Port Waratah Coal Services (PWCS) and Bechtel Australia wish to upgrade conveyor throughput at the Kooragang Island coal handling facility, while minimising shutdown time. Developing an improved understanding of the extreme loading, the fatigue loading, and the resistance of the conveyor structures is critical to the efficient upgrade of the facility.

Texcel’s initial scoping study identified key insights into system behaviour, and utilising existing data, enabled the fatigue loading spectra to be refined. The analysis of this data provided a revised method for estimating the fatigue life of conveyor structures.

An improved understanding of the in-service performance of the conveyor system is assisting Bechtel Australia and PWCS to upgrade the conveyors with minimal downtime. The end result will be a higher throughput of coal through one of the worlds biggest export facilities.