ICS-200 Ceramic Epoxy was used with Protec repair compounds to extend the service life of aging Warman® abrasive duty pumps at a mineral sands operation in western Canada.

One challenge faced by this operation was holing through to re-enforcements, typically on the elastomer impellers and parts, which led to catastrophic parts failures with chunking out of material.

ICS Wear Group drew on the company’s thorough understanding of slurry wear mechanics to find a solution which more than doubled component service life. The addition of ICS-200 Ceramic Epoxy dramatically improved the service life of both Warman® and after-market parts.

No change was made to maintenance cycles. The only change was the use of ICS-200 Ceramic Epoxy.

Details of case study

Location: Mineral Sand operation in Western Canada
Equipment: Warman® 10x8G Slurry Pump.
Materials: Polyurethane liners and impeller.
Duty: Heavy sand loading to 45% c/w
Impeller Life: 20 weeks
Maintenance Cycle: 20 weeks

Objectives

  • Aim to remove impeller and throatbush at 20 week cycle prior to catastrophic failure.
  • Rebuild worn areas of impeller and matching components using ICS-200 Ceramic Epoxy reinforced rebuild material.
  • Replace into duty with goal to run for same maintenance cycle.
  • Repeat cycle as many times as possible for greater cost effectiveness.

Outcomes

The ceramic epoxy repair was successful and allowed the impeller to achieve the desired service life over a 20 week maintenance cycle.

  • Newly worn locations rebuilt with ICS-200 Ceramic Epoxy.
  • Cycle will be repeated indefinitely until the impeller is deemed unfit for service – results to date indicate
  • 60%-plus increase in service life.

Benefits

  • Reduced waste and environmental impact through equipment recycling.
  • Reduced cost as impeller will be used through multiple cycles.
  • Results and benefits can be applied across plant for additional savings.

Cost Implications

Historically it was not cost effective to consider parts rebuilt with repair compounds as no available product was able to match and/or exceed the strength of the parent material. The ICS-200 Ceramic Epoxy range of products provides a solution with SiC and Aramid fibre infused epoxy based repair compounds.

Now you can expect to achieve wear equal or better than that of the parent material by repairing with ICS-200 Ceramic Epoxy during your first repair cycle. The patented composition of ICS-200 mimics the microstructures of hard wearing carbides and does so in a matrix that can be easily applied and cured in less than an hour.

Our ICS-200 Epoxy includes Aramid fibre reinforced with a matrix of SiC particles which can be customized to be specific to the duty requirements and particle size distribution of the original material. With ICS-200, cut, gouge and tear mechanics of wear are significantly retarded. The high concentration of SiC particles and Aramid fibres knit the material together, protecting the component against the impact of abrasive solids.

When used in high wear zones of liners, pipes, screens, mills etc., ICS-200 can significantly reduce the abrasion wear on your machinery. As creators of the epoxy, we can also customize ICS-200 to match specific use requirements.

Cost Analysis of ICS-200 wear protection

As shown below, use of ICS-200 ceramic epoxy can save you thousands of dollars. The example below is based on approximate costs covering the service life of two 10×8 size slurry pumps, one of which has main components protected with ICS-200 and one which is not protected.

Not Protected by ICS-200 Ceramic Epoxy Protected With ICS-200 Ceramic Epoxy
1st cycle Impeller & Throatbush replacement
Item Quantity Cost$ Extended$ $7,700
Impeller 1 $5,000 $5,000
Throatbush 1 $2,200 $2,200
ICS-200 0 — —
Labour 1 $500 $500
Total $7,700
2nd cycle Impeller & Throatbush replacement
Item Quantity Cost$ Extended$ $15,400
Impeller 1 $5,000 $5,000
Throatbush 1 $2,200 $2,200
ICS-200 0 — —
Labour 1 $500 $500
Total $7,700
3rd cycle Impeller & Throatbush replacement
Item Quantity Cost$ Extended$ $23,100
Impeller 1 $5,000 $5,000
Throatbush 1 $2,200 $2,200
ICS-200 0 — —
Labour 1 $500 $500
Total $7,700
1st cycle Impeller & Throatbush replacement
Item Quantity Cost$ Extended$ $7,700
Impeller 1 $5,000 $5,000
Throatbush 1 $2,200 $2,200
ICS-200 0 — —
Labour 1 $500 $500
Total $7,700
2nd cycle Impeller & Throatbush rebuilt with ICS-200
Item Quantity Cost$ Extended$ $9,200
Impeller 0 — —
Throatbush 0 — —
ICS-200 0 — $1,000
Labour 1 $500 $500
Total $1,500
3rd cycle Impeller & Throatbush
rebuilt with ICS-200
Item Quantity Cost$ Extended$ $10,700
Impeller 0 — —
Throatbush 0 — —
ICS-200 1 $1000 $1000
Labour 1 $500 $500
Total $1,500
Benefit: $0.00 Benefit: $12,400

Our line of ceramic wear epoxy outperforms competing products like Belzona, Devcon, and Nordbak at a 3 to 1 ratio under similar conditions. ICS-200 gives you the option of either:

  • Protecting your pre-existing castings or
  • Re-building such items as pump casings, impellers, moils, truck liners, grizzly roll bars, and all crusher and mill liners.

This product is consumer friendly coming complete with MSDS sheets, but most importantly, with applied heat, will cure in less than one hour.