessary, or buy the wrong type
nance, these flaws do creep into a system over time of dryer for a specific application,” adds Wayne. “A
and companies want to compensate for them with dryer’s running costs also need to be considered.

COVER STORY
Often, a refrigerant dryer can very well be all that

is needed, but instead a desiccant dryer is installed
which has a much higher running cost.”
Other products
Atlas Copco has a full range of branded in-line
equipment, from filters to piping systems and
condensate separators to dryers. “Even different
brands of in-line equipment in an air system can
make a difference and have to be considered to get
the optimum performance out of a system,” says
Wayne. “For example, in terms of dryers, we have
anything from fairly basic dryers right through to
premium models, all for specific applications and
each having its own characteristics that influence
optimum system design.”
You’ll save more by addressing issues

such as leakages and pressure drops
Oil-free air
Yet another big problem lies with the choice of
compressor. “Just because an oil-free compressor
costs more than an oil-flooded compressor, many
people opt for the oil-flooded version and rely on
banks of filters to take the oil out of the air,” ex-
plains Wayne. “However, from the word go, a filter’s
capability drops as it starts collecting oil and dirt
from the air stream. This results in increased energy
consumption. Cartridges also need to be replaced
regularly, significantly increasing running costs due
to maintenance.
“Such a system would also need separators and
special draining systems for the condensate to
comply with the legal requirements, all adding to
the running costs of the cheaper machine. In the
meantime, for guaranteed constant oil-free air, an
oil-free compressor from the start would have been
much more cost effective over the same period of
time, but people still tend to shy away because of
the initial price of these machines.”
Audit service
Like the ranges of ancillary in-line equipment, Atlas
Copco also offers a compressed air network audit
service to assist customers and design engineers
in choosing the right equipment combinations for
an application. “We don’t get involved in process
design, but we can certainly advise on the most
energy efficient combinations of equipment of an
air network layout,” Wayne says in conclusion.
“Our AIRScan system is a highly accurate, inde-
pendent survey and reporting system designed to
pinpoint the areas where potential savings can be
made in a plant. In this way we discover where the
energy drain originates from and can take appropriate
actions to remedy or optimise the situation.”
Wayne Jacobs, Atlas Copco, Tel: (011) 821-9120, Email:
wayne.jacobs@za.atlascopco.com

CRUSHERS & SCREENS
Lining
up for
Success
Most South African rock is pur-

ported to be harder than any-
where else in the world, which
presents a particular challenge
to ore grinding processes in
both autogeneous (AG) and
semi-autogeneous (SAG) mill-
ing in terms of the type of liner
used. Traditionally, steel linings
have been the norm, but it’s
now recognised that some ore
bodies have hardness close to,
or more, than the metal linings.
Grant Stewart the product manager of Vulco products at Weir Minerals
S
A Mechanical Engineer” speaks to Grant materials are concerned.
Stewart, the product manager of Vulco
Rubber liner
products at Weir Minerals about an alterna-
“To start off building such a partnership we’ve
tive which is steadily making inroads in the
been targeting secondary milling such as ball mills
South African milling industry. “The Weir SFL lining
to prove the product’s durability and flexibility,”
system (composite lining) is a rubber/chrome molly
Grant adds. “Once the mine has seen the results
combination liner for mills which is new to the
and has confidence in the product, we move onto
South African market but has made great inroads
primary milling as in SAG mills. The old days of
in Chile and Australia,” he explains. “Locally it’s
just selling a product have long gone, we’re now
new in the sense that we like to partner with the
selling a service where we also assist customers
mine in terms of proving the product’s effectiveness,
throughout the lifecycle of the liner.
not only against steel but also as far as other liner
“For instance, we’ll go to site during a shutdown,
The old days of just selling a product have long gone, roll up our sleeves and actually get into the mill
we’re now selling a service in order to do a profile of the liner to determine

CRUSHERS & SCREENS
the wear life of the product in that given situa- orientated. “We sell design to start off with,” says
tion. From this we draw up an extensive report Grant. “Together with the mine’s engineer and
so that the client can clearly see the wear ratio our rubber technologist, the designer uses various
inside the mill and plan accordingly for re-lining software tools such as mill trajectory analysis,
the mill.” MLeds, Moly crop and the Unigraphics 3D system
to structure a design until he gets the best solution
for a particular situation.
The harder the material fed into the mill, the more cost
effective a rubber lining becomes “Our in-house facilities enable total control of the
entire process, from design through to manufacture
and installation,” adds Grant. “To do this, we carry
All mills lined out a complete analysis for each individual milling
No two mill applications are identical because application. Factors such as mill dimensions, speed,
even on the same mine, ore can come out of the mill power, ore type, feed top size, feed distribution,
ground differently at different times and therefore throughput, charge volume and make-up, density
mill linings are usually custom-designed for each and product size are considered. This allows for the
individual mill. “The Vulco system offers a broad most appropriate design and material selection for
range of custom-designed rubber and metal cap the lining in order to achieve optimum performance
lining systems for ball, rod, SAG and AG mills, as from the mill at the lowest possible cost.”
well as scrubbers,” Grant adds.
The rubber
“We also have a wide selection of general wear-
A general rule in terms of mill lining is that the
resistant products including ceramic rubber wear
harder the material fed into the mill, the more cost
plates, trunnion liners and custom-made wear plates
effective a rubber lining becomes. “We’re fortunate
for impact and abrasion protection.”
in that the rubber compound for the liner products
Strong design capability is mixed in-house according to our technologists’
Supported by resources from across the world where specifications,” Grant elaborates. “Elasticity, high
the Vulco technology has been tried and tested, tensile strength and abrasion resistance are some
Weir’s local team of engineers are strongly design of the inherent characteristics of our compound,

CRUSHERS & SCREENS
making rubber
the preferred
mill lining over
steel. Rubber’s
elasticity per-
mits restoration
of its original
profile after im-
pact, while the
tensile strength
prevents it from
tearing.
Faster and
safer
“Rubber also al-
lows for a lower
installed cost,
and since rub-
ber and metal
cap mill liners
weigh up to
80% less than
steel alone,
they are faster,
easier and safer
to install,” adds
Grant. “In addi-
tion, by reduc- Vulco rubber mill lining systems are ideal for ball mills
ing the mass of
the lining system, a greater charge weight can be
utilised which allows for increased throughput.
“Our low profile T-track system forged T-bolt arrange-
ment eliminates the need for frequent inspections,
repair, and bolt tightening,” says Grant. “At the
same time, rubber conforms to the mill’s internal
surface which creates a seal that prevents leakage
and slurry erosion of the mill shell. All these factors
contribute to longer wear life with fewer maintenance
interruptions and greater mill availability.”
We carry out a complete analysis for

each individual milling application
Service
However, it’s not just its meticulous design features
and special rubber characteristics that have made
Weir’s Vulco linings a success in South Africa. “We’re
in it for the long haul,” says Grant in conclusion. “Our
service approach to the business includes constantly
inspecting installations so that we can plot trends
for each installation and thereby remain on top of
problems as they may arise. Not one installation
is the same, and being in constant touch lets us
tweak slight problems so that the customer gets
the best service and value out of his rubber lining
system all the time.”
Grant Stewart, Weir Minerals Africa, Tel: (011) 929-2799,
Email: grantstewart@weirminerals.com

COST ENGINEERING
Uniting Disparate
Professions
Bridges are being built in the engineering world as KwaZulu-
Natal opens the first chapter of SAPCI (Southern African Proj-
ect Controls Institute), a move which is seen as the perfect
platform for the city preparing to host the 2012 ICEC World
Conference.
T
he launch of the SAPCI-KZN chapter is be-
ing initiated by the Durban branch of Mid-
rand based Planning and Cost Engineering
Services (PaCE) and Bingelela Consulting
Professionals, who have teamed up to improve the
working relationship between cost engineers and
quantity surveyors - two groups who are known to
have their differences in the engineering world.
Full backing
The initiative has received the full backing of the
Johannesburg chapter of SAPCI and is being under-
taken in conjunction with the Association of South
African Quantity Surveyors (ASAQS). The new launch
aims to bring the two professions closer through
mutual partnerships, while improving opportunities
Nic Bennett MD and CEO
and skills for all its members.
It’s about time that we stop being cousins and finally Another primary aim will be to help quantity sur-
become brothers veyors who struggle to get into cost engineering
because of its specialist nature.
The driving force behind the project will also involve Catch 22
high-level discussions with universities about offering Managing director and CEO of PaCE, Nic Bennett
degree courses in Cost Engineering, a qualification says, “The catch 22 situation which has both sides
which is currently not available and the certifica- in a difficult position is the fact that cost engineers
tion only being obtainable in South Africa through are not able to obtain a BSc qualification for their
the USA-based Association for the Advancement profession, but instead become proficient through
of Cost Engineering (AACE) after eight years of training and their experience in-field. Quantity
working experience. surveyors on the other hand, are able to obtain a
tertiary qualification, but struggle to branch out into
cost engineering because it is too specialised. It’s
about time that we stop being cousins and finally
become brothers. We work so closely together in
similar fields, yet there seems to be this rift between
our professions that ultimately results in doors be-
ing closed and opportunities limited.”
Corporations are being encouraged to invest in
the project by becoming corporate members, and
allow their employees a few hours off each month
to attend useful workshops and seminars, designed
to vastly improve the skills and qualifications of
those who attend.
SAPCI, Tel: (011) 478-1540, Fax: (011) 478-1540, Email:
sapci@telkomsa.net, www.sapci.org.za

CRUSHERS & SCREENS
A Revival
Just mention a saving in energy consumption and any mining engineer will sit up and take notice, especially
if it concerns the comminution process, where crushing and milling machines are the big energy guzzlers. A
20% energy saving in this department adds up to a huge cut in any mine’s energy bill, not to mention reduced
costs in capital outlay, savings on consumables such as steel balls and downtime in maintenance stoppages to
replace them.
the new technology in their

comminution circuits.
However, because ores in
the mineral industry are
between 20 and 50 times
more abrasive than cement
raw materials, higher than
acceptable wear rates were
experienced, as the surface
of the roller deteriorated
rapidly with the process-
ing of the more abrasive
materials found in gold and
platinum mining.
Later on, as harder steel
surfacing technology be-
came available, this prob-
lem could be addressed,
which led to HPGR tech-
nology being ‘revived’ as a
more economic alternative
to popular size-reduc-
tion processes, such a
Counter-rotating rolls mounted on heavy-duty bearings and enclosed in a frame
ball mills, in hard rock
I
mining.
n tests conducted at Mintek
in Johannesburg, this 20 “SA Mechanical Engineer” meets with Dr. Johnny
percent saving has been Kalala, the head of comminution at Mintek’s mineral
realised time and again in processing division, to talk about this project. “All
a high pressure grinding roll indications from our tests and two actual installa-
(HPGR) crusher pilot plant that tions in the platinum processing industry show that
has been running for over a year. HPGR technology integrated in comminution circuits
Old technology never dies, but it has the potential to save around 20% in energy
may sit on the shelf for a couple consumption per tonne, compared with using only
of years, until new materials conventional grinding equipment,” he says.
and processes that appear on “Our research is focused around this technology,
the market help to eliminate not only for the energy saving aspects but, at the
the weak points in the original same time, looking at better liberation through
design. This is what happened the inter-particle crushing that takes place with a
to the use of roll crushers for HPGR system.”
hard rock processing.
The facility
HPGR Mintek has a comminution piloting facility that in-
Dr Johnny Kalala of Mintek High Pressure Grinding Roll cludes a SAG mill, crushers, a Köppern HPGR unit
(HPGR) technology, first intro- with a diameter of one metre, a Polysius HPGR unit
duced in 1985, was originally used in the cement with a diameter of 0.250m, primary and second-
industry to treat non-abrasive materials. The benefits ary ball milling facilities, a stirred media detractor
enjoyed by the cement industry through the use (SMD), a Deswick mill, a Derrick screen and hydro-
of this technology did not go unnoticed by other cyclones. As we walk through the facility, Johnny
industries, which resulted in some sectors trying out explains that the comminution pilot plant not only

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CRUSHERS & SCREENS
A smaller version of the roll mill at work at Mintek

serves to collect data for research, but
is used for pre-feasibility and feasibil-
ity studies for different clients since
data generated can be scaled up for
industrial use with fewer risks.
How it works
The HPGR consists of two counter-
rotating rolls mounted on heavy-duty
bearings and enclosed in a frame.
Pressure is applied to one of the rolls,
called the floating roll, by means of a
hydro-pneumatic spring system, while
the other roll is held in a fixed posi-
tion in the frame. The floating roll is
allowed to slide on pads in response
to the forces acting on the roll by both the ball mill can be increased significantly,” says
the feed material and the hydro-pneumatic spring Johnny. “We’re gathering and processing the data
system. Feed to the rolls is provided by means of a from a HPGR followed by the Deswick mill circuit
hopper mounted above the rolls, which is equipped configuration which has the potential to not only
with a level controller to ensure that the rolls are reduce the specific energy consumption but also
continuously choke-fed. has the advantage of not using steel grinding media
which increases the operating cost of conventional
tumbling mills.”
The throughput of the ball mill can be increased
significantly South African first
One of the first installations of large scale HPGR in
the platinum industry in South Africa, built by joint
The rolls are driven by separate motors connected venture company Vhumbanani Projects, has been
to the roll shafts through gear reducers, which can commissioned at Anglo Platinum’s Potgietersrust
be operated at a fixed speed or variable speed, de- Platinum (PPRust) North Mogalakwena section.
pending on the demands of the process. The actual This is the first time in the platinum industry that
rollers are solid, with their surface protected against HPGRs are being used on platinum group metals
wear by special wear-resistant materials such as (PGM) ore, where a large 1-MW drive powers
the tungsten carbide studs on the surface of the the primary crusher, which is the largest of only
roller on their Polysius machine, which Johnny two installed in the country. The HPGR is used to
points out to us. bypass the primary mill and feed ore directly into
the mill discharge sump without milling it, process
“We’re also looking at the feasibility of different
technology that was designed by Angloplat.
configurations in the comminution chain, where
the HPGR can be used in conjunction with a Dr Johnny Kalala, Mintek, Tel: (011) 709-4516, Email:
ball mill, for example, so that the throughput of johnnyk@mintek.co.za

SAIT
Get Tribology Certified

Most professions have a benchmark qualification that signifies a level of competency that makes customers
happy to deal with them. For lubrication engineers, salespeople and technical managers involved in tribology,
there are very few such qualifications, and little recognition in South Africa.
5-day course.
Need for international recognition
However, there is a demand for an in-
ternationally recognised qualification,
especially amongst the many South African
companies that are trading globally, as
well as global companies with bases in
South Africa.
With the rising cost of capital equipment
and the maintenance thereof, it is essential
that the person in charge of lubrication
is competent.
CLS Exam
This is an internationally recognised
qualification and has been run for the
past 8 years by the SAIT through its
association with the STLE (Society of
Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers,
based in the US).
The exam is run in South Africa annu-
ally, and this year it will be on the 19th
November, at the SAIT offices in Kelvin,
Johannesburg. As this exam is US-based,
all measurements are Imperial (although
metric equivalents are given).
The question paper is unique for each
candidate as the questions are randomly
drawn from a large database, so fairness
is assured.
Over the years, the SAIT have created a
similar database of old questions, and
these are invaluable in preparing for the
exam.
Preparation Course
Due to the difficulty of preparing for this
exam, the SAIT runs a preparation course
for CLS candidates. It will be run for the 2
days before the exam and will be facilitated
by a current CLS holder.
The agenda will include: Imperial measure-
ments, the Lubrication Engineers Manual,
previous questions, exam techniques and
various technical subjects.
T
he SAIT has been running the Lubrication Additionally, all candidates who are signed up for
Engineering course for many years, giving the course will receive preparation modules for a
candidates a local qualification that is well number of weeks before attending.
respected. A certificate is only received SAIT, Gill or Isabel, Tel: (011) 802-5145), David Beard,
after passing an examination, at the end of a busy Tel: (082 850 3205), www.stle.org, www.sait.org.za

POWER GENERATION
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Editor Kowie Hamman
Nature
Advertising Pauline Bouwer
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DTP Zinobia Docrat/Sean Bacher
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Tel: (011) 402-3468/9
The windfarm near Darling
The winds of change are steadily blowing across the South African continent,
transforming the potential of alternative energy generation as more and more
projects become a reality every year. There’s a lot of talk about all the differ-
ent means of generating energy, from biomass to hydro systems, alternative
Copyright fuels and various forms of harnessing the sun’s abundant energy, but the one
All rights reserved. No edi- that is rapidly gaining the lead is harnessing the winds, especially along our
torial matter published in
“Power Generation Today”
coastal regions.
S
may be reproduced in any
form or language without A Mechanical Engineer” takes a look Company (DWP) signed a 20 year Power
written permission of the at wind turbine projects in South Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the City
publishers. While every effort Africa with a second wind farm of Cape Town as well as a Power Wheeling
is made to ensure accurate taking shape near Port Elizabeth. Agreement with Eskom.
reproduction, the editor, au- The first project is near the little village
thors, publishers and their Of the turbines at Klipheuwel, the most
of Darling on the Cape West Coast where basic unit is performing the best under
employees or agents shall enough strong and consistent winds justi-
not be responsible or in any high wind conditions in summer, while the
fied building South Africa’s first wind farm, largest turbine is performing the best under
way liable for any errors,
omissions or inaccuracies on the gentle sloping hills of Klipheuwel weak wind or winter conditions. Overall,
in the publication, whether near the town. In fact the winds are gentle total production annually has been just more
arising from negligence or enough not to upset Tannie Evita’s (Pieter than 4GWh. The Klipheuwel wind farm has
otherwise or for any conse- Dirk Uys) hairdo as she strolls down the a total capacity of 5.2 MW from the four
quences arising therefrom. platform of Darling’s train station to open turbines, mounted on 17-storey high tow-
The inclusion or exclusion of up ‘Evita se Perron’, one of the West Coast’s
any product does not mean
ers. The units are each powered by three
most popular restaurants. 33.5 metre blades, being longer than the
that the publisher or editorial
board advocates or rejects its wing of a Boeing 747-400. Each 42-ton
Darling
use either generally or in any engine room at the top of the tower has a
Darling’s ‘winds’ are now sold as electricity
particular field or fields. 1.3 MW capacity delivering an expected
into the utility grid, bringing not only some
annual yield of 13.2 Gwh clean energy from
relief to the energy crisis, but also brand new
phase one of the Darling project.
technology to the African continent. This is
the first grid-connected, independent wind Speeds needed
energy power-generating facility developed The wind turbines at Klipheuwel generate
in South Africa. The Darling Wind farm at wind speeds between 11 and 50 km/

POWER GENERATION
hour. Full power is reached at 50

km/hour. Generally a wind speed
of around 16 km/h is needed to
start generating electricity while
the optimum for large turbines
is approximately 48 kilometres
per hour. Wind speed usually
increases with height especially
where there are no natural or
man-made obstructions.
Gentle enough not to upset Tannie Evita’s

(Pieter Dirk Uys) hairdo
This is why you’ll usually find

wind farms on hilltops or in the
middle of large open fields. But
an increasing numbers of wind The Coega wind farm
farms are today being erected Africa as well as the start of the first phase of a
offshore. large wind farm that, in time, will comprise 25
The latest project wind turbines. For Electrawinds, this will be the
The second wind farm seeing the light in South first operational project outside Europe.
Africa is just outside Port Elizabeth. The Belgian The installation of the first of the 25 turbines was a
green electricity company Electrawinds started rush-job as the aim was to be ready for World Cup
construction of a wind turbine in the harbour of South Africa so that the energy produced by the
Coega, near Port Elizabeth earlier this year. This turbine between 11 June and 11 July 2010 could
marks the first commercial wind project in South be given to the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port

POWER GENERATION
up great know-how,” says Luc

Desender, managing director
of Electrawinds. “It is now our
ambition to fulfil that pioneer-
ing role in South Africa as well.
There is great support here for
renewable energy which offers
good prospects.”
Says Khwezi Tiya, executive
manager, Coega Development
Corporation (CDC), “Electrawinds
will also start a student training
programme in South Africa. They
will be managing the educational
programme and have cooperated
with CDC for the selection of
the first three candidates. The
Port Elizabeth iin the far background of the wind farm near Coega students started an engineering
Elizabeth, which is on the same electricity grid. programme in January 2010
at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
Record time For further specialisation, there is a postgraduate
“If there were a wind turbine construction world programme offered in Europe.”
championship, Belgium would undoubtedly take
top honours,” says Marleen Vanhecke, PR and If there were a wind turbine construction world champi-
communication manager of Electrawinds. “From onship, Belgium would undoubtedly take top honours
signing the contract with the Danish turbine con-
structor, Vestas, to the production of the first green More than power
energy, the entire project took barely three months. “We want to invest not only in turbines but also
Such a project could normally take up to eighteen in people,” says Jan Dewulf, director business
months. However, this job had to be done quickly development at Electrawinds. “With Emil Unger,
as the authorities in Port Elizabeth insisted strongly Electrawinds already has a representative in South
that the turbine had to be ready for the start of the Africa but through the required training, we also
World Cup.” want to offer local young people opportunities so
The wind turbine (Vestas V90 – 1.8MW) has been that, in time, they will be able to follow up our
built in the new port area of Port Elizabeth (Coega), projects in South Africa.
which is only a stone’s throw from the World Cup “Right now, South Africa doesn’t have enough quali-
stadium. By 2012, Electrawinds aims to construct fied staff in the sector of renewable energy and the
a large wind farm of 25 turbines, a total investment scholarships being provided by Electrawinds will
of at least 100 million Euros. make an immense difference to the recipients.”
Pioneering South Africa Electrawinds NV, John Cordierlaan 9, 8400 Oostende
“In Belgium, Electrawinds is one of the pioneers of België, Tel: 00 32 (0)59 56 97 00, Fax. 00 32 (0)59 56 97
renewable energy and has, in the meantime, built 01, Email: info@electrawinds.be
The Klipheuwel wind farm has a total capacity of 5.2 MW

POWER GENERATION NEWS
Flue contract on schedule Operations expanded

DSE’s recently awarded contract by Karrena-Concor Joint
The Cosira Group, one of the largest structural steel fab-
Venture to fabricate and install flues at the Mepudi Power
ricators and erectors in Southern Africa, has announced
Station has seen the delivery of the first flue.
its involvement with some construction contracts that are
The entire contract comprises of some 1 800 tonnes of currently being executed in Southern Africa, particularly
structural steel and 3 000 tonnes of plate work. There are in the mining and power generation sector.
two 213 metre high chimneys, each with three flues and the
John da Silva, CEO of the Cosira Group, says that there
entire project has to be completed over the next two years.
is currently significant growth within the power genera-
DSE was engaged with MM&G to undertake the site fabrication sector, which is a strategically important sector of
tion of the cans and the structural steelwork. development in Southern Africa at the moment.
In the later part of
last year, Cosira was
awarded the structural
steel contracts for Al-
stom – initially Medupi
Turbine Hall and then in
a Joint Venture with Co-
sira Tubular the Kusile
Turbine Hall.
Work is also progressing
well on the complete
structural, mechanical,
platework and piping
(SMPP) supply and
erect order for the up-
grade of Xstrata Coal’s
ATCOM Coal Handling
and Preparation Plant
(CHPP) in Witbank
which was recently
awarded to the Cosira
Group by Sedgman.
Furthermore Cosira
was recently awarded
the supply contract for
the Riversdale Benga
Coal Processing and
Washing Plant (CPWP)
A bird’s eye view of the chimney platform being assembled. project, located in Mo-
zambique. Riversdale
The scale of the entire Medupi Power Station project resulted awarded the structural
in DSE building new facilities in Vanderbijlpark with the req- and platework contract to Cosira through Sedgman. This
uisite capability to handle the sheer size of the trial assembly. contract entails the supply and fabrication of approximately
On schedule, and in co-operation with MM&G, DSE started 1 680 tonnes of structural steel and platework and is
the fabrication of cans in May, and fabricated test products scheduled for completion in November of this year.
to monitor welding characteristics and understand the actual
processes required to successfully execute the work. In addition, the Cosira Group has been awarded the struc-
tural, mechanical, platework, and piping (SMPP) supply
The flues are designed and fabricated in both mild and stain- and installations for the back-end of a new uranium plant
less steel cans, all prepared in the same facility. at Trekoppje Mine by Areva.
Kobus Marais, DSE (a division of Grinaker-LTA Mechanical & Elec-
Cosira has also been awarded the additional Unki Feed
trical), Tel: (011) 871 4111, Fax: (011) 871 4141
Conveyor structural, mechanical and piping (SMP) project
in Zimbabwe. This award follows the successful comple-
tion of the structural, mechanical, pipework and platework
installations at the Unki Platinum Mine and Process Plant,
80km from Gweru, on the Zimbabwean Dyke.
Cosira Group, (011) 817 6600, Email: info@cosiragroup.com,
www.cosiragroup.com

POWER GENERATION NEWS
Call for revenue-neutral carbon tax energy sources.

Anja Finnern, Chairperson of the Carbon Tax Committee at SAICA, Thando Pato, Tel: (011) 621-6898, Email: thandop@saica.
the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) co.za
and manager of Tax Services at KPMG, believes that as
carbon tax is here, it must be revenue neutral.
In other words, the efficacy of carbon tax should not be
measured by its revenue yield but by its impact on emissions
in the context of overall government mitigation policy.
She urges companies to formulate a common position on
carbon tax, pointing out that South Africa is behind the
international curve.
“Companies must recognise the importance of helping to
develop fiscal measures applicable to climate change. Allied
to this is the need to demand that the various state depart-
ments converge on one mitigation policy. Failure to do so
creates uncertainty and does not help business.”
Anja firmly believes that the best carbon tax would yield no
net revenue, but would change behaviour towards the overall
policy of shifting to less emission-intensive sectors.
“If carbon tax does raise new revenues, the proceeds should
be directed to capacity building for less carbon-intensive
energy solutions.”
Muneer Hassan, SAICA’s project director of tax, highlights
the November 2009 climate change workshop convened by
the National Business Initiative (NBI) and Business Unity
South Africa (BUSA).
“The workshop concluded that South Africa’s relatively
high greenhouse gas intensity and position in the global
economy in comparison to less developed countries meant
that significant global pressure would be felt to respond to
climate change.”
He emphasises the workshop’s findings that the reporting
of greenhouse gas emissions using existing international ap-
proaches had to be prioritised by all businesses, especially
since South Africa’s relatively high greenhouse gas intensity
may place companies in the country at a long-term competi-
tive disadvantage.
“The fundamental link between energy and greenhouse gas
emissions emphasises the importance of energy efficiency,”
says Muneer, who supports the workshop’s call for busi-
nesses to collaborate with government and Eskom,
using one collective voice to influence
the make-up of the energy
grid and promote the use
of less carbon-intensive

NUCLEAR INSTITUTE (SA BRANCH)
World Energy
Mohamed ElBaradei, outgoing Director General of the Interna- countries are competing for capital and hardware
tional Atomic Energy Agency, visited South Africa in late July. to do the same.
He appeared to have spoken mainly with Foreign Affairs about More reserves and new technologies will always
weapons proliferation. This month’s offering is prompted by be found, even if we do have to pay a bit more.
another theme of his, coping with what he sees as the oncom- Man is an ingenious animal and there is no point
ing world energy crisis. in trying to anticipate future technology, just go
Y
with the flow. And what about nuclear fusion? It’s
ou may be familiar with Eskom’s power sta- a state of mind that I don’t buy.
tions diagram which we’ve taken the liberty
of reproducing below. It shows, or would What reserves do we have? Available estimates
show if the lettering were larger, that this vary, but in very round numbers we seem to have
country is powered by the equivalent of ten large about fifty-billion tonnes of readily recoverable
(4 000 MW) power stations. In 1955 the country coal. Subject to coal quality, a 4 000 MW station
was run on little more than half the number of power burns some 0,7-billion tonnes during a fifty-year
stations. Load growth then set in and played havoc life. Therefore, if we elect to use half the available
with planning. Eskom assumed that a growth of 9 coal for power generation, we have enough for about
percent per annum would go on for ever and over- forty more large coal burners. With a 4 percent load
built, but then Government intervened and nothing growth we would find ourselves building our last
was built at all. Only the recession has saved us conventional coal-fired station around the middle
from further load-shedding. We also see from the of the century, environmental considerations aside.
diagram that all today’s power stations will have And after that there’s any amount of less readily
been decommissioned by about 2050. accessible coal.
Light at the end of the tunnel
Corresponding sums for uranium reserves yield
bad news and good news. Divide known South
African reserves of perhaps 0,7-million tonnes by
ten thousand tonnes for a 1 000 MW reactor life-
time and you get about eighteen of our postulated
4 000 MW power stations. Not overly impressive.
The good news is that nuclear technology is still at
the adolescent stage and with new fuel cycles now
being developed, with breeder reactors and with
thorium and the possibility of uranium extraction
from seawater, the reserve becomes effectively
infinite.
But now recall that South Africa has far more than
its fair share of energy resources. With less than 1
percent of the world’s population, we have around
By 2050 we will have had to build forty new large 6 or 7 percent of world’s known readily recoverable
power stations resources of both coal and uranium. Other countries
are going to hit the energy buffers before we do.
Scary stuff Solar will help, at a price, but erratic wind energy
I find this diagram scary. The 4% growth line does not impress. Hydro is reaching the limit.
shown will now kink as it did in the 1990s. But All of which brings me back to Dr. ElBaradei. He
if the targeted 6 percent growth in GDP and the points out that the International Energy Agency is
associated 4 percent load growth resume after an OECD rather than global organisation, and that
2010, by 2050 we will have had to build forty new global organisations do exist to coordinate efforts
large power stations. The area to the right of and in world health, food production and all manners
far above the Eskom graph will have to be filled of financial and trade matters. He points out that,
completely with new power stations. Even at a 2 the plethora of such organisations notwithstanding,
percent load growth from 2010, we will need over preparing for the gathering energy crisis* is urgently
twenty new large stations by 2050. That starts to necessary. I, for one, don’t feel like arguing.
sound a little more manageable but still means a John Walmsley
brand new six-pack every two years or a Koeberg (* ‘Tackling the global energy crisis’, Mohamed ElBaradei,
every year for ever. This at a time when all other IAEA Bulletin, September 2008)

SA INSTITUTE FOR NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING
NDT in Service
Non-destructive testing in safety assur-
ance, quality control and condition moni-
toring is the theme for the 18th World
Conference on Non-Destructive Testing
(WCNDT) which will be staged at the
of Society
International Conference Centre (ICC) in
Durban from 16 to 20 April 2012. SAINT
was appointed by the International Com-
mittee on NDT (ICNDT) in 2004 to orga-
nise this conference in 2012.
I
t will be the first time that the WCNDT will tend the conference. Attendance of the conference
be held on the African continent and SAINT is will be like looking into a window which reveals
organising the conference for the international the world of safety assurance, quality control and
NDT fraternity to communicate the latest de- condition monitoring as it is performed and avail-
velopments in NDT and for Africa to take note able today.
of what can be done in the field of NDT. African While a number of conferences on NDT are being
countries will be actively encouraged to partake staged, both locally and internationally, it must be
in the event. remembered that this conference staged in Durban
Please diarise the dates and put plans into action is the World Conference, ie, the occasion where the
to be a part of this conference. The conference is NDT fraternity from all the continents gets together
the place where new doors can be opened, new to exchange developments which are at the leading
friendships can be moulded and new ventures can edge of the technology.
be formed.
The idea is for South Africa to become
Wheels in motion au fait with what NDT has to offer
All the wheels have now been put into motion to
promote and market the event. The first call for What to expect
papers will be issued by the end of September In the forthcoming months, the SAINT column in
2010 and the marketing committee is in the process this publication will focus on the 18th WCNDT
of approaching equipment and service providers in Durban. This is done intentionally so that the
to become involved in the exhibition, which is engineering fraternity, which includes the mechani-
intended to be a window into what is available on cal-, chemical-, petrochemical-, civil- and trans-
the world market. From interactions with exhibi- port industries, can become aware of the unique
tors at the 10th European conference on NDT in opportunity which is offered to the industries in
Moscow earlier this year, it can be stated that the South Africa by the staging of the conference in
exhibition associated with the conference will be our country. The show case is opening on our door
a memorable experience. step. Please make use of the opportunities offered
SAINT would appreciate it if the South African through this venture.
NDT fraternity could start to prepare papers to be Should you wish to participate in the WCNDT, log onto
presented at the conference, to showcase the South http://www.saint.org.za/ and download the 18th WCNDT
African NDT industry and activities. The industries invitation.
who at this stage are not aware of what NDT can Manfred Johannes, SAINT President and
offer are encouraged to make time available to at- President of the 18th WCNDT

OILS & LUBRICATION
Oiling The Way

When working with aluminium in smelters, the billets and ingots that are produced have to be cleaned and
cut to size. The large planes and saws used for this task produce a large number of aluminium chips that must
be returned to the melting furnace. However, the chips first have to go through a cleaning and drying process
because they are usually drenched in a soluble oil that serves to lubricate the tools. This water-based solution
will cause an explosion in the furnace if it’s added when the chips are wet.
Y
ears ago, Eben du Plessis of Producut faced
this exact problem when he was asked to
design a lubrication system for the tools
used to saw aluminium. He reasoned that
if he could get rid of the soluble oil, he’d be cutting
out the process to dry the chips which would not
only save time, but also the huge cost of equip-
ment and energy associated with the cleaning and
drying process.
MQL
This gave local birth to the concept of MQL
(minimum quantity lubrication) which his company
Eben du Plessis of Producut

has got down to a fine art over the past 15 years
and for which Eben won the Louw Alberts award
from the SA Institute of Tribology last year. “Micro-
dosing is also referred to as ‘near dry’, MQL or
‘mist lubrication,” explains Eben.
“Micro-dosing is the technique whereby minute
quantities of lubricant are applied in an industrial
operation, leaving an almost dry product and produc-
tion environment. MQL requires special micro-pumps
that can deliver between 3 and 30 micro-litres per
pulse. We control the pumps through changing the
pulse rate. Therefore the exact dosing parameters
can be established to meet the specific needs of an
operation whether it is metalworking, the lubrication
of bearings, chains or dies,” he adds.
A German company using our system

reported a saving ratio of 60 000: 1
Case study
Dosing is accompanied by carefully-controlled air to
disperse lubricant at the exact point of lubrication,
to blow away chips in the case of metalworking
and to provide cooling of the tool. A case study
was performed at an aluminium smelter in 1991
where an aluminium cast ingot or slab was cut
with a two-metre diameter circular saw where
large volumes of conventional water soluble oil
was pumped onto the blade.
Jacques Theron, technical manager at Producut shows the control box of
the system “We introduced MQL on a second saw and after

OILS & LUBRICATION
a year the results when comparing the

two operations, were quite remarkable,”
says Jacques Theron, technical manager
at Producut.
“On the conventional machine, the us-
age of neat cutting oil was 65 100 litres
while the MQL saw only used 110 litres
with equal tonnages of slab being cut. At
a ratio of almost 600:1 this meant that
almost 600 times less lubricant was used
to do the same job. We have since not
only improved the efficiency of dosing
equipment, but also the lubricant itself
to achieve even higher efficiencies.
“A recent example is typified by a Ger-
man company using our system which
reported a saving ratio of 60 000: 1,
the 60 000 being 10% concentration The special nozzles that spray lubricant onto specific areas on machinery
soluble oil and 1 being neat oil.”
After a year the results when

comparing the two operations,
were quite remarkable
Savings
In the case of the aluminium smelter, the
saving wasn’t only in terms of lubricant
and tooling. “The chips from the saws
had to be dried by centrifuging and then
oven dried before re-melting could take
place,” explains Jacques.
“With MQL, the chips now go directly
to the melting furnace. Furthermore,
the production floor no longer poses a
danger to operators who used to slip
on the oily floors. The usual problem of
skin disorders from the soluble solutions
is a thing of the past while the ingress Control and the pumping system inside the control unit
of unwanted moisture into gearboxes,
bearings, slides and electronic controls
has disappeared, resulting in less main-
tenance and downtime on equipment.
Energy
“In metalworking, electricity consumption
is a good indicator of the efficiency of the
operation,” adds Jacques. “The moment
the tool goes blunt, the machine starts
drawing more amps and the noise level
and pitch increases. Using conventional
lubrication, where the cutting fluid, neat
or water soluble, is constantly circulated,
the effectiveness of the lubrication tends
to drop.
In a MQL system, every drop of lubricant
is fresh and there is no depletion of EP/
AW additives, resulting in a significant
increase in tool life. In one of our case
studies, blade changes dropped from
The blending plant

OILS & LUBRICATION
69 to 18 times per year and blade repair costs toxicity values and are non-flammable. As MQL
decreased 11-fold. So, MQL boils down to being an lubricants operate mostly in boundary lubrication
energy-light option that adds to your savings.” conditions, we blend in Extreme Pressure, Anti-Wear
In the case of MQL, there is no fluid to dispose of. and Anti-Oxidant additives. These additives are
“To dispose of spent water soluble oil however, is sourced from reputable international manufacturers
not so easy and the new Waste Act regards it as a and carry US FDA approval ratings for lubes with
controlled substance,” says Jacques. “The fluid has incidental food contact.
no commercial value and cannot be economically
recycled, leaving only slimes dams as a possible Having to dispose of this fluid in swimming pool
disposal option. We have seen clients having to volumes more than once a year
dispose of this fluid in swimming pool volumes
more than once a year.”
Customised
Blending “Apart from the obvious cost savings, industry
Eben takes us through to Producut’s lubricant must start looking at sustainable solutions and
blending plant which is by far the cleanest oil stop clinging to ox-wagon technology,” says Eben in
blending facility we’ve ever seen. You can literally conclusion. “Our hardware, lubricants and solutions
eat off the floor, not only because it’s so clean, but are adaptable to a large variety of applications and
also because the oils are mainly natural. “Because materials. We’re busy looking at systems specifically
MQL means the discharge of lubricant into an open designed for the cutting and machining of yellow
environment, we opted for esters as our main base metals and have even designed and built lubrica-
fluid,” explains Eben. tion systems for stainless steel cutting as well.
“Esters, being either natural plant oils or synthetic Each system and the lubricant it uses is designed
from renewable sources, have excellent lubricity. for each individual application.”
They are also safe as they have a high flash point, Eben du Plessis, Producut, Tel: (012) 804-0844, Email:
are soluble, bio-degradable, have no or very low producut@icon.co.za

OILS & LUBRICATION
Good Tribology
Saves Energy
The job of a lubricator on a plant is unavoid-
ably a dirty one as it is inevitable that he
will spill oil on himself as he goes around
checking the oil levels and filling machines
on his daily rounds. For this very reason, the
responsibilities of the lubricator are more
than often allocated to the least educated,
lowest paid worker on the plant, which is
often the biggest mistake anyone can make.
some of the impressions they’ve come to so far.

“We’ve been speaking to a broad cross-section of all
industries from an energy perspective in relation to
power consumption and lubricants,” he says. “We’re
not only looking at the costs of breakdowns that oc-
President of SAIT, John Fitton curred due to lubrication related failures, but we’re
also looking at it from an energy efficiency perspec-
I
tive. For instance, not maintaining idlers properly
f the lubricator had to inadvertently add the wrong
in a conveyor system is hugely inefficient.
grade of oil to a multi-million rand machine,
it not only affects the machine’s performance, An example
but could seriously damage it and even lead to “From a machine-life perspective, we’ve found that
premature failure. Besides influencing production, today white metal bearings in South Africa only last
machines not running at optimum performance waste six to eight years, whereas they used to last 20
energy, adding to the running costs of the plant and years in the past,” John adds. “And it’s not because
directly affecting the company’s bottom line. of the lubrication, there’s nothing wrong with the
lubrication or the bearing. It all boils down to the
We’ve found that today white metal bearings in South lack of skills and knowledge which are impacting
on the cost of operations in this country.”
Africa only last six to eight years, whereas they used to
last 20 years in the past Generally, the industry seems to cut down on the cost
of lubrication, filtration and maintenance, despite it
usually being a small percentage of a budget. “If you
What is tribology? worked the maintenance budget out against turnover,
In South Africa there is a lot of this going on, it is generally a very small percentage, yet people
ultimately affecting the country’s economy due tend to opt for cheaper lubricants to try and save
to sheer ignorance through lack of understanding money,” he explains. “What they don’t understand
about the importance of tribology in machinery. is that by increasing the lubrication budget slightly,
By definition, tribology, as a branch of mechani- they’d be dramatically reducing downtime costs
cal engineering, is the science and engineering of caused by lubrication related failures.”
interacting surfaces in relative motion. It includes
the study and application of the principles of fric- Proper filtration
tion, lubrication and wear. To illustrate the importance of proper filtration, John
recalls a case of a factory in Durban. “The company
The project was changing between fifteen and twenty white
A project to determine the cost and energy saving metal bearings a month at a cost of 1.5 million
potential of tribology to the South African industry rand a year,” he says. “Since installing a lubrication
was started a year ago by the South African Institute filtration system, they’re changing no more than five
of Tribology (SAIT) and to catch up “SA Mechanical bearings a year. Add to this the increased up-time
Engineer” speaks to the president, John Fitton, about production, and the cost of the filtration system

OILS & LUBRICATION
becomes a mere drop in the ocean.” basic principles which are not as complex as is
The outcome of the SAIT study will be used to generally assumed. “Basically tribology is the study
benchmark South Africa and highlight areas of of wear due to friction and lubrication is the key to
concern where greater effort is required such as reducing the wear by managing the friction,” John
specific applications, general education, skills im- explains. “The right viscosity in the right application
provements and research and development. is crucial. If the viscosity is too light you get wear,
if it is too heavy you waste energy. Just having
Issues the wrong grade of oil in an application wastes as
“Initially, we started off with a survey but could not much as ten percent of the energy consumed in a
get enough information using this method,” says gearbox or motor.”
John. “We then started actively visiting companies
to spend time with the maintenance manager, The level of knowledge on tribology and lubrication
engineers and plant operators to gain access to as practices is almost zero in most cases
much information as possible. This provided insight
into the skills-levels, knowledge and the extent of
The final conclusions and report of phase one of
education in terms of tribology that people in the
this project are due soon and will be submitted to
company have gone through.
the Department of Science and Technology. “One
“The results were particularly scary as the level of of the main revelations is the fact that dirt ingress
knowledge on tribology and lubrication practices into machinery is prevalent in South Africa while
is almost zero in most cases. Because of this we the lack of training is a serious shortfall,” John says
intend to highlight all these issues to try and in- in conclusion. “Generally, people tend to start living
troduce tribology into all forms of education, from with certain failures and then budget for them as
artisan training to engineering.” running costs, whereas in actual fact, they should
Too much or too little solve the problem from the start.”
From the study, it is clear that not many people John Fitton, SAIT, through the institute secretary at; sec-
understand what tribology is, let alone apply the retary@sait.org.za

COMPRESSORS, AIR MOTORS & VACUUM PUMPS
New Player
in the Air A comprehensive range of both compres-
sors and vacuum pumps, made by the same
manufacturer, is now finding a renewed
Market
footing in the South African industry.
S
A Mechanical Engineer” visits Goscor Com-
pressed Air Systems (GCAS), a newly-formed
division of Goscor Power Products, which is
now the sole distributor of the Sullair range
of air products from the USA. “Since setting up
shop a couple of months ago we’ve already made
significant inroads with both the compressors and
the vacuum pump range,” says general manager of
GCAS, Paul Combe. “Everyone is under pressure
to be as efficient as possible and with the Sullair
range of products we have a significant competi-
tive advantage.
It is more cost competitive to handle

the flood of compressors coming in from
China
Redesigned range
“The product has been on the South African market
for many years, giving us a small market share to
start off with, but we’re expanding quickly,” he adds.
“There are certain niches in the market that others
don’t cover, allowing us to make some headway
with Sullair’s new range of Shoptek compressors
that replaced the belt driven range it used to have.
We’ve also had a good response from the hospital
market in terms of vacuum motors and have already
done several installations.
“For now, we’re concentrating on Gauteng and sur-
rounding areas, but once established, we’ll extend
our services to the rest of the country.”
The new Shoptek range is not only a more cost
effective compressor, but it now has ‘extras’ built
in as standard features. “Not only is it a better
compressor, but it is more cost competitive to
handle the flood of compressors coming in from
China,” says Paul. “We’ve only just received the
first stock of these new compressors and four have
already been sold because the buyers immediately
recognised the superior features.
Control system
“With most compressors you have to purchase a
separate panel to control multiple units,” explains
Paul. “These control panels are sophisticated
and expensive because they usually control up to
Stock spares for the new range of compressors
seven compressors simultaneously. However, for

our specific market we only need to control two

compressors at a time, therefore, Sullair redesigned
a simpler built-in controller. Now it’s a simple
matter of pre-programming the control according
to customer requirements. This oil-injected rotary
screw compressor is available in a whole range
of sizes.”
Because compressors are huge energy guzzlers,
all manufacturers have had to face the challenge
of reducing energy consumption to the minimum.
“All our compressor products have been redesigned,
and are now seen as energy efficient machines,”
says Paul. “They have two modes of operation.
Paul Combe
You can either run them under constant pressure,
or you can have them load and unload which is
where you save energy.
Saving energy
“However, where required we can supply variable
speed control systems,” Paul adds. “Using variable
speed drives coupled with Sullair’s Smart Technol-
ogy system, compressors can run more efficiently
in environments where demand may vary from
season-to-season or from shift-to-shift. In periods of
low demand, the Supervisor control system reduces
the compressed air output by reducing the drive
speed. This reduction in drive speed saves power
and trims operating costs.”
Another energy saving feature is a mechanical
control system that continuously controls the ca-
pacity in the compressor. “An outstanding feature
of VCC (Variable Capacity Control) compressors is
Sullair’s unique capacity control system, which The product has been on the South African market for many years
consists of a spiral valve and an inlet butterfly
valve,” explains Paul. the highest power factor over the entire frequency
range,” says Paul. “This package, combined with
Unique technology the spiral valve, offers the best control with the
“This system delivers greatly improved part-load lowest turndown in the industry, truly the ultimate
performance, especially when compared with energy saving feature in compressed air systems. The
compressors having suction throttling or load and tandem compressor can also be fitted with a heat
no load controls. The compressed air volume is recovery enclosure which saves even more energy
varied by rotating the spiral valve, which opens and by recovering expended heat from the compressor.
closes by-pass ports in the stator, and returns air This heat can be used as supplemental comfort
to suction rather than compressing it. By matching heating, or make-up air for process heating.”
compressor displacement with output need, 17
This energy-saving system uses up to 17 percent less
percent less power is consumed.”
power
The range of two-stage tandem rotary screw com-
pressors have been redesigned to feature variable In the future, GCAS will stock a wide range of
capacity control with spiral valve technology to portable compressors from Sullair. “With the new
provide increased levels of energy efficiency and energy saving technology I am confident that this
operating performance. They are available in either range of proven air products is set to grow in the
constant speed drive models or a range of vari- local market,” Paul says in conclusion. “Just take
able speed drive (VSD) models. At full load, the the air-ends as an example of the quality of this
tandem compressor and spiral valve have proven premium brand. On a daily basis we hear of air
to be 13 percent more energy efficient, while at 60 ends that crash at anything between 20 to 25 000
percent load, the two-stage tandem compressors hours. On our smaller units we comfortably get
provide up to 30 percent savings over single-stage 45 000 hours while the bigger units do 80 000
compressors. hours and in many instances are still running.”
More savings Paul Combe, Goscor Compressed Air Systems, Tel: (011)
“Further part load and full load energy savings are 453-8836, Email: pcombe@goscor.co.za, Website: www.
achieved with an optional VSD which provides goscor.co.za

Catch Up
Sometimes it takes an outsider to see the true situation and
highlight faults that you don’t see as you’re too close to the
subject matter. It may well be worth listening to such ob-
servations, especially if they come from a professional with
many years of experience in the global arena.
Geoff Holgate, managing director of

Kaeser Compressors South Africa
Europe and nobody was paying

any attention whatsoever to the
energy efficiency of machinery,
but as prices rose they quickly
got with the programme. Twenty
years on and South Africa is now
following suit as our equipment
suppliers begin to educate end-
users in the steps to take.
“In terms of efficiencies I’ve seen
some diabolical local installa-
tions,” Geoff says. “On every single
installation and project that we’ve
been involved in, we’ve been able
to say right from the start that
we’ll save the customer at least
25 percent. A high percentage of
these savings come from purely
looking at pipework and leakage
The Kaeser Air Manager system in the reticulation system. After
that, come other inefficiencies
such as old units and compres-
sors that haven’t been set up
H
aving been in the international compres- correctly and so on.”
sor industry for 35 years, Geoff Houlgate, German precision
managing director of Kaeser Compressors As a German manufacturer, all machines made
South Africa, is just such a person. Five by Kaeser have matching components in order to
years ago he came to South Africa to establish a achieve optimum efficiency. “Every machine that
wholly-owned subsidiary of Kaeser Compressors to comes into South Africa for example, is fitted with
service Africa. “SA Mechanical Engineer” joins him an EFF 1 motor which already translates into a 6
in Meadowdale near Johannesburg to chat. percent saving,” says Geoff.
In terms of efficiencies I’ve seen some diabolical local “The German philosophy is to educate users, not only
installations about the efficiency specifications of our machines,
but also about the crucial importance of correctly
installing the system as a whole.
In retrospect “For instance, we carry out surveys and audit installa-
“When I got here from Kaeser in England five years tions so that we can point out just how the end-user
ago it was like stepping back 20 years,” he says. can save on an inefficient installation of which there
“At that time, electricity was relatively cheap in are far too many in South Africa,” he adds.

Split system each pressure drop costs money. Another general

“In the old days for example, companies used one problem we find in local installations is with drain-
main compressor with another on standby. The age. A solenoid switch is usually set on a timer
better installations would have two machines to and therefore it will discharge the condensate at
produce air with a third on standby. Today, however, preset intervals, together with compressed air,
we opt for a split system where you have three to regardless of the amount of condensate that has
four machines, all differently sized, operated at a built up. Our drains work on a sensor system, so
0.3 bar differential by a controller that runs any the condensate is only released when it has built
combination of the units in order to meet the air up to a certain level.
demand. This is a further saving because 1 bar If you add up all the small faults, they amount to big
equals a 6 percent electrical saving.
losses, which can be easily avoided
“This is by far the most efficient way of produc-
ing compressed air,” stresses Geoff. “Through the “With our compressors, like the downstream
programming of the controller unit, you adapt the equipment branded under Kaeser, all these small
system to each individual requirement by running issues that influence the efficiency of the system
the machines at optimum efficiency levels all the as whole have been taken into consideration.”
time.” Geoff says in conclusion, “We aim to provide an
engineered solution to produce compressed air at
Smart machines optimum efficiency all the time. Too many people
Modern compressors are sophisticated machines,
have taken compressed air for granted for too
much like the cars of today. They’re designed
long. There are alternatives on the market today,
and built to last reliably longer with 3 000 hour
unfortunately not all as efficient as they should be.
service intervals and cannot be worked on by just
Make sure you get help in designing your compres-
any technician. “There are many people who work
sor installation, including the pipe network, which
on compressors, repairing air-ends and the like,
is as critical as installing the right machine for a
but in spite of knowing how to repair them, they
specific application.”
simply cannot bring them back up to the original
specifications. This alone contributes hugely to a Geoff Houlgate, Kaeser Compressors, Tel: (011) 974-
machine running inefficiently, both in terms of power 5002, Email: geoff.houlgate@kaeser.com, Website: www.
consumption and the output it delivers.” kaeser.co.za
In Geoff’s book it’s all a matter of education. It’s

often just small things that make an air system inef-
ficient, but if you add up all the small faults, they
amount to big losses, which can be easily avoided.
“If you look at downstream equipment, there are
many factors which clients should consider,” he
explains. “The correct sizing of dryers and filters is
critical, but in South Africa people tend to ignore,
or simply don’t know how much influence these
components have on the system.
Some of the faults
“Take one simple, but very common problem which
you’re likely to find at every local installation,”
explains Geoff. “It’s the ninety degree elbow bend.
A swept bend is far more efficient than a right
angle bend which leads to a pressure drop, and

Market Forum
Innovative reconditioning solution
SKF’s Project Engineering Department successfully
reconditioned a housing arrangement on a hot
gas kiln fan application at one of South Africa’s
leading cement manufacturing plants.
According to SKF Project Engineer, Niel Maree, the
bearing that was operating within the non-drive
end, solid type housing suffered a catastrophic
failure and as a result, the housing fixing bolts
were broken off and the housing lifted out of
position by a bent fan shaft. From left to right: Polo Radebe - Shareholder ICP, Alois Adlkofer - Managing
SKF was requested to perform the complete Director KBSA, Ashley Emmerson - Member of the Board KBSA, Sonja Sebotsa
reconditioning within a very short time frame - Shareholder ICP, Dr. Roland Klinkhammer - Vice President Corporate Legal and
Patents – V/R KB AG
of five days”, reports Niel. The kiln fan bear-
ings operate in a severely contaminated environment and in
excessive heat. “It is therefore essential that contamination
ingress be minimised”, explains Niel. Having conducted a
complete design review of the through covers, Niel presented New prison boiler
the customer with a long term, reliable solution which Mpumalanga Steam & Boiler Works, specialists in the
incorporated fabricated through covers with integral seals installation, repair and service of heat generation, waste
that were quick to manufacture in order to accommodate management and energy production systems, has recently
the tight delivery schedule. completed the installation of a new steam boiler at the
Nelspruit Prison in Mpumalanga.
“To improve the old gap seal mechanism on the existing
through cover design, we integrated SKF’s locally-designed “This 1,8 ton coal fired steam boiler is designed for the
“taconite” type sealing arrangement with the new through generation and reticulation of sufficient steam throughout the
cover design”, says Maree. building for the efficient heating of water for food preparation
in the kitchen and to supply hot water to the ablution and
SKF South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Samantha Joubert, Tel: (011) 821-3500, laundry facilities at the prison,” says Nkosinathi Nkwan-
Fax: (011) 821-3501, Email: samantha.joubert@skf.com, Website: yana, director, Mpumalanga Steam & Boiler Works, part of
www.skf.co.za Advanced Industrial Technology (Ai-Tec).”
Because efficient boiler operation is critical for the smooth
running of facilities like prisons and hospitals, the Department
On the right track of Public Works, in conjunction with Mpumalanga Steam &
Knorr-Bremse South Africa, manufacturers of train braking Boiler Works, has embarked on a training programme for
systems, has recently signed a BEE deal that at the stroke boiler operators. Training operations include lighting the fire
of a pen has changed the face of both the company and for the boiler, raising steam pressure, de-ashing, emergency
the South Africa railway landscape. shutdowns, blowdown procedures and the safe maintenance
of steam pressure.
In an industry that has traditionally lacked active female
participation, Knorr-Bremse has brought on board three Nkosinathi Nkwanyana, Mpumalanga Steam & Boiler Works, Advanced
dynamic black women who promise to change the way Industrial Technology (Ai-Tec), Tel: (013) 246-1722, Email: info@
mpsteam.co.za, Web: www.ai-tec.co.za
the male dominated rail sector is run.
The three women who make up the BEE consortium,
Sonja Sebotsa, Polo Radebe and Raisibe Morathi have
all been involved in various BEE transactions over the
last decade and bring a wealth of experience regarding
the potential pitfalls and positives relating to BEE and
big business.
The deal, valued at R200 million over a period of 13 to
15 years, demonstrates the long term commitment of
Knorr-Bremse to the South African economy.
The current BEE deal is not simply a paper transaction,
the three women who form the backbone of the deal
will have seats on the Board at Knorr-Bremse and will
be involved in the day to day business in a high level
advisory capacity.
Alois Adlkofer, Tel: (011) 961-7826, Email: awa@mweb.co.za, Mpumalanga Steam & Boiler Works, has recently completed the installation
www.knorr-bremse.co.za of a new steam boiler for Nelspruit Correctional Services in Mpumalanga.
The new steam boiler is being unloaded here for Nelspruit Correctional
Services

Market Forum
Submersible cutter pump The manually-operated type 507 and the pneumatically-
Tsurumi Pumps South Africa has launched a high-head operated type 514 with aluminium piston actuators, the
submersible cutter pump designed specifically for the sew- 550 with stainless steel piston actuators and 554 with
age market. plastic piston actuators are now
available with flanged connections
The new product, part of the C-Series family, completes
in nominal sizes DN 15 – 50.
Tsurumi’s line-up by meeting a clearly identified need for
The new flanged valve bodies
a submersible pump with the superior cutting capabilities
are made of cast stainless steel
and high-head pumping performance required for high lift
1.4435 (AISI 316L). Flanges are
applications and sewage transfer over long distances.
manufactured according to EN 1092/
Target applications include the pumping of effluent from PN25/form B and ANSI class 125/150
industrial and commercial complexes. A notably-improved RF specifications.
cutting performance is the result of a re-designed wet-end
In order to be able to flexibly react to
that breaks up all foreign matter to prevent clogging.
customer requirements in the most
Sintered tungsten carbide alloy blades have been integrated varied regions, the flanges are weld-
with the impeller vanes to allow them to act as a rotating ed on the basic cast bodies.
cutter in combination with a suction cover that incorporates This ensures good availabil-
a serrated suction intake. ity and short delivery times.
Both impeller and suction cover are made of high-chromium Flanges are mainly used in
cast iron, ensuring excellent durability and enabling the pump industrial plant construction
to maintain high performance in high head applications for an as they can be installed and
extended period. Cutting efficiency is exceptionally high. removed more easily compared
with butt weld and threaded con-
George Bath, managing director, Tsurumi Pumps, Tel: (011) 748-0200,
nections. The valves are mainly used
Fax: (011) 421-2749, Email: georgeb@dfc.co.za
for control and regulation of steam, water
as well as
slightly corrosive liquid
media and gases.
Gemü Africa, Keith Hedges,
Tel: (011) 462 7795, Email:
keith.hedges@gemue.co.za
Massive water
storage
Good news for would-be
installers of very large panel
The semi-open channel impeller and cutter mechanism of Tsurumi’s C-Series submersible cutter pump reservoirs – water storage
capacities are not limited
by the dimensions of standard production models.
Wayne Thompson, managing director of Rainbow Reservoirs,
reports that the company’s Australian principals build to
Flanged connections specification panel-type reservoirs as large as two megalitres
The Gemü range of manual and pneumatic angle seat globe for installation around the world.
valves are now available with flanged connections to EN
“This is about three times bigger than the standard panel
1092 and Ansi specifications.

Market Forum
reservoirs listed on company litera-
ture,” says Wayne. “Enquiries for very
large capacities are on the up, and
I believe our designers at Heritage
Tanks will soon increase the maxi-
mum limit of 2 megalitres that they
currently work to,” he adds.
Wayne says that the design of all
Rainbow reservoirs is certified by a
structural engineer, with manufacture
carried out to the highest Australian
quality control standards for applica-
tions in forestry, mining, construction,
general industry and agriculture.
Reservoir diameters are adapted to
suit the space available on site, and
the wall height increased to deliver
the storage capacity required. The
company recently used this method
of adaptation to fit a reservoir into
limited site space at a private hospital
in Johannesburg.
Wayne Thompson, managing director, Very high capacity panel reservoir
Rainbow Reservoirs, Tel: (015) 297-7640,
Fax: (015) 297-7646, Email: skywater@mweb.co.za
Ship repair company considers the
environment
DCD-Dorbyl Marine has reached an agreement with Total
Cover SA, the South African appointed agent for Envirowrap
International, an encapsulation and containment company,
to provide environmental protection during the maintenance
programme that is currently underway on the Saipem Saibos
FDS vessel in Cape Town Harbour
This contract is a first in South Africa as a result of a huge
amount of focus been placed on considering the environ-
New meter distributor mental impact during a maintenance programme of such
Impact Measurment Solutions is now the appointed South magnitude.
African distributor for the top quality range of flow mea-
Maintenance areas are normally worked upon within
surement and control equipment and solutions
the confines of scaffold enclosures with only
from German company KEM Kueppers
limited environmental protection. The Envi-
Elektromechanik.
rowrap system vastly enhances the protection
Munich-based KEM specialises in the of the environment from maintenance waste,
design and manufacture of a compre-
hensive line-up of flow meters such as
coriolis mass meters, gear, turbine, micro,
turbidity and thermal mass meters. A
full complement of associated equipment
includes pickups and amplifiers, local
display units, frequency to analogue converters,
frequency counters and evaluation systems can
also be supplied.
With distributors throughout the world, KEM ser-
vices a wide range of industries including automo-
tive, polyurethane, steel, food, pharmaceutical
and petroleum where KEM flow meters are used
on test benches, filling lines, batching and paint
spraying systems.
Impact Measurement Solutions, Ken Falconer Tel: (082)
929-4128, Fax: 088 11 902 4679

Market Forum
which not only can pollute the air, but also has the risk of The high technology plastic material can be fully recycled
falling into the harbour’s water and subsequently flowing and eventually used in the manufacture of plastic pipes.
into the ocean The material is also fire retardant and conforms to all ISO
“Total Cover SA provides environmental protection of such directives.
areas by screening off and encapsulating, or shrink wrapping, “Our product is a first for environmental protection in South
the area while maintenance by means of sand/water blasting, Africa and promotes international best practices and standards
grinding, welding and spray painting is being done,” says that will change the way the industry approaches maintenance
Total Cover SA spokesperson, Willem Botha. programmes with environmental impact,” says Botha.
Shrink wrapping is done around the scaffold areas and, in Over and above the environmental benefits, productivity is
the case of the Saipem project, includes areas around the also enhanced, in that little or no additional time has to be
main deck of the ship, the deck cranes and cables. spent in having to clean working areas and equipment after
This screening off and encapsulation of the maintenance the maintenance programme has been completed.
areas allows for the waste from the maintenance projects Total Cover SA, Willem Botha, Tel: (082) 458 8556, Email: willb60@
to be contained, accumulated and disposed of under strict gmail.com
environmental control guidelines thus eliminating ocean
and air pollution.
cer teams as the greatest opportunity to design a “sporting

solution with meaning,” which was additionally comple-
mented by the excitement and enthusiasm created by the
2010 Fifa World Cup.
A possible shortcoming of many soccer training sessions could
relate to goalkeeper and set-piece training. When goalkeeper
training takes place, many players may be required to take
kicks at a goal, often limiting their training time, and their
incoming shots are in effect predictable. A machine designed
by students from Stellenbosch University that can simulate
set-piece training as well as generate random and unpredict-
able kicks on goal could help teams maximise the training
time of out-field players and heighten the effectiveness of
goalkeeper training.
The user friendly application offers control of the system via
a wireless console instead of a computer containing com-
plicated software. This allows the control interface to seem
like something “close to home” for a soccer coach.
The winning team: Ivan Deetlefs, Thabo Mofokeng, Ryan du Ples-

The team worked under Professor Anton Basson who lead
sis and Alex Oelofse – Mechatronic students at Stellenbosch the two previous Stellenbosch teams to victory.
University Sew-Eurodrive, Rene Rose, Tel: (011) 248 7000 Fax: (011) 248 7289,
Email: rrose@sew.co.za, www.sew.co.za
Three in a row
The winner of the PneuDrive Challenge 2010 was announced
in Johannesburg on 29 July 2010 after two days of judging
by a panel of industry experts.
The University of Stellenbosch took the top spot for the third
time in a row with their “Tshabalala Soccer Ball Shooting
Machine”. The design was done by four Stellenbosch Me-
chanical Engineering students.
The overall aim of the PneuDrive Challenge competition is
to feature design innovation in the field of mechatronics and
students engaged in the 2010 PneuDrive Challenge compe-
tition were instructed to design an application using SEW
Eurodrive and Festo products with this year’s competition
theme being “motion in sport”. Ken Nixon (Wits), Chris Oliver (Festo Didactic) Dale Oosthuizen
(Abtech), Norman Maleka (SEW Eurodrive), Antonie le Roux (Bate-
The Stellenbosch team identified the training regimes of soc- man)

Market Forum
Gauteng region. In addition, return on investment is rapid,
with capital outlay often being recouped within months,”
says Gerhard.
Multotec Group, Bernadette Wilson, Tel: (011) 923 6193, Email:
marketing@multotec.co.za, www.multotec.com
Service life extension

Demands on universal joint shafts have increased signifi-
cantly since the mid 1990s with torques and outputs in
rolling mills nearly doubling over the past decade. New, high
output motors and higher load collectives have a detrimental
effect on universal joint shafts that have to transmit very
high torque loads.
Furthermore, bearings in joint shafts are among the most
negatively affected parts in the shaft and show the worst
wear. Lubricants normally prevent metallic contact between
the shaft body and the bearing track but in reversing joint
shafts, the roller bearings rotate in alternative directions.
In this application, conventional lubricants may prove to be
A typical coal inadequate, spreading away from the bearing and causing
Coal spiral pilot plant spiral plant increased erosion.
Multotec Process Equipment’s considerable success with its Voith Turbo developed the WearCare 500 lubricant in co-opera-
heavy minerals spiral plant led it to recognise the need for tion with a leading global bearing and lubricant manufacturer
a similar plant in the coal industry. to meet these dynamic industry requirements. The result is
The plant is equipped with a dewatering cyclone, a sieve bend a more effective option that features characteristics that far
and a bank of four Multotec MX7 spirals with the capacity outweigh those of conventional lubricants.
to treat 36 tph of fine coal. WearCare 500 consists of lithium soap with unique additives
The plant processes fines, saving large volumes of coal which to ensure that the lubricant adheres to the bearing surface.
would normally be relegated to waste dumps. The fines are The lubricant is contained in the roll gap and metallic
first deslimed with a Multotec desliming cyclone and then contact is dramatically reduced even with oscillating shaft
passed over a sieve bend to remove the +1 mm oversize bearings. Voith WearCare 500 lubricant demands a complex
material before being fed to the spirals. The plant is inclusive manufacturing process during which additives are carefully
of pumps and sumps to feed the spirals.
“The pilot plant offers numerous advantages,”
Renira Reddy, product manager:gravity con-
centration at Multotec says. “It is easily dis-
mantled, moved and re-erected thanks to its
design as a moveable unit and is self-standing
and engineered to be plug-and-play, though this
depends on individual site conditions such as
a ready supply of water as well as a tailings
disposal set-up.”
“The pilot plant is trial erected prior to its
transportation to site,” adds project manager,
Gerhard Hattingh. “This enables the customer
to give it a final inspection before moving it to
site, virtually eliminating any teething problems
associated with the structural layout.”
The coal spiral pilot plant is ideal for plants
located in remote regions and can be employed
as a pilot test unit. It is accessible to all miners
and is particularly suitable for junior mining
operations.
“Delivery time from order to delivery to site is no
more than twelve weeks for deliveries within the
Voith WearCare 500 high performance lubricant extend service life of bearings

Market Forum
folded into the basic oil and soap mixture. The lubricant According to Piet, the unique design capabilities ensure a
is silicone and copper free for excellent erosion protection. cost and time efficient solution for the effective pumping of
Field tests, conducted over the past few years, have shown mid water.
conclusively that WearCare 500 prolongs the service life of “With the turn of a handle at the top of the 1.2m valve, the
universal joint shaft bearings by up to 60%. opening can be moved up or down the entire length of the
Used worldwide, Voith WearCare 500 is compatible with valve to select the correct level of the mid water, which then
conventional, lithium saponified lube products, and even drains through the opening,” says Piet. The VHE Valve is
existing shaft bearings can be optimised by introducing easy to install, does not require an external power source and
this high performance lubricant. In addition, it is possible poses no threat to the sensitive environment. He says that
to extend lubrication intervals and even emergency operat- while only a manual option is currently available, electronic
ing properties are noticeably improved after long periods position selection options are being investigated.
without lubrication. The VHE Valve has already established an excellent track
Voith Turbo, Roy Webster, Tel: (011) 418 4036, Fax: (011) 418 4080, record in its very short history and two sewage plants in
email: roy.webster@voith.com Oshoek in the Free State and Beit Bridge have each installed
two valves which are operating successfully. When the two
plants recognised the time and cost saving implications of
the VHE Valve, they took the decision to replace the high
maintenance sluice plate system. Both facilities are more
than satisfied with results, reporting cost and time saving
due to decreases in downtime, maintenance and operating
costs.
Caretell Investments, Piet van Vuuren, Tel: (072) 1991223, (079)
Efficient removal of mid water 5235859, Fax: 0865754111, Email: caretell@lantic.net
“All sewage plants face the difficulty of effectively removing
mid water or super latent that lies between the sludge and
surface foam, so that the sludge can be dried. The common
and widely used sluice plate method of removing mid water
is not only impractical, but also expensive and time consum-
ing. Often the plates get stuck when the sludge dries, which
makes the entire process slow and laborious,” explains Piet
van Vuuren, owner and member of South African company,
Caretell Investments cc. New axes design
Festo, supplier of automation solutions, recently launched
This problem is what triggered Piet to design, engineer and the EGC electric drive range that delivers increased perfor-
manufacture the Variable Height Extraction Valve (VHE), the mance for the motion control industry and features a new
only one of its kind currently available in the market. profile design.
Not only do the new axes
perform between 100%
and 700% better than
previous generation coun-
terparts, they also cost
10% less.
During its Research &
Development programme
aimed at improving the
performance and service
life of its electro-mechani-
cal drives, Festo looked at
Italian master Leonardo
da Vinci’s Cupola arch for
inspiration.
“The main body of every
EGC axis is constructed
from extruded aluminium,
with a computer optimised
cross-sectional shape that
incorporates an internal
arch-shaped structure.
This feature provides the
Variable Height Extraction Valve (VHE) - cost and time efficient solution for effective pumping of mid drives’ rigidity and load
water

Market Forum
bearing capabilities for very low mass,”
explains Ernst Smith, Product Manager
– Electronic, Festo.
Feed forces as high as 3 000N and speeds
of up to 5 m/s, as well as new levels of
acceleration and torque resistance, make
them ideal for use in gantry-type materi-
als handling, supplying and transporting
systems.
The moving carriage is fitted with high
performance caged ball bearings, and the
fully sealed bearing cassette has grease
pockets for optimal lubrication. Festo also
offers a number of optional guide scrap-
ers and grease feed adapters for use with
centralised lubrication systems. The top
face of the aluminium carriage is fitted with
helicoils and centring holes to facilitate fast
and accurate load mounting.
A choice of toothed belt or ballscrew drive
mechanisms, with numerous variants in The new range of EGC electric drives from Festo features a radically new profile de-
both categories, makes it easy to choose an sign, performs between 100% and 700% better than previous generation counterparts
actuator optimally matched to application and costs 10% less
needs. “Unlike most competitive products,
the axes’ stainless steel guide rail is mounted externally, al- These versatile skid steers have more than 75 attachments
lowing the moving carriage to accommodate large cantilever for efficient digging, hauling, pushing and loading material
and offset loads that apply very high moments of torque to on job sites in diverse industries, including mining, construc-
the carriage,” says Ernst. tion, cement, steel, agriculture and landscaping.
The toothed belt version of the EGC axis is available with Optional attachments like buckets, pallet forks, breakers,
a choice of 50, 70, 80, 120 and 185 mm wide profiles, augers, sweepers, backhoes, stump grinders, cement mix-
and the three largest models can be supplied with standard ers, cold planers, trenchers, rollers and slot cutters are
stroke lengths of up to 8.5m. Different models within this available.
range are capable of generating feed forces as high as Case construction equipment, available exclusively from CSE
2 500N and of handling speeds up to 5 m/s and accelera- Equipment Company in Southern Africa, includes loaders,
tion rates up to 50m/s². backhoe loaders, excavators, telescopic handlers and skid
Festo, Joanne Dexter, Tel: (011) 971 5560, Fax: (011) 974 4203, steers.
Email: info_za@festo.com CSE Equipment Company, Rod Watson, Tel: (011) 922 2000, Fax:
(011) 922 2108, Email: rodw@cse.co.za, www.cse.co.za
250 000th skid steer slips of production

line
“In 2000, the 100 000th skid steer was manufac-
tured and ten years later, Case has more than doubled
global sales,” says Rod Watson divisional director of
CSE Equipment’s construction division. “All terrain Case
430 series 3 skid steer loaders have been designed for
exceptional driving force.
Turbocharged, four cylinders, Tier 3 certified diesel en-
gines, which provide the power and torque required to
efficiently cope in the toughest site conditions, also ensure
operating efficiency and fuel economy. High torque power
ratings provide sufficient rim pull to keep the machine
The 250 000th Case 430 series 3 skid steer loader has just come off
moving and recovering in arduous environments.” the production line

Market Forum
100
95
75
Easy customisation with MPS solution

Sole distributor of Bosch Rexroth products in southern Africa,
Tectra Automation, recently supplied Centurion Systems with Subscription 25
a customised, product specific manual production system
(MPS) to improve the production of electric gate motors. Please fax us if you wish to subscribe to “SA Mechanical En- 5
gineer” at R400,00 (incl postage and VAT) per year; R945,00
The products from the MPS range assist in manufacturing
per year for Africa/Overseas. We will post you an invoice on 0
an ergonomic product through the correct lean processes.
receipt of your fax.
The MPS system is based on the Japanese kaizan principle
for production, which focuses on continuous improvements
in processes in manufacturing or engineering. PROMECH PUBLISHING Fax No: (011) 781-1403
“MPS products save time, prevent errors from occurring From:......................................................................................

and eliminate over-processing, production and movement
that does not add value,” explains Kevin Lombard, General
(insert your name)
Manager, Tectra Automation.
The objective of MPS is more added value, instead of inefficient Title: ......................................................................................
work processes and the main focus of the new development
is on flow rack systems and solutions for material supply. Company: ..............................................................................
A new material shuttle provides material quickly and clearly
on the rear of the manual workplaces which enables short Address: ...............................................................................
set-up times with multiple models. The flexible lean flow rack
system visualises the actual inventory at a glance through ...............................................................................................
coloured rollers, this avoids having too much material in the
production flow. The flow rack systems are ESD-compatible ...................................................................Code: ..................
and can deal with loads of up to two tonnes.
Characteristics such as dimensions, material or design are Telephone: ( ) ....................................................................
defined in parameters and each function module contains all
the individual components that comply with the parameters Fax: ( ) ................................................................................
In terms of size, form and quantity. The system includes
workstations with accessories, as well as modules for mate- Email:.....................................................................................
rial supply (flow racks, material shuttles or grab containers)
plus material flow and linking components.
Tectra Automation, Kevin Lombard, Tel: (011) 971 9400, Fax: (011)
971 9440, Email: kevin.lombard@tectra.co.za Index to Advertisers
AES 24
Artic Driers 17
On the Move AST Pyroshield
Atlas Copco
Inside Front Cover
Outside Front Cover, 32
Ceccato 16
Engen 34
Kaeser Compressors 4
Maizey Plastics Outside Back Cover, 20

100
Multi Alloys 12
95
Multotec Inside Back Cover
75
Munters 8
Producut Lubrication Technologies 27

Bellambie Mining & Industrial has appointed Seuntjie Yellotec 14, 29
25
Soke as lifting inspector.

5


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THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010 

 THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010 

Featured on the cover: Contents

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010 

SAIMechE Training Events Calendar:

Howden Power Spirax Sarco SA

Howden Projects Thyssenkrupp Engineering

 THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010 

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010 

Vessels for viz, Richards Bay, Durban, Saldanha, Cape Town,

The design is a very stable tugboat built

Africa New tugboats

10 THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010

The Voith Schneider propeller system

Prasjeen Maharaj of SA Shipyards

Voith Schneider propulsion system that A tug boat nearing

The protection of marine

Walking through the workshop, where several

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010 11

business afloat, but there are lots of opportunities

The potential for this industry to develop

ment, including the Navy, are increasingly issuing Old-fashioned appy’s

12 THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010

Save Air, Save Energy

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010 13

Often, a refrigerant dryer can very well be all that

You’ll save more by addressing issues

14 THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010

Most South African rock is pur-

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010 15

16 THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010

We carry out a complete analysis for

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010 17

18 THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010

the new technology in their

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010 19

HIGH PERFORMANCE POLYMER OPTIONS

From truck bed linings, rail car linings,silos,

MATROXTM is virtually unbreakable and offer the lowest surface friction

MATROXTM will not be affected by extreme weather conditions and

Don’t compromise productivity.

National Number - 086 1100 420

A smaller version of the roll mill at work at Mintek

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010 21

Get Tribology Certified

22 THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010

Managing Editor Susan Custers

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010 23

hour. Full power is reached at 50

Gentle enough not to upset Tannie Evita’s

This is why you’ll usually find

24 THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010

up great know-how,” says Luc

The Klipheuwel wind farm has a total capacity of 5.2 MW

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010 25

Flue contract on schedule Operations expanded

26 THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010

Call for revenue-neutral carbon tax energy sources.

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010 27

28 THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010 29

Oiling The Way

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 62 September 2010