Mining system solutions supplier Becker Mining South Africa has delivered 12 uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems to a local coal mine to enhance safety and prevent unnecessary downtime.

These specially designed UPS systems ensure continuous operation of the mine’s programmable logic controller (PLC) system, particularly during power outages.

“This UPS system was developed by Becker Mining specialists, as a dependable power backup system for the PLC system, which controls critical functions at the mine. These operations include all conveyer belt safety systems installed, such as gas monitoring and speed, slippage and load control instrumentation,” explains Becker Mining South Africa operations and systems VP Nico de Lange.

“In the event of a power outage, the PLC would not be able to function without the backup of a reliable UPS system. “The interruption of belt system and sensor monitoring would prevent normal operations and lead to costly downtime and could also become a major safety issue.”

During a power outage, the UPS system needs to supply the specified load, to ensure the electrical system continues efficient operation, for a specified time.

In this particular project, the 3.5 kVA system, with a two-hour backup time, has been designed to supply a full load current of 15 A at 220 V. This ensures the PLC system, with multiple outlets, runs efficiently even in the event of a power failure.

As this PLC system consists of many electronic devices, a pure sign wave is required to reduce induced electrical noises generated from the circuit. Without this critical feature, electronic components could malfunction and become a major safety risk, also causing costly downtime.

The enclosures of Becker’s UPS systems have an Ingress Protection rating of IP 65, which guards against the ingress of dust and jets of water. This protection feature is particularly important in arduous underground conditions.

These interconnected UPS systems, with Ethernet and RS232 connectivity, can be controlled or remotely managed and monitored from the control station. This means, in the event of a system failure, critical decisions can be made ahead of schedule to prevent a disaster or unnecessary downtime.

Becker Mining South Africa offers a technical advisory and support service throughout the country to ensure total reliability of its extensive range of equipment.