Lesson 1/Learning Event 5
SPACE
The area required for your plant will depend on the processes through which the material must pass and the
equipment selected to perform the processes. You must provide space for operation of the equipment to be used
in moving the material to the crusher, for loading or feeding the crusher, for a surge pile, if necessary, to assure
continuous plant operations, and for stockpiling the finished product. You must also provide space for the storage
of various operating and maintenance supplies, and for the operation of the equipment used to outload the final
product. Only the units needed to produce the desired material should be used since an unneeded unit may cause
lower production as well as extra maintenance. However, space for future development of the plant must be
considered since it often happens that the plant as originally designed must be enlarged from time to time.
ACCESS AND HAUL ROADS
Haul roads should be as short as possible and capable of handling the loads expected to be imposed upon them.
Two-way roads to and from the operational area are usually adequate. However, a loop road for one-way traffic
is essential within the operational area so that routes of empty and loaded trucks do not cross.
WATER
When aggregate washing operations are being planned, you can determine the approximate number of gallons of
water per minute which must be provided by multiplying the number of tons of aggregate produced per hour by
10. The problem of providing and disposing of water may be alleviated by the use of a settling basin. These
settling basins prevent contaminated water from running directly into streams and also permit the reuse of water
for washing operations.
UTILITIES
Where possible, you should make maximum use of existing utilities. Commercial electrical power can be used to
operate the electrical components of the crushing equipment. Although the electric motors in the plant are
designed to operate on 60 cycle power, they can be operated on 50 cycle power. This will decrease the efficiency
of the plant and is not recommended for sustained operations, but for short term operations it can be applicable.
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