ACCESS to a ventilation fan performance test column installed at Marthinusen & Coutts Zambia, a division of Actom, offers a major advantage to mines on the Zambian and DRC Copperbelt.
That’s according to General Manager Eugene Lottering, who said this was the only fan test column in the region. Commissioned at the Kitwe-based facility in the second quarter of 2018, the custom engineered feature will assist with verification of ventilation fan performance following repair work prior to installation.
The test column has been designed to perform tests in accordance with the current BS ISO 5801:2007 standard and equipped with common test airways with a 1 016mm diameter. Interchangeable conical inlet throats with diameters of 766mm and 1 016mm allow underground operating conditions to be simulated with ease.
Lottering says that while subjecting the ventilation fan to operating conditions, it is possible to test various critical parameters including static pressure, air flow, shaft power and speed, vibration and kW rating as well as overall total efficiency. “The test facility allows for accurate reporting data to be produced which provides assurance for customers that the ventilation fan will meet the operating criteria,” he said.
Marthinusen & Coutts Zambia has a selection of OEM reference fans should it be necessary to test these on the column for verification purposes.
Recently, the company conducted a comparative test for a customer on ventilation fan installations. Lottering says that interestingly the competitor installation only achieved 64% on a 45kW fan and 50% on a 37kW fan, while the Marthinusen & Coutts fans both achieved an 80% rating.
Marthinusen & Coutts has also established a working alliance for the service and repair of main and auxiliary fans with TLT Actom. “This collaboration brings together the expertise of a fan technology specialist and the experience of a leading electrical rotating service and repair operator.”