Custom built E-Houses offer a rapid and cost-effective alternative to the building of brick and mortar substations, and this is especially true in an underground application. This is one of the reasons why Zibulo Colliery contracted Shaw Controls, a division of Zest WEG Manufacturing, to design and manufacture an E-House for its operation in the Mpumalanga coalfields.
Containerised electrical control installations in underground applications are not new. Bevan Richards, COO of Shaw Controls, says the concept was first used during the sinking of many of South Africa’s gold mining vertical shafts when ISO marine containers were equipped with mimic panels and other ancillary equipment.
“However, the evolution and development of pre-manufactured electrical substations or E-Houses has opened up numerous possibilities including the ability to completely customise the unit according to process and plant requirements,” explains Richards.
Specifically tailored for this underground application in a coal mine, the E-House was designed with several specific parameters taking precedence. Underground height restrictions meant that the structure itself had to be lower than usual but would still need to accommodate all necessary electrical equipment and allow sufficient headroom for cooling.
Richards says it is testimony to Shaw Controls’ mechanical design capability that its engineers were able to design such a low profile steel structure that could house all the equipment and still maintain the requisite internal clearances. He says that extensive use was made of Solid Works CAD software during the design process and this ensured the integrity of the design. Operation in a coal mining application brings with it additional specifications and these were met by equipping the E-House with a fire detection and suppression system.
The complete E-House including the base, cladding (side walls and roof) and all internal electrical equipment was designed and manufactured by Shaw Controls at its modern comprehensively equipped facility in Johannesburg. The system was integrated internally at the factory and the complete solution, load tested in the factory environment to prove its functionality prior to installation underground.
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