Bradken’s Duaplate® DX has recently been trialled in the lower section of a surge bin, at an iron ore mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, showcasing the weld overlay material’s ability to perform under extremely abrasive operating conditions.

The trial was completed back-to-back with Duaplate D80, a chromium carbide weld overlay that can withstand very high impact and very severe abrasive environments in the fixed plant industry, Bradken says.

Duaplate DX is manufactured to Bradken’s proprietary composition to create an incredible fine microstructure that provides a substantial improvement in the operational life over a traditional chromium carbide based overlay, the company says.

In the study, the two – Duaplate DX and Duaplate D80 – were compared with each other in identical chute lining applications. The DX chute was lined with 8 mm overlay, while the D80 chute was lined with 9 mm of overlay. The chutes were in service for six months and processed comparable material and tonnages, according to Bradken. At the end of the six-month trial period, the bins were removed from service and thickness testing was conducted to compare wear and impact performance between the two overlay materials.

Thickness testing data showed that similar locations were prone to high wear on both bins, however the DX material showed significantly less wear compared with the D80 material. In particular two areas were worn past the D80 overlay and through the mild steel fabrication. In the corresponding locations on the DX chute, there was still a minimum of 4 mm of overlay, or 50% of the wear life remaining.

The trial, therefore, showed that:

• Bradken’s new Duaplate DX has up to 2.5 times longer wear life than Duaplate D80;
• 8 mm of Duaplate DX is equivalent to at least 17 mm of Duaplate D80 in sliding abrasion conditions; and
• A 50% reduction in liner mass; giving a significant reduction in manual handling risks, therefore improving safety concerns.