Corrosion & Abrasion Solution for Aggregate Hoppers
Get more life out of your Hoppers!
Category: Corrosion & Abrasion Resistance
Project: Protective Coatings for Aggregate Hoppers
Rhino Products: Rhino Linings® TUFF STUFF®
Job Description:
Customer: West coast based aggregate operation focused on the production of concrete aggregate mixtures.
Problem: The customer was having severe problems with constant corrosion and abrasion on their steel aggregate hoppers. The company used bolted-down plastic liners as protection on their hoppers. The plastic liners provided some marginal life to the steel hoppers; however, they had their problems. Since the liners were bolted in place, aggregate and moisture would get trapped behind the liners allowing for continued corrosion. In turn, the liners began to sag and deform where the aggregate impacted the liner. This would cause them to break off and fail. In the long run, bolted-on plastic liners proved to be a very expensive non-solution.
Solution: The company turned to Rhino Linings to line their new aggregate hopper as a test. In order to measure the wear on the lining, a decision made to go with a two-layer application. First, the new weigh hopper was sandblasted to a SP5 or SP10 finish. After the sandblasting was completed, the steel finish was then primed with Rhino Linings’ Primer 251. Once the primer was allowed to dry, the applicator then applied a ¼” (.635 cm) layer of red Rhino Linings TUFF STUFF, as a wear indicator.
Next, the applicator applied ¾” (1.91 cm) black Rhino Linings TUFF STUFF as the actual wear layer. TUFF STUFF is tack free and cures in less than one minute. Due to the abrasive nature of this application, the lining was allowed 24 hours total cure time, permitting it to completely cross link and cure, and maximizing its physical properties.
Results: Two years later, an inspection of the lining showed no visible wear to the 1” (2.54 cm) thick Rhino Linings’ TUFF STUFF application on the company’s aggregate hopper. This is due to the exceptional wear characteristics of TUFF STUFF and the monolithic adhesion of the product as a uniform application to the steel. Traditional ASTM pull tests show TUFF STUFF to exceed 2,000-psi pull standards.
Since the success of the initial application on its hoppers, the company has utilized Rhino Linings in several other applications, including standard aggregate hoppers and aluminum discharge chutes attached to the company’s mix trucks. Applying Rhino Linings’ TUFF STUFF to the discharge chutes prevented adhesion of the concrete to the walls of the chute and provided an easy-to-clean surface.