Open top containers for bulk material handling

A number of South African companies have designed and commissioned open top containers, to load bulk materials on ships. Rocon was one of these companies that started loading bulk materials on ships, using open top containers, while Bulk Connections, Durban, designed and commissioned the first trippler in 2003. Some of the significant design parameters specified for the equipment, include the use of modified standard 20 feet container, method of locking onto container remained the same, existing head block was used with minimum modifications, ability to handle various materials, and high loading rates. A set of finite element (FE) analyzes were performed, to establish the container behavior during materials handling operations. The results of the analyzes revealed that the weak areas of the container structure and an adequate supporting system can be developed. This information also helped in preparing the design of the trippler needed for handling bulk materials.