Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a wear-resistant lining to be used preferably, though not exclusively, in the large-scale mining industry or other related industries.

Background

Wear-resistant linings are used in the mining industry to prevent accelerated wear of equipment that is subjected to dry mineral flows, wet mineral flows and abrasive solid-liquid pulps. For example, wear-resistant linings can be found on grinding mills, large diameter tubing, hydrocyclone cones or inlet head, chutes, trommels, hoppers and other mining equipment exposed to such flows.

There remains a continued need for improved wear-resistant linings and wear elements or "plates" for use with such linings.

Summary of the Disclosure

In accordance with a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a wear element for protecting a wear face, the wear element comprising: a body having a geometric shape comprising a plurality of side walls with at least one side wall comprising one or more projections extending therefrom, in use so that the projection(s) abuts, or is located in close proximity to, a body of an adjacently located wear element when said wear elements are installed on the wear face. The wear plate configuration advantageously provides a means for achieving controlled wear plate spacing over the wear face without the need for an auxiliary spacing means

In certain embodiments, the projections control the spacing of the respective side walls such that the walls of the adjacently located wear elements are in a generally parallel alignment. In certain embodiments, the projections are located in substantially the same position on each of the at least one side walls.

In certain embodiments, each of the at least one side walls has a single projection located at one end and a substantially planar portion located at the other.

In certain embodiments, a respective projection extends from each side wall of the body such that in use the respective projections abut, or are located in close proximity to, the substantially planar portion of a corresponding wall of an adjacently located further wear element.

In certain embodiments, the wear element is adapted to be installed on a layer of elastic or semi-elastic material which at least partially covers the wear face and wherein in use the projection(s) extend at least partially into the layer.

In certain embodiments, the body has a generally constant transverse cross- section.

In certain embodiments, the geometric shape is a polygon. In alternative embodiments, the geometric shape is a hexagon. In other alternative embodiments the geometric shape is a square. In still further embodiments the geometric shape is a triangle.

In certain embodiments, the projections have a curved exterior profile.

In certain embodiments, the body is formed of a ceramic material.

In accordance with a second aspect, there is provided a wear element for use with a protective elastic or semi-elastic layer which at least partially covers a wear face, the wear element comprising: a body formed of a hard material; and one or more projections which extend from at least one side wall of the body and which in use extend into the layer for anchoring. The wear plate projections may advantageously provide a suitable form of anchoring which allows the elements to withstand mechanical forces that can cause the wear plates to detach from the lining. In accordance with a third aspect, there is provided a method of installing a wear liner on a wear face, the method comprising: providing a plurality of wear elements, each wear element comprising: a body having a geometric shape comprising a plurality of side walls with at least one side wall comprising a projection extending therefrom; and installing the wear elements on the wear face such that the respective projections abut, or are located in close proximity to, a side wall of an adjacent wear element to thereby provide a controlled spacing between the wear elements.

In certain embodiments, the wear elements are shaped such that the at least one side wall has the projection located at one end and a substantially planar portion at the other end.

In certain embodiments, the method further comprises installing the wear elements such that the respective projections abut, or are positioned in close proximity to, the substantially planar portion of a corresponding side wall of the adjacent wear element.

In certain embodiments, the method further comprises installing the wear elements such that the projections extend into a layer of elastic or semi-elastic material which at least partially covers the wear face.

In accordance with a fourth aspect, there is provided a wear-resistant lining for protecting a wear face, the lining comprising: a layer of elastic or semi-elastic material; and a plurality of wear elements, each wear element comprising a body with one or more projections extending from at least one side wall of the body, wherein the projections extend from the body such that when in abutment with a side wall of an adjacently located wear element they are operable to control the spacing between the respective side walls.

In accordance with a fifth aspect, there is provided a method of repairing a wear-resistant lining as described in accordance with the fourth aspect, comprising replacing a worn wear element with a new wear element as described in accordance with the first aspect. In accordance with a sixth aspect, there is provided a method of retrofitting wear elements to a wear face, comprising removing an existing wear face protecting arrangement and installing a new wear-resistant lining as described in accordance with the fourth aspect.

Description of the Figures

Figure 1 a shows a wear element having a triangular transverse cross-section, in accordance with an embodiment;

Figure 1 b shows a wear element having a square transverse cross-section, in accordance with an embodiment;

Figure 1 c shows a wear element having a hexagonal transverse cross-section, in accordance with an embodiment;

Figure 2a is a plan view of the wear element of Figure 1 a;

Figure 2b shows a wear-resistant lining incorporating a plurality of the Figure 1 a wear elements adhered to an elastic or semi-elastic layer, in accordance with an embodiment;

Figure 3a is a plan view of the wear element of Figure 1 b;

Figure 3b shows a wear-resistant lining incorporating a plurality of Figure 1 b wear elements adhered to an elastic or semi-elastic layer, in accordance with an embodiment;

Figure 4a is a plan view of the wear element of Figure 1 c; and

Figure 4b shows a wear-resistant lining incorporating a plurality of Figure 1 c wear elements adhered to an elastic or semi-elastic layer, in accordance with an embodiment. Detailed Description of an Embodiment

The present disclosure relates to a wear-resistant lining as well as to individual wear elements for use in a wear-resistant lining. More particularly, and with reference to the Figures, the wear-resistant lining 1 comprises a layer of elastic or semi-elastic material 2 which at least partially covers a wear face (for instance, an inner wall of a grinding mill or a hydrocyclone) and a plurality of wear elements 3. Each of the wear elements 3 comprises a body 3a formed of hard material, such as a ceramic material, which in use is at least partially adhered to the layer of elastic or semi-elastic material 2.

The body 3a of each wear element 3 has a geometric shape comprising a plurality of side walls 3b, with at least one side wall comprising one or more projections 4 extending therefrom. During installation at a wear face surface, the wear elements 3 are positioned on the layer of material 2 such that the projections 4 abut, or are located in close proximity to, a body 3a of an adjacent wear element so as to achieve a controlled wear plate spacing across the lining 1 . The projections 4 may be introduced at least partially into the layer of elastic or semi-elastic material 2 such as rubber, polyurethane or another elastomer. Such positioning allows the wear elements 3 to be better anchored to the layer of elastic or semi-elastic material 2 for withstanding mechanical forces (especially torsion) which may be imparted on the wear elements 3 during operation. This can extend the useful life of the entire lining 1 .

According to the illustrated embodiments, the body 3a of each wear element 3 has a polygonal shape of constant transverse cross-section, although in further embodiments the depth of the elements can vary depending on requirements. A single projection 4 extends from each side wall 3b. The projection 4 is located toward one end of the wall 3b, with a substantially planar portion 3c located toward the other end of the wall 3b. The wear elements 3 are installed in use such that the single projection 4 on each side wall 3b abuts, or is located in close proximity to, the planar portion 3c of a corresponding side wall of an adjacently located wear element 3. Wear elements 3 of this configuration are readily manufactured and have been found to provide optimal performance when installed on the layer of elastic or semi-elastic material 2. An example of an installed wear element 3 configuration is shown in Figure 2(b), whereby the projections 4 are operable to control the spacing of a plurality of triangular shaped wear elements 3, such that the respective side walls of adjacently located elements 3 are in a generally parallel alignment. It will be noted that the projections 4 are not retained or received in any way by the body 3a of an adjacently located wear element 3, but are in an abutting relationship only. This ensures that the afore-described mechanical forces to which the wear elements 3 are subjected during use, are not directly transmitted to other adjacent wear elements, which could result in the wear elements prematurely detaching from the layer 1 . Instead, the wear elements are cushioned by the layer of elastic or semi- elastic material 2 into which the associated projections 4 are embedded.

With particular reference to Figures 1 (a), 1 (b) and 1 (c), there is shown wear elements 3 of triangular, square and hexagonal shape, respectively. The projections 4 are integrally formed with the respective bodies 3, and extend from each side wall 3b thereof. With additional reference to Figures 2(a), 2(b) and 2(c), the projections 4 have a curved exterior profile comprising a curved side wall 5 which terminates in a curved end portion 6. Such a profile prevents concentration stress points in the union between the body 3a of the wear element 3 and its corresponding projections 4, thereby increasing the maximum force which the projections can withstand.

Figures 2(b), 3(b) and 4(b) are partial views of a wear face of an object which has been layered with wear elements of triangular, square and hexagonal shapes, respectively. The choice as to which polygonal shape and size to use for a particular installation may depend on a number of factors, including the profile (for instance curved, straight, and so on) and nature of use of the underlying wear face. According to the illustrated embodiments, the lining 1 comprises a base layer of stiff material to which is stuck the layer of elastic or semi-elastic material 2. Such a configuration may improve the performance of the wear elements 3 when they are installed on the layer of elastic or semi-elastic material 2. A typical installation first comprises laying the elastic or semi-elastic material layer 2 over the base layer. The elements 3 are then singularly installed onto the material layer 2 such that projections on each side wall 3b abut, or are located in close proximity to the planar portion 3c of a corresponding side wall of an adjacently located element 3. Once suitably located, the elements are then at least partially inserted into the layer 2 so as to anchor the projections 4 thereto.

According to the illustrated embodiments, the projections 4 extending from each side wall were of an identical shape. However, in alternative embodiments the projections 4 may have different shapes to as to provide different controlled spacing for different adjacently located wear elements. In other alternative embodiments, the projections 4 may not extend from all side walls 3b of the wear plate body 3a but instead only from a subset thereof, while still providing a controlled spacing between adjacently located wear elements. For example, where the wear element body comprises a square shape, two of the side walls may be provided with a pair of spaced apart projections while the other walls may have a substantially planar surface, for example such that the walls with the projections abut in use, or are located in close proximity to, the substantially planar walls of adjacently located wear elements. Such a configuration would still allow for the wear elements to achieve a controlled spacing as per the example configuration of Figure 3(b).

The use of wear elements as described herein significantly reduces the cost of the wear resistant lining while at the same time facilitating the ease of manufacture/installation since they obviate the need for any auxiliary wear element spacers or any separate anchoring means, as used in conventional linings. Furthermore, the projections 4 may advantageously operate to enhance the bonding between the elements 3 and layer 2, while at the same time operating to minimise the amount of rotational movement that they may experience in use and which can result in early failure of the elements. The wear elements can be made of metal alloy, ceramic or other hard materials.

In the foregoing description of certain embodiments, specific terminology has been resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term includes other technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar technical purpose. Terms such as "upper" and "lower", "above" and "below" and the like are used as words of convenience to provide reference points and are not to be construed as limiting terms.

In this specification, the word "comprising" is to be understood in its "open" sense, that is, in the sense of "including", and thus not limited to its "closed" sense, that is the sense of "consisting only of". A corresponding meaning is to be attributed to the corresponding words "comprise", "comprised" and "comprises" where they appear.

The preceding description is provided in relation to several embodiments which may share common characteristics and features. It is to be understood that one or more features of any one embodiment may be combinable with one or more features of the other embodiments. In addition, any single feature or combination of features in any of the embodiments may constitute additional embodiments.

In addition, the foregoing describes only some embodiments of the inventions, and alterations, modifications, additions and/or changes can be made thereto without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosed embodiments, the embodiments being illustrative and not restrictive.

Furthermore, the inventions have described in connection with what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the inventions. Also, the various embodiments described above may be implemented in conjunction with other embodiments, e.g., aspects of one embodiment may be combined with aspects of another embodiment to realize yet other embodiments. Further, each independent feature or component of any given assembly may constitute an additional embodiment.