Monitoring and Prediction of Catastrophic Multi-Sloped Screen Failures

Multislope Screen failure has been an ongoing issue since the introduction of these screens into the coal industry in the 1980s. Failures can be minor resulting in a minimum loss of production however some have been major requiring major repairs not only to the screen itself but to surrounding infrastructure. This project which involved pilot plant and CHPP test work has shown that a failure can be predicted with a lead time of 6 to 8 hours with relatively simple monitoring equipment. An extensive literature review was carried out into failure monitoring methods that may be suitable for use on multi-sloped screens. The main types and causes of failures were determined from site visits to observe failed parts and failure analysis was carried out on a selection of these failed parts.