Understand if railroad Hopper interferes in the weighing of grains

To understand whether the railroad hopper directly interferes with the weighing of the grains, we need to make an explanatory approach, detailing what a hopper is about, what its functionality is and, finally, present its interference during the weighing of grains at the railroad terminals.

Hoppers are structures or spaces used for unloading grains, such as corn, soybeans and wheat bran. In Brazil, where agribusiness is highly fundamental for the national economy, places like these are essential for the grains to be unloaded at the terminals, whether in road or rail cargo.

The hoppers work as follows: the trucks are positioned on these structures and elevated, with this, the loads present in the anterior parts of the compartments of these vehicles fall, passing through grids, reaching the conveyor belts, which take these grains to the storage locations. 

What is the railroad hopper for?

Well, hoppers are fundamental for two reasons. Firstly, they are the only structures prepared for unloading grains at the terminals, as they have a whole system for moving these grains to the storage compartments 

In addition, the railroad hopper is also usually a structure that receives static scales, that is, they are the places where many of the wagons are weighed. Of course, due to the type of operation of these scales, trains must be stopped in order for the scales to be able to calculate the weights of the loads.

But, do the hoppers intervene in weighing the grains? Well, this is a very important issue, and one that needs to be discussed so that we can understand an essential aspect of grain transport processes, which is the loss of grains.

Grain loss

The loss of grains during the various procedures regarding the transportation of these items, are one of the main factors of loss of companies. 

Grains can be lost in large quantities and in different situations, such as on the way from trucks to terminals or other destinations, during storage time and also when weighing trains on static scales on a railroad hopper.

The latter, in fact, is a recurring problem at the terminals, resulting in the loss of a large amount of grain during the entire process of unloading train cars, which also directly influences the qualified weighing of the scales. 

This happens for several reasons, but all of them are related to the use of static scales, which necessarily mean that trains have to be parked for weighing.

Stuck products

Weighing train loads and wagons is essential so that they can continue their journey, following the maximum weighing recommendations for that route. In case you are not familiar, the scales act precisely to determine the quantity of loads and the maximum weight of the wagons, allowing the trains to establish themselves on the railroad lines, avoiding a series of structural problems.

When a railroad line, or a railroad terminal, only presents the possibility of weighing the wagons on railroad scales on a railroad hopper, the weighing can be impaired.

The first problem that we can present is structural: when the grain is unloaded in the hoppers, many of these products can be attached to the scale structures, impairing the quality of their weighing on a next train, since it directly influences the tare weight.

Cleaning and maintenance

Much because of this large number of products that end up being trapped in the grates of a railroad hopper and in the structures of the railroad scales, it is required that the weighing structures are constantly cleaned, eliminating the remains of products stuck in the railroad hopper.

In addition, carrying out structural maintenance, especially in the parts of hoppers that are naturally more complex, is essential. In any equipment, machine and tool, maintaining constant maintenance is essential and, when dealing with something so important for the functioning of the railroad lines, this could not be different. 

Changes in climatic conditions

Climatic changes are also determining factors for the weighing of grains in a static characteristic, when the scales are positioned in a railroad hopper. This change influences because, when there is an impacting climate change, grains, such as corn, sugar, among others, end up becoming more compact.

When these grains become more compact, many of them end up being trapped in the grates of the hoppers, directly influencing the precision and quality of weighing the scales, as it has a direct relationship with the imprecision of the log weight and the gross weight of the composition. 

Use of Dynamic Scales and rail hopper

As we have seen, using a Static Scale on the structure of the hoppers, can end up resulting in the loss of grains and also impair the quality of the weighing, since the grains, when unloaded, can change the weight of the empty hoppers, making the calculation of the scales become inaccurate.

Therefore, the best solution for railroad networks is to opt for a Dynamic Scale. Unlike the static scale, which acts on the rail hopper structure, the Dynamic Scale allows weighing to be done with trains in motion, avoiding all types of problems that we mentioned earlier. In addition, as trains do not need to park to carry out weighing, travel becomes faster and more constant. 

We, at Massa Pesagem e Automação Industrial, have the best Dynamic Scales on the market, with the latest technology, weighing the wagon loads efficiently and accurately, without having to stop trains and, consequently, avoiding loss of time and possible losses. 

Conclusion on the interference of the rail hopper in weighing

We were able to conclude with the article that a railroad hopper has a very important role for the unloading of grains on highways and railroads. In the case of railroads, they end up being an important problem when the railroad line or the railroad terminal presents only static scales, positioned on these hoppers, impairing the quality of the weighing of the loads, for several reasons that we present throughout the text. Finally, using Dynamic Scales,which Massa Pesagem e Automação Industrial makes available to companies in the railroad market, is a very interesting solution, as it allows a more accurate and efficient weighing, preventing terminals from experiencing problems that are currently recurring on the roads, such as the loss of excess grain. 

Searchs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLfZ6uaQjVI

http://www.ferroeste.pr.gov.br/modules/conteudo/conteudo.php?conteudo=28