Train Precision

Loading System™

1730 Old Gray Station Road

Gray, TN 37615

(423) 282-9900 (v)

(423) 282-3118 (f)

www.picor.biz
Table of Contents
PICOR TRAIN PRECISION LOADING SYSTEM™ ..................................................................................... 3
Surge Bin .................................................................................................................................................. 3
Weigh Bin Charging Gate ........................................................................................................................ 4
Weigh Bin ................................................................................................................................................. 4
Weigh Bin Discharge Gate ....................................................................................................................... 4
Transition Chute ....................................................................................................................................... 4
Flex Seals ................................................................................................................................................. 5
Loading Chute .......................................................................................................................................... 5
Load Cells ................................................................................................................................................ 6
Test Weights ............................................................................................................................................ 6
Air Exchange Ducts .................................................................................................................................. 7
Surge Bin Level Monitor ........................................................................................................................... 7
Hydraulic Power Unit ................................................................................................................................ 7
Hydraulic Building .................................................................................................................................... 7
Operator's Control Room ......................................................................................................................... 8
General PLC Overview ............................................................................................................................. 8
PLC System .............................................................................................................................................. 8
Operator Console ...................................................................................................................................... 9
Operation................................................................................................................................................... 9
Check In Sequence ................................................................................................................................. 10
SEQUENCE OF OPERATIONS ................................................................................................................. 12
STRUCTURAL STEEL ............................................................................................................................... 14
Floors ...................................................................................................................................................... 14
Ladders ................................................................................................................................................... 14
Stairs ....................................................................................................................................................... 14
Handrails ................................................................................................................................................. 14
Siding, Doors, and Ventilators ............................................................................................................... 14
Painting ................................................................................................................................................... 14
ENGINEERING .......................................................................................................................................... 15
Installation .................................................................................................................................................. 15
Start-up and Training ............................................................................................................................. 15

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PICOR TRAIN PRECISION LOADING SYSTEM™
The PICOR Train Precision Loading System™ covered by this specification is capable of loading,4000
tons per hour of Coal. Assuming the railcars have a capacity of 60 tons each, the PICOR Train Precision
Loading System™ is capable of loading a 4,000 ton train in less than one hour. The benefits of this
PICOR system include:
Highly accurate batch weighing process, with the ability to achieve railcar loading tolerances of
less than 1.0 %.
Compact design to allow for reduction in fabrication, installation and civil costs.
Highly accurate, high speed, low maintenance, precision charging and discharging gates.
Funnel flow bin design, as opposed to mass flow design, allows for reduced wear and
maintenance costs.
Circular design reduces wind load on structure reducing the initial capital cost in structural steel
components and foundations.
PICOR’S chute design delivers a consistent load profile in each railcar resulting in even load
distribution.
Minimization of fugitive dust emissions at the loading point.

The PICOR Train Precision Loading System™ will consist of the following:

Surge Bin
The surge bin will have a capacity of 500 tons and will be cylindrical in shape with a conical hopper lined
with AR liner plate. The surge bin shell will be fabricated from 6mm mild steel with structural stiffeners as
required and be equipped with an access opening. The top of the surge bin will support the loading
conveyor discharge chute and will be finished with 6mm checkered plate. Customer will supply the
loading conveyor drive footprint and drive/conveyor load information. The conical section will transition to
1800mm square opening.

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Weigh Bin Charging Gate
One PICOR totally sealed, 1500mm x 1500mm nominal opening, fast acting, horizontal, bi-parting slide
gate will be provided. The gate will include mild steel blades with abrasion resistant liner plate supported
by heavy duty UHMW slides protected from the flow of material by abrasion resistant plate. The UHMW
slides will be removable from outside the gate to facilitate inspection and replacement. The gate frame
will be constructed with heavy channel sections and angle bracing.
The Charging Gate will be powered by two hydraulic cylinders. Proportional valves mounted to the
actuating cylinders will accurately control the gate blades position and prevent shock loading as the
valves are actuated. Maintenance cost, operational safety, and batching accuracy will be greatly
improved by the use of proportional valves.

Weigh Bin
The weigh bin will be cylindrical in shape with 6mm checkered plate flat top, complete with openings for
the charging gate, air exchange duct, and an access opening with cover. The weigh bin will be fabricated
from 6mm mild steel with AR liner on the conical section. The conical section will transition to a 1200mm
x 1200mm square opening.

Weigh Bin Discharge Gate

One PICOR totally sealed, 1200mm x 1200mm nominal opening, fast acting, horizontal, bi-parting slide
gate will be provided. The gate will include mild steel blades with abrasion resistant liner plate supported
by heavy duty UHMW slides protected from the flow of material by abrasion resistant liner plate. The
UHMW slides will be removable from outside the gate to facilitate inspection and replacement. The gate
frame will be constructed with heavy channel sections and angle bracing.
The Discharging Gate will be powered by two hydraulic cylinders. Proportional valves mounted to the
actuating cylinders will accurately control the gate blades position and prevent shock loading as the
valves are actuated. Maintenance cost and operational safety will be greatly improved by the use of
proportional valves.

Transition Chute
One PICOR standard transition chute will be provided to seal the discharge gate with the telescopic
loading chute. It will be fabricated from mild steel with abrasion resistant liner on all material contact
surfaces. The chute will be complete with flexible seals to totally seal the discharge gate with the
transition section.

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Flex Seals
Flexible dust seals of woven nylon reinforced neoprene will be provided to prevent the introduction of
external loads to the weigh bin and totally seal the system against escaping dust. The flex seals will be
complete with pre-punched clamp bars and rubber backing strips.

Loading Chute
One PICOR telescopic loading chute will be provided. It will be constructed of mild steel plate with
abrasion resistant liners on all interior surfaces in contact with material. The loading chute will be
equipped with structural stiffeners as required.
The chute will be a shop-fabricated unit that traverses outside the vertical rail clearance envelope and
telescopes to adjust the trim height and profile of the railcar loads.
The telescopic section will be guided on vertical UHMW slides factory-aligned. The chute will be equipped
with a proximity switch to automatically raise the chute in the event of an impending impact with the train
and a PICOR designed break away system to protect the system in the event all safety systems fail.

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Load Cells
The load cells for the weigh bin will be Rice Lake, double-ended shear beam type cells. The load cells
will be capable of accurately weighing material in the Weigh Bin with static weighing precision. These
load cells will be NTEP approved.

Test Weights
Test Weights as required by Handbook 44 will be provided to properly calibrate the load cells. The test
weights will be mounted to a lifting device with a hydraulic cylinder that can be retracted for calibration or
extended for storage and normal operation of the Precision Loading System™.

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Air Exchange Ducts
Due to the extremely rapid rate of material transfer between the surge bin and weigh bin, a steel air
exchange duct will be provided from the top of the weigh bin to the top of the surge bin to transfer air
between the weigh bin and the surge bin. Air exchange ducts will also be provided between the weigh
bin discharge gate and the weigh bin.

Surge Bin Level Monitor

One Ramsey C-Level System will monitor and display the amount of material in the surge bin. If a
Variable Speed Drive is available on the feed conveyor, the conveyor will be expected to change belt
speed to maintain a constant material level in the surge bin during variations in train speed.

Hydraulic Power Unit

The power unit will be operated on hydraulic oil rated for the expected temperature range. All necessary
hydraulics will be provided, including a dual motor and pump hydraulic station complete with fail-safe
hydraulic system for the chute and gates. In the event of power failure, the gates will automatically close
and the loading chute will raise until power is available again. The hydraulic power pack will include a
redundant pump and motor which can be cycled automatically as desired.
Hydraulic lines will consist of high-pressure hydraulic hosing and tubing rated at 3000 PSI with swivel
fittings as required.

Hydraulic Building
The hydraulic power unit will be located in a prefabricated metal building complete with access door,
lighting and powered ventilation.

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The foundation for the hydraulic power unit will include a grating covered sump to contain any hydraulic
oil spills.

Operator's Control Room

The operator’s control room will be equipped with a desk and facilities for the operator’s workstation.
The PLC hardware will be located in this room. The control room will be located to allow the operator
a clear view of the loading process.

The control room will include:

All hot dipped non-corrosive steel construction consisting of 18 gauge galvanized steel interior and
exterior skins and 18 gauge galvanized side and end channels
Mineral wool acoustic fill insulation, or equal, that is non-combustible, mildew resistant, vermin
proof, non-settling and features a R-16 thermal value
Interior and exterior to be painted high scuff and abrasion resistant, 2-part catalyzed polyurethane
enamel paint “precision tan” color
One 3070 insulated steel door with lockset, closure and half pane, double glazed, thermal break
glass
Tempered, double-glazed, tinted glass windows with thermal break as required for viewing train
loading and up/down track
Prewired 100A breaker panel w/ 20A, 120V branch circuits
A double lamp, sealed beam battery operated emergency lamp fixture will be located at the exit
Sealed beam battery operated emergency exit light
One HVAC unit with thermostat

General PLC Overview

The Precision Train Loading System will be a single batch system utilizing one 500 ton surge bin
and one 100 ton weigh bin supplied by PICOR. The system will contain a series of closed loop
position controlled, hydraulically powered gates to ensure precise control of the batching process
for each railcar. As an empty railcar arrives, the total material to be loaded into the railcar will be
calculated. Once the actual amount to be loaded into the railcar is determined, the operator will
initiate charging the weigh bin by pressing a button located on the operator interface. After the
batch weight is verified in the weigh bin, the material is then discharged into the railcar by pressing
the “Load Railcar” pushbutton located on the operator interface enclosure. After the PLC verifies
the digital weigh indicator drops below 90 kg, the total material loaded into the railcar will be
recorded into the PLC. After the weigh bin discharge gate is closed and weigh bin tare weight is
determined, the weigh bin charging gate will automatically open charging the weigh bin with
material for the next railcar.

PLC System

PLS PLC Enclosure

The main PLC system is composed of 3 individual racks. Rack 0 and Rack 1 are identical racks
consisting of redundant power supplies, ControlLogix Processor, Redundant EtherNet module,
and a redundancy module. Rack 2 consists of redundant power supplies, Redundant
EthernetNet module, three DCC Input module, three isolated relay output modules, two isolated
analog current input modules, and one analog output module. The cabinet also contains an
ethernet switch.

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 Digital Weigh Indicator
The system utilizes a 4-20ma Analog signal from a Rice Lake Model 520 Digital Weigh Indicator
mounted in the enclosure door to monitor weigh bin data. It also uses one digital output from the
indicator to energize an interposing relay to signal the control system when the weight has
stabilized
C-Level Indicator
The C-Level Indicator is mounted atop the PLC enclosure and measures material level contained
in the surge bin. The PLC receives a 4-20ma signal from this device that is proportional to the
surge bin level.

Operator Console
The components located in the Operator Console include:

Operator Interface Display

The Operator Interface Display is touch sensitive and controls all aspect of the loading operation.

Emergency Stop Pushbutton The Emergency Stop Pushbutton on the console gives the operator
the ability to stop the PLS in any mode of operation. This is to be used in an Emergency situation
only.

Master Power On Pushbutton This button will energize the Master Control Relay and energize the
PLC outputs.

Master Power On Indicator Light This indicator is driven from the Master Control Relay and
illuminates when the Master Control Relay is energized.
Load Railcar Pushbutton
The Load Railcar Pushbutton activates the system to discharge material into the railcars.

Chute Control Joystick The joystick operates the discharge chute. Pushing the joystick up will
raise the chute, pulling it down will lower the chute.

Operation
A. Train Check-In
The train information will be collected prior to loading and modified as the train crosses the
incoming tare scale. This process has been integrated into the controls and is discussed in
detail in the following section.
B. Automatic Mode
In Automatic mode, once the Sequence Master has been initiated, the PLC will start/stop the
selected equipment in the required order to facilitate rapid plant startup with minimal operator
interface. All of the safeties will be in place for each piece of equipment. The mode of operation
will be able to be changed on the HMI by selecting the appropriate faceplate.

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 C. Manual Mode
In Manual Mode, the charging gate will be opened and volumetric loading will be controlled
by the discharge gate

Check In Sequence

1. Pull up on E-stop Pushbutton located on Operator Console

2. Press the Master Start Pushbutton located on the Operator Console
3. Place the system in Auto Mode by pressing the Auto Mode Pushbutton on the Operator Interface.
4. Press the Start Train Pushbutton located on the Operator Interface.
5. As the instruction box states, go to the Check In Menu by pressing the Check in Menu button
located at the bottom of the screen.
6. Answer the question to clear previous train data by pressing the “yes” or “no” pushbutton.
7. Enter Total Number of Railcars to be loaded into the appropriate entry box.
8. Train Data will be loaded into the PLS computer
9. If the system finds some missing information an entry box and an explanation on what needs to
be entered will appear on the screen.
10. After all information is verified; select how to load the railcars. Load To Maximum Capacity will fill
the railcar up to the Gross Capacity limit, Load To Spec Weight will load the railcar to a pre-defined
weight (example: 110 tons)
11. Go to the Current Train Menu and Assign weight to be loaded into each railcar and press accept.
12. When finished assigning weights return to the “Check-In” menu and press the “Weight
Assignments Finished” Pushbutton.
13. Wait for system to calculated “Total Tons Required”, then return to Auto Screen and proceed to
load railcars.

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 Overview
The Overview Screen provides the operator with an overview and system flow diagram

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Sequence of Operations

1. After checking in, the train will be positioned with the first railcar under the Precision Loading
System™ loading chute.
2. Operator will select Overview on the HMI at the train loading system.
3. PLC will calculate the total amount of material to be charged for each railcar utilizing the
railcar information and the tare scale output.
4. PLC then sets the amount of the batch to be loaded.
5. The operator will begin the batching sequence by pressing the “start batching” pushbutton.
The PLC will open the weigh bin charging gate.
6. As the load cell output reaches a first programmable set-point, the PLC will close the weigh
bin charging gate blades partially.
7. As the load cell output reaches a second programmable set-point, the PLC will close the
weigh bin charging gate blades completely.
8. The load cells will measure the amount of material in the weigh bin and provide feedback to
the PLC.
9. As soon as the system accepts the weight, the weigh bin discharge gate will be enabled and
the operator will be prompted to “load railcar”.
10. The operator will initiate the loading sequence by pressing the “load railcar” pushbutton.
11. The PLS operator will adjust the loading chute elevation as necessary prevent spillage and
properly distribute the load of ore in the railcar.
12. When the amount of material in the weigh bin approaches 90 kg, the weigh bin discharge
gates will begin to close.
13. As soon as the weigh bin discharge gates are closed completely, the bin tare weight will be
recorded. This weight will be subtracted from the previous gross weight to obtain the net amount
of material loaded into the railcar.
14. The weigh bin charging gate will then be opened by the PLC to load the next batch into the
weigh bin for the next railcar.
15. Steps 8-14 will repeat for each railcar in the train.

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All pictures for reference only. Actual appearance may vary.

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STRUCTURAL STEEL
All structural steel and plate work will be fabricated in accordance with drawings and shop details
provided by PICOR. Structural steel will be designed to adequately support all imposed loads. Indian
standards will control the design, shop detailing, and fabrication of all structure and plate required.
All connections of structural steel will be friction connections except for lightly loaded members.
Connections of girts, handrails, and other miscellaneous metal will be made with mild steel bolts.
The following minimum design loads will be used:
Floor Live Load 500 kg/sq. meter
Wind Load 80 kph
Seismic Zone Zone 0

Floors
Floors will be checker plate or galvanized bar grating. Exterior walkways and stair landings will be
grating. All grating will be 30mm thick with 5mm bearing bars.

Ladders
Rungs will be 25mm diameter steel rod and will be spaced at 300mm center-to-center with side rails
spaced at 450mm inside, face-to-face. A safety cage shall be provided with a minimum walk under height
of 2130mm. Design and installation shall be in accordance with the latest standards.

Stairs
Stairway angles will be 45 , or less, from horizontal with a minimum distance of 750mm between
stringers. Stringers will be not less than 250mm channels. Treads will be a minimum of 250mm wide,
galvanized grip strut with nosing.

Handrails
Handrails will be 25mm diameter steel rod with 60mm x 16mm flat bar posts spaced at approximately
1500mm center-to-center. The top rail will be 1066mm above the walkway with an intermediate rail
centered. A 100mm x 6mm steel toe plate shall be provided along all walkways.

Siding, Doors, and Ventilators

The PLS will be enclosed by metal siding of at least 26 ga. Metal industrial doors with three hinges and
lockable lever type handles will be provided as shown on the drawings. Four gravity type ventilators will
be provided.

Painting
Purchased components will be furnished with manufacturer’s standard painting system and colors.
Unless otherwise specified, nonmetallic surfaces, galvanized surfaces, stainless or finished surfaces,
electrical equipment, conduit, interior surfaces of bins, hoppers, and chutes will not be painted.

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Structural Steel and Plate work will be sandblasted per SSPC-SP6; carefully cleaned of rust, scale, and
oil; and will be shop primed. Two 2 Finish coats: SHERWIN-WILLIAMS DUR-A-PLATE 235 (3.5 to 4 MIL
DFT). Paint color will be customer preference.

ENGINEERING
PICOR will furnish all necessary design and detail drawings required to build the system quoted, one
electronic copy of all operating and maintenance manuals, and a priced spare parts list for all purchased
materials and equipment.

Installation
This proposal includes all installation of the proposed facility. Foundations have been estimated on
spread footings. If extended foundations or soil preparation are required to provide sufficient bearing
pressure for the footings, they will be by owner or provided at an extra cost.

All labor, supervision, and equipment are included to erect the facility in accordance with the laws of
India. The erection will be performed in a safe and professional manner by properly trained supervisors
and tradesmen. All equipment used to erect the project (cranes, fork lifts, etc.) will be in first class
condition with current inspections. Installation of the facility will include all the structural steel, bins, gates,
equipment, hydraulic system, electrical system, and cladding and other items required to make the
system complete.

Start-up and Training

Operating crews will receive training on the design, operation, and maintenance of the precision loading
system. The system designer, controls designer, and hydraulic system supplier, will conduct this training.
This training will be conducted on site.
.

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