One of the main wear mechanisms experienced by materials in oil sands processing applications
is material-loss due to impact. Components such as crushers, breakers and sizing screens can be subject
to impact damage due to the presence of rocks and boulders. In the winter, the degree of impact damage
can be increased, as sand and bitumen can consolidate into large agglomerates. In conjunction with
Suncor Energy, the Alberta Research Council has designed and built a test rig to allow for the evaluation
of a material’s resistance to repeated impact. This paper will describe the design of the rig and the
associated test procedure. Results are presented for a range of materials, including tungsten carbidebased
overlays, chromium carbide-based overlays and non-metallic materials.