Application

ABB 2000 T pressure transmitters Case Study: Pressure diaphragm coating for ore slurry processing
Innovative diaphragm coating withstands highly abrasive nickel ore slurry flow
Diamond-like coating minimizes costly unplanned downtime and eliminates need for rubber pads to protect sensor diaphragms
Abrasive nickel ore slurry at the Xstrata Strathcona mill in Onaping, Ontario damages the diaphragm of the pressure transmitter mounted on a group of hydrocyclones for separating oversize particles from fines. The pressure transmitter provides important information on separation performance. Retrofitting a rubber pad over the diaphragms delays the need to replace the pressure transmitters, but represents a less than ideal solution. Loss of the pressure transmitter causes costly downtime of the entire grinding circuit. Mining nickel ore Xstrata PLC is a global diversified mining group with its headquarters in Zug, Switzerland. In the standard process for nickel ore at Xstrata Nickel in Canada, the mill first open circuit grinds ore in a rod mill and then in a ball mill. The grinding circuit separates coarse oversize ore from the fine material, using hydrocyclones arranged in a circle, called a cyclopack. Underflow from the cyclopack recycles to the ball mill for further grinding. The desired nickel ore fines in the cyclopack overflow proceed to further processing. As shown in the diagram, the ore slurry from the ball mill feeds the cyclopack of hydrocyclones from a central bottom location. According to Brian Couling, Electrical and Instrumentation supervisor at the mill, the nickel ore slurry with 70% solids enters the bottom of the cyclopack through a 14-inch pipeline. The slurry travels up to the pot head, which distributes the fluid evenly to the circle of cyclones, says Couling. We measure the pressure at the top of the pot head, he says. At a flowrate of 200 to 400 cubic meters per hour the slurry is literally sandblasting this pressure measuring system. He notes that the solids material

Figure 1. The cyclopack separates desirable nickel ore fines from oversize. The oversize ore in the underflow recycles back to the ball mill.

in the slurry ranges up to 12.5 mm in diameter, but most is about 1.1 mm. Couling explains that the pressure sensor indicates how well the cyclopack is working in the grinding circuit. Based on the pressure reading, the operators turn individual hydrocyclones on and off. If the pressure rises they add more cyclones and vice versa. The operators essentially adjust the number of working cyclones to maintain optimum pressure. In this particular mill we have five cyclopacks monitored by pressure sensors, says Couling. The measured pressure range is relatively low, about 7 to 12 psig. So we have a high flow, low pressure system of an extremely abrasive slurry. In the past, the mill covered the measuring diaphragm with a rubber pad to

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protect the pressure sensors and extend their life. But one or two failures a year caused downtime losses amounting to thousands of dollars per hour. ABB Solution: Ron Howarth, Transmitter Product Manager for ABB Instrumentation in Canada, chose the mill as a beta site for an innovative diaphragm coating called Diaflex. The coated diaphragms were specified for ABB's 264 direct flange-mounted pressure transmitter (2600T series). For this trial, Xstrata directly replaced the competitive pressure sensor without adding a rubber protective pad for the sensing diaphragm. According to ABB Instrumentation, Diaflex is a nano-

Diaflex has a hardness similar to that of diamond. But the deposition technology permits a good spring rate value to ensure good diaphragm flexing for process temperatures ranging from -100C to 700C. Results The ABB pressure transmitter has been operating for more than two years without the need for a rubber protective pad on the diaphragm. Xstrata has converted the other four cyclopacks in the mill to ABB 264 pressure transmitters with the Diaflex-coated stainless steel diaphragms. Xstrata is now in the process of testing Diaflex coated transmitter diaphragms on other tough and demanding applications in the mill.

Contact:
Figure 2. The pressure transmitter mounted on the pot head of the cyclopack monitors hydrocyclone performance.

ABB Instrumentation 125 East County Line Road Warminster, PA 18974 USA Tel: +1 215 674 6000 Fax: +1 215 674 7183 www.abb.com/instrumentation ABB 2012 All rights reserved

Figure 3. Micrograph from a scanning electronic microscope shows the structure and adhesion of Diaflex (right) coated on a 316 L SST diaphragm (left).

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structured material with anti-abrasion physical characteristics. Constituents of the coating are titanium and silicon (SiTiN) of the nitrides class. Using a process called physical vapor deposition, ABB coats the sensor's 316 stainless steel diaphragm to a thickness ranging from 3 to 5 m.