Compressed air leakage accounts for up to 42% of electrical energy loss on a typical
mine compressed air system. By using underground control valves it is possible to
reduce the amount of air leakage. Underground valve control was successfully
implemented in a South African mine. The project implementation and achieved
results are documented in this study.
The implementation of underground control valves initially requires a large capital
investment. In this study the electrical and financial savings realised by underground
valve control and surface valve control were calculated. The payback periods for
each control strategy were determined and compared.
It was determined that underground valve control can realise up to 40% higher
electrical savings than surface control. Depending on the size of the mine and due to
the large initial investment, the payback period for an underground valve control
system can be up to six times longer than that of a surface control system. / MIng (Mechanical Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/12059 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Van der Linde, Stephanus Nicolaas |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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