Bag Splitting Hopper

Abstract

Nutrien Rocanville Potash (NRP) is a Saskatchewan based producer of potash fertilizer that wished to address safety concerns associated with the reagent addition process. This process currently requires operators to work to underneath a suspended 1000 [kg] load without a safeguard, putting them in a serious injury or fatality risk. The objective of this project was to develop a design by December 4ththat reduces the time the operator spends in the “line-of-fire” from ?? to 0 seconds, increases the height adjustability of the current support structure from 7 to 18 inches, provides the operators the ability to stop product flow for maintenance, and maintains the required ultimate factor of safety(FOS) of 5.Customer needs were used to identify components of the design that would be required to achieve the target specifications which included: a structural safeguard, bag opening method, bag closing method and a height adjust feature. Team brainstorming sessions produced a number of potential design solutions for each design component. A rigorous multistep screening and evaluating process was then applied until a final design concepts remained. The Bag Splitting Hopper was chosen as the concept the team would move forward with as it best met the customer’s needs. A Failure Mode and Effects Analysis was conducted by the team to strengthen weak areas of the design which added additional components to the overall design. A 3D model of the design was created to meet the initial and newly discovered requirements. Analytical analysis of the material strength and ergonomics of the structure was then conducted, followed by numerical analysis to corroborate the analytical results and explore areas for optimization. After the design was complete, material and fabrication quotes were collected and came within budget. The team then compiled all information needed by the customer into this report for them to make an informed decision moving forward. The team achieved the project objectives by developing a design that: completely removed the operator from the line of fire, increased the bag height adjustability to 1?” and added15”ofadditionaladjustability for the entire structure, utilized a slide gate and chute for complete flow control, with all...