MD DESK
Communism is an art of a political system in which the state owns and controls all factories, farms, services, etc., and aims to treat everyone equally. This was the kind of vision set by our grandfather T.A. Ponnusamy. We remember him on his 6th death anniversary.
“From each according to his ability to each according to his need”. – Karl Marx
INTERNATIONAL NEWS - Green DEF
The Environmental Protection Agency was created in the footsteps of the Clean Air Act of 1970. For 46 years the EPA has been constantly evolving and enacting laws to address the environmental needs of this country. For many years owners of three-quarter and one-ton light duty pickup trucks enjoyed no additional smog equipment on their vehicles. All of that changed in 2008 with the EPA required the use of diesel particulate filters on all three-quarter-ton and larger trucks as well as required biannual smog tests which included a visual inspection of the vehicle to make sure the DPF parts were still on the truck. In 2010 the regulations got even tighter.
Many thought that the era of big power and torque were over and vowed to never purchase a new truck ever again. However, something spectacular happened and the complete opposite thing occurred. It turns out that Americans truly do adapt and overcome. Every one of the manufacturers figured out a way to cut down on the NOx levels all the while making more horsepower and torque than ever before. Innovation is bread out of strife.
What exactly is Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF)?
Diesel Exhaust Fluid Information from a strictly chemical disposition DEF is a mixture of 67.5% deionized water and 32.5% urea.
Urea is a compound in Nitrogen that turns to ammonia when heated and is used in a variety of industries. Urea is technically derived from a by-product of urine but for mass production purposes, it is synthetically made. Most DEF products are regulated by the American Petroleum Institute. Let’s take a look at the science behind DEF when mixed with the exhaust. Chemically, DEF is firstly comprised of (NH2)2CO; and when injected into the hot exhaust gas the water evaporates leaving ammonia and isocyanic acid.
STEP 1: DEF Becomes Ammonia and Isocyanic Acid: (NH2)2CO → NH3 + HNCO
STEP 2: The Isocyanic Acid chemically breaks down with water into Carbon Dioxide and Ammonia:
HNCO + H2O → CO2 + NH3 overall which is this: (NH2)2CO + H2O → 2NH3 + CO2
STEP 3: At this point during the chemical reaction Ammonia will, in the presence of oxygen and a catalyst, will reduce nitrogen oxides:
2NO + 2NH3 + ½O2 -> 2N2 + 3H2O and 3NO2 + 4NH3 -> 7/2N2 + 6H2O
STEP 4: The overall reduction of NOx by urea is:
2(NH2)2CO + 4NO + O2 → 4N2 + 4H2O + 2CO2 and 2(NH2) 2CO + 3NO2 -> 7/2N2 + 4H2O + 2CO2
Where can you buy DEF?
Don’t be fooled into thinking you can buy DEF just anywhere. DEF is mostly sold at truck stops in big jugs containing multiple gallons of the stuff. Some gas stations will carry DEF but don’t count on it if you are in a pickle. It is important to understand if you don’t refill an empty DEF tank the engine will automatically shut down. You don’t want to be stranded somewhere with an empty DEF tank because it is not sold Everywhere.
In Kenya, PRD RIGS Kenya 🇰🇪 has set up a manufacturing plant to manufacture GreenDef. this is the first of its kind available for the high-tech Trucks and Diesel engines of East Africa. PRD once again proving that it’s at the forefront of innovation and adaption.
WHAT’S NEW IN THE FACTORY - 100 TON WEIGHBRIDGE
A weighbridge railroad scale is a large set of scales, usually mounted permanently on a concrete foundation, that is used to weigh entire rail or road vehicles and their contents. By weighing the vehicle both empty and when loaded, the load carried by the vehicle can be calculated.
This process is crucial for all domestics transport as the hauling weight will be punched on the Eway bill and in exports where products are shipped on flat tracks, containers, and RoRo vehicles the weight of each box and equipment will be mention on the customer invoices and as well as port declaration documents to the authorities and Shipping liners.
At Paranthaman Exporters a long project with a steep learning curve happened to install a concrete type weighbridge under the supervision of Mr.Thejesh – ME, with the help of the civil and electrical team and guidance from Mr.Erle and our Honourable Chairman Mr.T.P.Thangaraj. The installation was outsourced and given to M/S.Modern weighbridges – Tirupur. After 6 months of following up with strict quality checks the project was completed and inaugurated with training given to staff on working of the weighbridge with the display of written work instructions.
We once again thank the management for their undivided attention to detail in making changes for a growth-oriented future.
Congratulations to the Team for excellence in execution.
TECHNICAL CORNER - AUGER DRILLING PRACTICE
The drill string and bits
– Hole making and clearing
– Overcoming hole-making problems
THE DRILL STRING AND BITS
Auger rigs use two types of drill strings:
– Continuous auger flight: The flights with internal rod tools are themselves the complete string.
– Short flight or bucket: The auger tools are driven by a solid rod string.
The auger drilling system is unique in that it is operated almost exclusively in unconsolidated or friable formations. It uses drag bits of many different shapes and cutting angles
Continuous flight auger bits
Continuous flight auger bits come in two basic configurations: either finger-type drag bits or ‘vee’ bits. The vee bit is designed to ‘refuse’ on moderately weathered bedrock, and as such is used extensively in site investigation drilling.
The teeth of the bit heads may be hard steel, hard- faced, or fitted with carbide inserts. Carbide-type bits can drill competently in shale, sandstone, and some limestones, and are usually preferred for all round use where boulders are encountered. The teeth on cutter head bits are replaceable. This is convenient, as they can be knocked off when boulders are encountered.
Flights and flight connections
The continuous flights themselves are usually supplied in 1.5 m (5 ft) lengths to fit most machines and for ease of handling because of their heavy construction. When joined together, the flights form a convoy system to move cuttings from the cutter head to the surface.
The pitch of the spiral flighting is preselected by the manufacturer and is designed to lift cuttings easily. Generally, the lesser the pitch, the better the lifting capacity.
Commonly, the pitch for vertical boring is less than the flight diameter by about 60% to 80% (e.g. 4 inch flights have a 2 or 3 inch pitch).
Connections are pin-and-socket or pin-and-box styles, or sometimes threaded. The flights are secured either by friction bolts in the box end or driven ‘D’ pins. Figure 3–79 shows three typical hollow-stem connections.
HOLE MAKING AND CLEARING
Hollow stem augers may be advanced with the entire assembly, as illustrated above. They may also be advanced without the internal rod, using a knock out plug in the lead flight. This is usually expedient in drilling and sampling where heaving is not a problem, saving the step of removing rods to install casing or sampling devices.
The standard drag-type bit used for normal auger drilling can be removed at any stage using a wire line overshot recovery tool. Tests such as SPT can then be carried out inside the hollow auger string, or a stationary sampling (inner) tube can be lowered and locked into position on the wire line, enabling a disturbed ‘core’ of the soil profile to be obtained.
Making cuttings: The cutting, shearing, or tearing action is achieved using high rotary torques. In the larger sizes and in more compact formations, very high thrusts are used to keep the bit penetrating.
Chip clearing: Chips are cleared mechanically with the cutting forces providing the impetus. That is, the chip cut last is pushed away from the bottom and across the cutting edge by the chips being cut next. This clearing action thus draws energy from both the rotary and thrust drives.
OVERCOMING HOLE-MAKING PROBLEMS
Screw in: Hole-making forces are sometimes so great as to cause ‘pull in’, that is, the flight is screwed into the ground instead of advancing the hole. The driller must apply holdback rather than thrust to make the bit feed properly.
If sufficient holdback is not used, the auger string will ‘screw-in’ until the holdback required to reverse the situation is beyond the capacity of the (usually lightweight) machine. It can advance far enough that the augers become ‘planted’, that is, so thoroughly screwed in that pullback and hoisting cannot dislodge them.
Boulders and hard zones: Boulders and isolated zones of harder rock often cause refusal when using drag or cutter head bits. Grinding away with increased feed may do the job; however, watch for deviation.
When using hollow flight augers, another approach is to run a small tricone rock bit on the internal rods. The tricone bit can then be fed with pull-down and circulation if necessary to penetrate or break small boulders or hard rock zones. Normal operations may then be resumed.
Heaving sands: Many references usually state flatly that augering is impractical below the water table.
Since it is used widely in a groundwater monitoring well installation, this is probably not the case, but pressurised, loose saturated sands (heaving sands) can pose a special problem. In this case, if an internal rod is withdrawn or a plug is knocked out, the loose sand, under hydrostatic pressure, moves into the auger. This may lock the auger, or at least require bailing or re-drilling. Bailing may make it worse by creating suction that draws in more sand.
Several techniques can counteract heaving effects and permit hole advancement through such zones:
– Knockout plug: Keeps the sand out temporarily, that is, long enough to drill through or place a casing. The major disadvantage is that it can be used only once. Another is the lack of information on the potentiometric level in the formation. A slotted plug permits water to enter the auger column, allowing measurement of the water level.
– Run internal rods: If you know where the zone is, you can keep the rods in place and drill through.
– Maintain a positive hydraulic head: If the head in the heaving sand is known or can be determined experimentally, a positive head can be maintained in the auger column.
TECH FUTURE - EVOLUTION OF AI
Without any doubt, today’s biggest buzzword is Artificial Intelligence or AI. Most prominent research organizations, including Gartner, McKinsey, and PWC, have glorified the future of AI with mind-blowing statistics and future predictions. We have several examples in our daily lives where we leverage Artificial Intelligence without even noticing. This includes google maps, smart replies in Gmail (2018+), Facebook picture tagging (2015 approx), youtube/NetFlix video recommendations (2016+), etc.
AI will impact every industry as the autonomy of decision making—from self-driving cars to industrial robots.
AI is even more powerful when it is combined with other disruptive technologies. The combination of AI and VR results in better and faster ways to address problems. When machines talk to each other across the Internet of Things (IoT), the exchange of massive amounts of data will trigger automated responses and deliver greater insights, enabling us to solve some of the most pressing global socio-economic issues in the world. In fact, AI has been identified as the next frontier for virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).
Artificial Intelligence and technology in manufacturing is evolution, not revolution
The economic resurrection roadmap for India laid out by the Finance Minister recently, reinforced the Prime Minister’s vision for a self-reliant India. As we envision the country’s overall recovery, there is a need to focus on technology-driven systems that will be a key pillar to building a future-ready India.
For a self-reliant India, a robust local manufacturing sector can act as a strong lever for economic growth. To build a sustainable local manufacturing base significant investment in disruptive technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) enabled machine learning, will be key to bringing down labour costs, reduce product defects, shorten unplanned downtimes, improve transition times and increase production speed. AI can be used to effectively gather data and insights across manufacturing operations from design to delivery, including predictive problem solving by identifying issues that may not be easy to spot.
As the pace of technological advancement continues to quicken, unleashing the true potential of data becomes ever more important. Finding ways to combine operational knowledge and expertise with this data to create actionable insights is what artificial intelligence enables.
– Mr. Kishore Jayaraman, President, Rolls-Royce India & South Asia.
