M E C H A N I Z E D C L E A N I N G OF CARS

O. L I v a n o v UDC g25.24:621.7. 023

Consider that the level of mechanization of main services in a number of metallurgical works is by and large

90@0, while that of the auxiliary services, such as loading and unloading operations is still low - only 71% for the

Azovstal Works (according to data of 1964). This is mainly due to the fact that problems on such labor-consuming

operations as the unloading of cars of the Ministry of Transport, including the opening and closing of hatches in

gondolas, c leaning of cars in the conditions of industrial enterprises, and so on, have not yet found a proper techni-

cal solution. There are no recommended standard methods for the mechanizat ion of the complex treatment of

dumpcars, transfer cars, and hopper cars, since for large enterprises with a freight turnover of over 2.5 m tons per

annum, it is expedient tobui ld car dumpers which do not require either opening and closing of gondola hatches or any cleaning of the carriage of the cars (and in the latest design of car dumpers, also the cleaning of the gondola

bodies). However, it is not expedient to build car dumpers for enterprises and departments with a small freight turnover, because of the high cost of the car dumpers. In view of the fact that up to now the leading design offices

were unable to produce designs of highly efficient plants for cleaning dumpcars, transfer cars, hopper cars, and so

forth, a number of enterprises have attempted to solve this problem independently. A gas stream from an aircraft

engine was used experimental ly at the Azovstat Works for removing the remainders of ore and sinter from the cars. To carry out the experiment, a th in-wal led 600 mm diameter pipe was suspended from wires over one of the tracks

in operation at the Azovstal Works, so that its upper end, bent in a radius of 2000 ram, was 5600 mm above the axis

of the track and directed the gas stream, and the other end was gradually sloping to a height of 1500 mm above the axis of the adjacent siding and was tightly fastened to a special support (Fig. 1).

In the experiment, a jet snow-plough of the Azovstal Works with a VK-1 engine was taken by a Diesel loco- motive to a siding, and with its nozzle connected to the lower end of the 600 mm diameter pipe suspended from

wires. The gondolas with sinter and ore remainders after unloading were pulled under the pipe by the Diesel loco- motive at 8-4 km/h over a parallel track. Moreover, the gor{dola hatches were shut in some cars and widely open

in others. The rating of the VK-1 turbojet engine for c leaning the cars was: the number of revolutions of the tur- bine was 8-10 thousand~rain, and the temperature of waste gas was 400-500~

On cleaning four dumpcars with closed hatches, it was found that the standard of cleaning was low and a

large quantity of dust was produced. After eight dumpcars with all hatches open had been cleaned, neither sinter

nor ore remainders could be detected. However, a large quantity of dust was blown out of the cars. This dust i m - peded the control of the operating plant over a radius of 10-15 m. Cars were cleaned in similar operating plants in

the Kemerovo region and at the Makeevka Byproduct Coke Plant without dust settling.

At the Azovstal Works, to reduce dust formation,

attempts were made to introduce water at a pressure of

6 atm into the gas stream through a ll/z " diameter pipe-

line. For this purpose, a 11/2" diameter annular pipe was

fixed to the upper end of the pipeline. The annular pipe

was connected to the water mains by an annular slit, 5

mm wide, which allowed the water to flow out in a per- pendicular direction to the gas stream. Moreover, the

water flowing out from the slit changed into a fine spray

which wetted the dust particles and increased their set-

tling rate. However, the total quantity of unsettled dust was considerable.

As a result of the investigations, a system was de- veloped for feeding water into the gas pipeline at the

joint between the jet engine and the pipeline. Using Fig. t. Plant for c leaning cars. this method, five 1/2 ~ diameter nozzle-pipes, in=a l led

Azovstal Works. Translated from Metallurg, No. 10, pp. 37-38, October, 1968.

559

Fig. 2. Car after cleaning.

in a position perpendicular to the gas pipeline, were connected to the annular water pipeline. When the water was fed through the nozz l e -

pipes into the gas pipeline, the water not only became a tomized, but it changed into wet saturated steam. The vapor-gas stream directed into the dumpcar bodies blew out the remainder of the charge through the open hatches, and the vapor jacket enveloping the dumpcar from al l sides wetted the suspended, very fine sinter part icles and prevented

their propagation beyond the vapor sphere. In this case, the standard of c leaning was high (Fig. 2). Thus, the method using a vapor-gas stream for c leaning dumpcars is ra t ional and efficient.

The addi t ional changes, which wil l have to be made in the plant design, should be noted. R became necessary to build devices for opening the dumpcar hatches before c leaning and for closing the

dumpcar hatches after cleaning. When the dumpcars with open hatches are moved from the unloading site to the c leaning plant, even

over a short distance, the remaining charge drops from the hatches onto the rai lroad bed. One of the methods of closing the hatches by using the gas stream of the same engine wil l be developed at the

Azovstal Works.

It was also necessary to reduce the noise. During the dumpcar c leaning operations, the level of noise from the working engine was

very high (up to 200 db). It was, therefore, necessary to develop a re l iab le method for reducing the noise of the engine in the c leaning plant, or to instal l the engine in a special , soundproof building. The hearing organs of the

service personnel had to be protected by headsets or by other individual means.

VI-IF radio transmitters should be used as means of communicat ion between the locomot ive driver and the operator. The engine should be remotely control led from a p lace which ensures good vis ibi l i ty of the moving train with the locomotive and of the vapor-gas pipel ine with the jet engine. On the cleaning sites, special protecting screens should be instalIed along the t rack over a distance covering the length of a dumpcar. These screens should

protect the attending personnel against remainders of the charge flying from the dumpcars. A light vent pipe, 10- 18 m high, should a lso be ins ta l led above the cleaning site. To remove the c leaning products (i~i the case of dump- cars which are not c leaned on the unloading site), a machine (a scraper, bulldozer, or other machines) for shoveling

up or loading the charge into a special hopper or dumpcar, should be provided.

Taking into account the fact that the fuel consumption of the VK-1 engine is 800-700 kg of petrol per hour, the engine should be converted for use with Diesel oil as in hovercrafts, in which aircraft turboprops are used, to reduce the cos to fdumpcar cleaning. To c lean the carr iage and the ridge beams of dumpcar bodies, a lower branch

of the main gas supply should be buil t underneath the ra i l road bed of the track and the gas stream should be directed ver t ica l ly . This ins ta l la t ion is in operation at the Karakub Ore Mining Board and at the Makeevka Byproduct Coke

Plant.

Assuming that the cost of dumpcar c leaning by using je t engines running on petrol is close to the cost of man-

ual cleaning, i t is advisable to use this method in industrial enterprises after adopting the above measures.

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