A traction thickener located at an iron ore mine in South Africa experienced a rake arm failure in 2018. GES Tech Group was retained by the owners to determine the root cause of the upset condition that led to the failure. Inspections on-site and interviews of operating personnel were conducted as part of this investigation. Non-linear static and dynamic finite element analyses (FEA) were also employed in the accident reconstruction requested by the client.
The damaged rake arm, the simulated loading curve applied to the model, and a selection of slides from the final forensic report are presented below:
