engineering

Reclaimer

Reclaimer is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Reclaimer rather than just read about it. In short: A reclaimer is a large machine used in bulk material handling applications. A reclaimer's function is to recover bulk material such as ores and cereals from a stockpile.

Key takeaways

Reclaimer belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Reclaimer to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Reclaimer from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A reclaimer is a large machine used in bulk material handling applications. A reclaimer's function is to recover bulk material such as ores and cereals from a stockpile. A stacker is used to stack the material. Reclaimers are volumetric machines and are rated in m3/h (cubic meters per hour) for capacity, which is often converted to t/h (tonnes per hour) based on the average bulk density of the material being reclaimed. Reclaimers normally travel on a rail between stockpiles in the stockyard. A bucket wheel reclaimer can typically move in three directions: horizontally along the rail; vertically by "luffing" its boom and rotationally by slewing its boom. Reclaimers are generally electrically powered by means of a trailing cable.

Reclaimer types Bucket wheel reclaimers use "bucket wheels" to remove material from the pile they are reclaiming. Scraper reclaimers use a series of scrapers on a chain to reclaim the material. The reclaimer structure can be of a number of types, including portal and bridge. Reclaimers are named based on their type, for example, "Bridge reclaimer." Portal and bridge reclaimers can both use either bucket wheels or scrapers to reclaim the product. Bridge type reclaimers blend the stacked product as it is reclaimed. Whenever material is laid down during any reclaiming process, it creates a pile. Blending bed stacker reclaimers form such piles in a circular fashion. They do this by taking reclaimed material and passing it through a conveyor system that rotates around the center of the pile to create a circle. This allows the pile to be evenly spread out during the reclaiming process and allows for the oldest material in the pile to be reclaimed before the newer material. During this process, a harrow tool is used to cut through the reclaimed material so that the material can be combined. Some Blending bed reclaimers are equipped with rakes to ensure that no material gets stuck in the machine. These rakes are made with various materials and sizes based on the climate in which the reclaimer operates. In below freezing temperatures, a harder material is used to create a rake with modified edges, which allow for any ice or debris to be broken up before piling. Cantilever chain reclaimers are designed to use longer booms. Cantilever chain reclaimers use a truss system that is connected to a liner and then to a chain, this chain is bolted onto the elevation chute and fixed to the reclaimer. The angle of this boom is then set by a cable-winch system and is supported using a cable system. With the cable, the boom can be lowered slightly during each reclaiming cycle. This chain system creates a push and pull effect that allows for any loose material to be collected and moved to the edge of the reclaimed pile. After the loose material is collected it is lifted and moved for further processing.

Reclaimer applications A reclaimer is used principally in reclaiming processes. These processes can have low, medium, and high material flow rates. Reclaimers are made up of a bucket-wheel, a counterweight boom, and a rocker; they also use a conveyor system to move any material reclaimed from the boom to its specific pile. These machines can be assembled differently based on the required reclaiming load rate and boom length. These changes are made in order to accommodate for the associated fluctuations in flow rates and load patterns. In the event of high material flow rates, a combination of a boom and bucket wheel is used.

Control systems Stackers and Reclaimers were originally manually controlled machines with no remote control. Modern machines are typically fully automated with their parameters (for stacking or reclaiming) remotely set. Some older reclaimers may still be manually controlled, as reclaiming is more difficult to automate than stacking because the automatic detection of pile edges is complicated by different environmental conditions and different bulk materials.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Reclaimer

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Reclaimer claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Reclaimer before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Reclaimer ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Reclaimer

In research: Reclaimer appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Reclaimer in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Reclaimer is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bulk material handling, Engineering vehicles, Mining equipment, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Reclaimer outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Reclaimer in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Reclaimer means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Reclaimer out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Reclaimer in simple terms?

A reclaimer is a large machine used in bulk material handling applications. A reclaimer's function is to recover bulk material such as ores and cereals from a stockpile.

Why does Reclaimer matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Reclaimer?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Reclaimer.