Polyurethane Wear Liners

Every transfer point, chute, and hopper in a mining or processing facility is a wear point. The kinetic energy of ore moving through the system is transferred into the liner surface — and without adequate protection, that energy removes material from the structure itself. Polyurethane wear liners absorb this energy and can be replaced when worn, protecting the underlying structure indefinitely.

Elastomers Queensland manufactures polyurethane wear liners for chutes, hoppers, transfer points, cyclone feed boxes, pump casings, and any other surface exposed to abrasive or impact wear from ore and process materials.

Why Polyurethane Wear Liners

Polyurethane wear liners provide a combination of properties that makes them suitable for impact and abrasion applications that rubber liners cannot handle: higher abrasion resistance, better structural integrity under concentrated impact loads, and the ability to be manufactured in bonded-to-steel configurations that provide structural rigidity alongside wear resistance.

In high-velocity applications where ore is moving fast through a chute, polyurethane's higher tensile strength prevents tearing and delamination that can occur with rubber liners. In impact applications where large rocks are dropping onto liner panels, the energy-absorbing properties of polyurethane prevent the brittle fracture that affects ceramic liner materials.

Liner Configurations

Bolt-on liner panels are the most common configuration for chutes and hoppers. Panels are manufactured to the dimensions of each chute section, drilled for the specified bolt pattern, and installed directly onto the chute structure. When worn, panels are unbolted and replaced without disturbing the chute structure.

Bonded liners combine a polyurethane wear surface with a steel backing plate. The backing plate is welded to the chute structure, and the polyurethane wear layer faces the material flow. This configuration is appropriate where bolt-on panels would create protrusions that could snag ore, or where the panel dimensions make bolt-on installation impractical.

FRAS wear liners are available for underground mining applications where fire retardant anti-static certification is required. The same liner configurations are available in FRAS-grade polyurethane.