Gael Mutombo investigates the dynamic behaviour of vibratory screens so that changes in machine condition can be detected from measured response and a defensible physical model.
Research evolution
Gael completed his honours degree in 2024 and joined RAMMS as a full-time student at the beginning of 2025. After taking up employment with SIMTEQ, he continued the master’s degree part-time and refocused the work on a Sandvik vibratory screen.
The revised project studies the screen as an elastic structure and considers how the material carried on the deck changes its dynamics. Those effects matter because a condition-monitoring method must distinguish an actual fault from the normal response to changing loading and operating conditions.
Experiments and simulation
The study combines experimental measurements at the University of Pretoria with simulation developed in collaboration with SIMTEQ and Sandvik. During the second quarter of 2026, Gael tested measurement techniques on a university screen and completed the first simulation studies on the Sandvik platform.
The research is supervised by Prof Stephan Heyns and is intended to produce a model that can support interpretable condition indicators rather than relying on vibration thresholds alone.