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Surface mining operations subject equipment to some of the harshest wear environments found in industry. Abrasive particles, impact forces, erosion, and corrosion can rapidly degrade critical components, reducing equipment life and contributing to costly maintenance and production downtime.
To combat these conditions, mining companies often rely on highly wear-resistant materials such as cemented tungsten carbide tiles. While these materials provide exceptional protection against wear, traditional attachment methods have proven less reliable in demanding operating environments. Component failures caused by tile detachment can compromise equipment performance and increase maintenance costs.
Through the MARIOS Consortium, InnoTech Alberta led a collaborative effort to address this long-standing industry challenge. Working with the Royce Institute in the United Kingdom and the University of British Columbia, researchers evaluated advanced manufacturing approaches capable of producing next-generation wear-resistant materials.
The team identified spark plasma sintering (SPS), an advanced manufacturing technology that uses high electrical currents and short processing cycles to consolidate difficult-to-manufacture materials while minimizing unwanted chemical reactions. The process offered an opportunity to redesign conventional tungsten carbide wear tiles for improved attachment performance.
Using SPS technology, the team successfully developed a weldable cemented tungsten carbide tile that could be directly integrated into mining equipment. Testing demonstrated attachment strengths more than twice those achieved using conventional brazed joints, significantly improving resistance to detachment under severe operating conditions.
The enhanced joint performance increases component reliability and enables operators to realize the full wear-protection benefits of tungsten carbide in demanding mining applications.
The innovation is now progressing towards commercial adoption. Alberta-based manufacturer Apollo Machine and Welding is piloting an industrial-scale production process, helping translate research outcomes into practical solutions for the mining industry.
By combining advanced manufacturing technologies with industry-focused research, InnoTech Alberta and its partners have developed a promising solution that could improve equipment reliability, reduce maintenance requirements, and lower operating costs for resource-sector operators.
