Altair Case Studies Innovative Grab Design for Faster Unloading: A Case Study on Nemag and TU Delft

	Innovative Grab Design for Faster Unloading: A Case Study on Nemag and TU Delft Altair

Innovative Grab Design for Faster Unloading: A Case Study on Nemag and TU Delft

Altair

Technology Category	Analytics & Modeling - Digital Twin / Simulation Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Virtual Private Cloud
Applicable Industries	Life Sciences Metals
Applicable Functions	Product Research & Development
Use Cases	Virtual Prototyping & Product Testing Virtual Reality
Services	Hardware Design & Engineering Services Testing & Certification
Challenge	Nemag BV, a manufacturer of grabs for handling bulk materials, faced a challenge in developing a new generation of grabs for iron ore that were faster and lighter. The traditional process of developing grabs involved building physical prototypes, which was expensive, time-consuming, and limiting. It was difficult to predict the performance of a new design, especially the interaction between the bulk material and the grab, which heavily influences the performance. The traditional methods were not sufficient to understand what happens inside the grab. Therefore, a virtual prototyping approach was developed at TU Delft to model iron ore pellets in interaction with grabs. Read More
About Customer	Nemag BV is a manufacturer of grabs designed for handling a range of bulk materials from coal and iron ore to grain, animal feed, scrap metal, minerals, and biomass. They collaborated with the group of Dr. Dingena Schott at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) to develop a new generation of grabs for iron ore that are faster and lighter. They used Altair EDEM™ bulk material simulation software to test and optimize the new design. Read More
Solution	TU Delft used Altair EDEM™ bulk material simulation software to perform virtual testing of a grab design and predict its performance. They developed a coupling to use EDEM Discrete Element Method with multibody dynamics simulation software, which allowed them to model iron ore pellets and a crane in a virtual environment. Extensive model calibration procedures were developed to account for material structure interaction. This approach effectively captured both material behavior and grab behavior. The co-simulation was validated with measurements on an industrial scale at Tata Steel IJmuiden in the Netherlands. The coupled simulation was then used in the innovative design process, providing key insight into the dynamics of the grab together with the iron ore. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Digital Twin / Simulation

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Virtual Private Cloud

Applicable Industries

Life Sciences

Metals

Applicable Functions

Product Research & Development

Use Cases

Virtual Prototyping & Product Testing

Virtual Reality

Services

Hardware Design & Engineering Services

Testing & Certification

Challenge

Nemag BV, a manufacturer of grabs for handling bulk materials, faced a challenge in developing a new generation of grabs for iron ore that were faster and lighter. The traditional process of developing grabs involved building physical prototypes, which was expensive, time-consuming, and limiting. It was difficult to predict the performance of a new design, especially the interaction between the bulk material and the grab, which heavily influences the performance. The traditional methods were not sufficient to understand what happens inside the grab. Therefore, a virtual prototyping approach was developed at TU Delft to model iron ore pellets in interaction with grabs.

About Customer

Nemag BV is a manufacturer of grabs designed for handling a range of bulk materials from coal and iron ore to grain, animal feed, scrap metal, minerals, and biomass. They collaborated with the group of Dr. Dingena Schott at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) to develop a new generation of grabs for iron ore that are faster and lighter. They used Altair EDEM™ bulk material simulation software to test and optimize the new design.

Solution

TU Delft used Altair EDEM™ bulk material simulation software to perform virtual testing of a grab design and predict its performance. They developed a coupling to use EDEM Discrete Element Method with multibody dynamics simulation software, which allowed them to model iron ore pellets and a crane in a virtual environment. Extensive model calibration procedures were developed to account for material structure interaction. This approach effectively captured both material behavior and grab behavior. The co-simulation was validated with measurements on an industrial scale at Tata Steel IJmuiden in the Netherlands. The coupled simulation was then used in the innovative design process, providing key insight into the dynamics of the grab together with the iron ore.

Impact #1	The simulation results were used to develop new-generation grab designs. The patented nemaX® grab combines lower deadweight and higher payloads with shorter closing times, leading to a significant improvement in efficiency. The new grab has been extensively tested and its performance matches the simulation predictions. The innovative nemaX® grab won two awards: the International Bulk Journal’s Innovative Technology Award in 2017 and the Red Dot Award for product design in 2018.

Impact #1

The simulation results were used to develop new-generation grab designs. The patented nemaX® grab combines lower deadweight and higher payloads with shorter closing times, leading to a significant improvement in efficiency. The new grab has been extensively tested and its performance matches the simulation predictions. The innovative nemaX® grab won two awards: the International Bulk Journal’s Innovative Technology Award in 2017 and the Red Dot Award for product design in 2018.

Benefit #1	The new grab unloads vessels in 10% less time
Benefit #2	The new design combines lower deadweight and higher payloads
Benefit #3	The performance of the new grab matches the simulation predictions

Benefit #1

The new grab unloads vessels in 10% less time

Benefit #2

The new design combines lower deadweight and higher payloads

Benefit #3

The performance of the new grab matches the simulation predictions

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Overview

Innovative Grab Design for Faster Unloading: A Case Study on Nemag and TU Delft

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit