South Africa-based Mine Support Products (MSP) launched its new in-house dynamic testing facility in Vereeniging last month, which it says is the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere.

The R3.5-million investment consists of a vertical press that can accurately simulate underground seismic activity by testing static loads of up to 100 t and dynamic loads of 40 t at 3 m/s.

MSP GM Conrad Engelbrecht said at the launch that this was the first time since the decommissioning of the Terratec press seven years ago at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, in Pretoria, that a company was able to comply with the Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA).

“This facility will, therefore, give us a strategic advantage in the market. It was commissioned in August and the company hopes to also commission a horizontal press by the end the year,” he said.

Being MHSA compliant, the press can test units up to 4.2 m in length.

MSA can also test all its products in real-life applications, as opposed to depending on computer software simulations.

The vertical press has an adjust- able top platen to test different-sized samples. A bottom base, which houses the hydraulic cylin- der, extends 3.5 m underground and has a moveable middle platen.

Two large accumulators pressurise and store hydraulic oil and this allows for enough energy to be stored to produce 6 850 ℓ/m, which is needed to achieve the 3 m/s movement of the middle platen.

The oil is released into the cylinder through two 100 mm logic valves, which MSA says is the largest in Africa.

“When oil is released at such high pressures and speeds, it causes the middle platen to jolt up at 3 m/s, which simulates various degrees of seismic activity that may be encountered underground. Further, the middle platen of the press moves up from the bottom at 30 mm/minute during the static load testing and up to 100 t of force,” Engelbrecht explained.

A load deformation graph is then plotted for analysis.

Meanwhile, Engelbrecht stated that the facility would not only add significant value to the company’s products and service offering but that it would also enable MSP to work closely with rock engineers to determine their exact requirements for specific projects.

“It also places MSP in the unique position of being the only company in the local market that can fully substantiate its product quality in terms of physical testing. The facility has been developed for in-house quality control and product development purposes and will, therefore, not be used for income generation or to undertake testing on competitors’ products,” he concluded.