Civil Engineering March 2021 | Vol 29 No 2

WINNER IN THE INDUSTRIAL CATEGORY Vamosem semi mobile crushing plant The project entailed the fabrication of a complete semi mobile crushing (SMC) plant for a mine in Mozambique. Steel was chosen as the material of construction due to the industrial nature of the project, and the entire SMC plant was detailed and fabricated by local South African companies. Special considerations The design of the SMC plant was under- taken by ThyssenKrupp Germany, while the detailing of the steelwork work was undertaken by Betterect in South Africa. The project included the fabrication of over 1 000 parts, totalling close to 950 tons of steelwork, plate work, grating, and hand railing and the pre-assembly thereof. The fabrication of the steelwork was extremely labour intensive and required the strictest quality requirements as all welds required 100% non-destructive testing and needed to pass either radiographic or ultra- sonic testing. This was due to the enormous loads placed on the steelwork during opera- tion at the mine in Mozambique. There were many technical fabrication requirements which included preheating, welding of exotic materials, laser align- ment, heavy lifts and more. The steelwork was painted with an industrial three-coat paint specification to withstand the gruel- ling exposure to elements and operational requirements. The hopper base frame weighed close to 45 tons and required abnormal transport loads to the site, which included police escorts in some areas en route to the site due to the size of the equipment. Challenges and solutions The large number of loose parts and the uncompromising level of quality were challenges faced on the project. This was a technically challenging project due to the stringent non-destruc- tive testing requirements and the quality of the fabrication by Betterect was ex- tremely high. Overall, it was a successful project, with the equipment currently in operation, and showcases a South African engineering accomplishment.  KEY PLAYERS Client/Developer ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions Structural engineer ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions Steelwork & paintwork contractor Betterect Claddingmanufacturer & contractor Global Roofing 48 March 2021 Civil Engineering