13. August 2018 – Christian Jan Heiner Wolterink

DAAD scholarship holder from the Ohio State University at the Institute of Mineral Processing Machines

Sarah from the Ohio State University in the laboratories of the Institute of Mineral Processing Machines (IAM) TU Bergakademie Freiberg mechanical engineering studies Prof. Holger Lieberwirth
Sarah from the Ohio State University in the laboratories of the Institute of Mineral Processing Machines (IAM) (click to enlarge)

The several week long study visit of Sarah Schulz has come to an end. Starting on 11 June 2018, the mechanical engineering student from the Ohio State University has been working on a variety of research topics at the Institute of Mineral Processing Machines (IAM). Among other things, she has determined the rebound resilience of different glass spheres using high-speed recordings, and has taken part in a student internship at our pilot plant in a nearby quarry.

Shortly before completing her stay at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Sarah reflects on her time at our institute as follows: Continue reading “DAAD scholarship holder from the Ohio State University at the Institute of Mineral Processing Machines”

11. August 2018 – Christian Jan Heiner Wolterink

Floating rocks in processing plant in the south of Leipzig

During a recent visit of the Institute of Mineral Processing Machines (IAM) of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg to one of the most modern processing plants in Germany in the southern part of Leipzig, we have been able to witness first hand the recycling of end-of-life cars, railroad wagons, and other metal-containing products.

In the interplay between comminution, classification, and sorting by different components, such as miscellaneous types of metal, plastic, rubber, and mineral constituents, almost pure, homogeneous fractions are created in the end. In doing so, the most diverse physical effects, from the electrical conductivity to the radiopacity, are used in particular for the automatic sorting by means of modern processing machines. The ultimate goal is to replace the manual re-sorting, which is still required today for quality reasons, with reliable automated processes in the future. Continue reading “Floating rocks in processing plant in the south of Leipzig”

04. August 2018 – Christian Jan Heiner Wolterink

Valuable addition for the pilot plant of the IAM: New experimental possibilities in the quarry thanks to new screening machine!

From the inventory of the quarry, a screening machine (circular vibratory screen), that had previously been used for the classification of gravel, has been made available to the Institute of Mineral Processing Machines (IAM).

The additional machine significantly increases the research possibilities in the pilot plant. The coarsely crushed material coming from the different crushers can now be directly classified on site. That, for instance, allows for a closed-loop circulation to control the particle size distribution of the crushed product.

  • Screening machine (circular vibratory screen) at the former site quarry gravel crushed stone rock grit processing Institute of Mineral Processing Machines IAM TU Freiberg Holger Lieberwirth
    Screening machine (circular vibratory screen) at the former site in the quarry at the gravel processing plant (click to enlarge)

03. August 2018 – Christian Jan Heiner Wolterink

IAM in the quarry: No sweet without sweat – literally!

Pilot plant in the quarry of the Institute of Mineral Processing Machines (IAM) of the TU Freiberg
Pilot plant of the IAM in the morning sunshine (click to enlarge)

In glorious sunshine, yet scorching temperatures of 36 degrees C in the shade and more than 50 degrees C in the sun, conducting experiments in our pilot plant in the quarry this week was a real sweaty affair!

Nevertheless, our well-established team under the leadership of Dr. Klaus Meltke managed to finish all of the planned tests ahead of schedule! The only question is: Was that despite or because of the heat? 😉