This paper provides an insight into a problem at a Saskatchewan uranium mine which caused the mine, expensive down time. The problem was a concrete delivery pipe, which needed to be replaced every 16 months, severely wearing out due to slurry abrasion. NanoSteel, a leading materials company offered a solution to the problem.
Problem: Severe Slurry Abrasion
Saskatchewan government regulations stated that spent sections of uranium mines have to be completely encased in concrete. Transportation of large amounts of concrete from the surface into the underground mine and the continuous encasement process of the spent sections tend to take many years to complete. In the past, a L80 mild steel pipe was utilized to form a vertical delivery system through which the concrete was transported underground from the surface. Expensive downtime resulted due to severe wear from slurry abrasion at a uranium mine in Northern Saskatchewan for the pipe that needed to be replaced every 16 months.
Solution: NanoSteel ID Clad Wear Pipe
The uranium mine personnel tried to find a solution, which will have an improved wear-resistance and would have prolonged service life. The uranium mine personnel decided to use NanoSteel’s SHS 9800 alloy to be welded to the L80 pipe’s inner diameter. They assessed that by using the NanoSteel’s ID clad wear pipe, the service life will be about 17.5 years with the wear life increased by a factor of 13.1x, which is hugely advantageous for the Saskatchewan uranium mine as it will save an excess of $1 million in replacement costs.
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Threaded Joints Result in Faster Installation
The usual time consuming method used for installing vertical delivery systems is by welding pipe joints together. But for the Saskatchewan uranium mine, the threading process for the NanoSteel ID clad wear pipe was completed during manufacture itself, thus enabling direct connection to the site using zero difference couplings, a much better and faster joining method. NanoSteel solved the problem in a short time and cost-effective manner.
About Nanosteel
The NanoSteel Company is an advanced materials company which has created a unique and proprietary portfolio of nanotechnology based and environmentally friendly steel alloys that greatly increase the value of steel in most of today’s industrial applications.
Product success has been through the development of Super Hard Steel® (SHS) alloys which feature nanoscale microstructures. SHS alloys are for use as metallic coatings within power generation, mining, cement, concrete and oil & gas industries.
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This information has been sourced, reviewed and adapted from materials provided by Nanosteel.
For more information on this source, please visit Nanosteel.