Hoist System Research Articles

A data-driven approach for modifying the rope dynamics model of the flexible hoisting system

In the flexible hoisting system, past research focused on the physical modeling without considering complex external environmental variables such as guided rails excitation and shaft effect, leading to a significant deviation between the physical model and the actual model. However, the physical modeling is difficult to model the actual dynamics of the rope strictly under the actual working conditions. This paper takes a high-speed elevator hoisting system as an example. A modified model combining the physical model and the data-driven model is proposed to mitigate the deviation between the physical model and the actual model. In the experiments, the vibration signals of the rope were extracted from images collected by a camera. A beat-like phenomenon of the vibration signals is discovered in the vibration signals of the rope during the acceleration stage. The experiment results demonstrate that the modified model can more accurately model the dynamics of the rope under the actual working conditions and reduce the absolute error of 75.9% compared with the physical model. The proposed model also provides a reference for the modification of the complex dynamic models.

Failure modes of shaft steelwork in the state of advanced corrosion

This paper presents a novel analysis of the failure modes of shaft steelworks. Shaft steelwork structures uphold the rectilinear movement of hoist conveyances in thousands of mine shafts worldwide. Major problems in underground shaft steelwork design and maintenance include high corrosion loss, diverse loads, and demanding safety requirements. To accurately assess the load-carrying capacity of the shaft steelwork in these conditions, correctly identifying the possible failure modes is necessary. In this study, a numerical model for a typical shaft steelwork construction in a deep coal mine in Upper Silesia (Poland) was developed and validated based on field tests. An advanced numerical analysis of the steelwork structure and structure weakened by a joint break was performed. The analysis reflected different load application points, directions, and corrosion loss, indicating the failure modes for various degrees of corrosion-loss levels of members. Nine modes of structural failure, mostly omitted by the current design procedures, were revealed. The presented analysis and results can be used to determine a failure mode for a given corrosive deterioration and steelwork characteristics. This, in turn, can enable rational, safe, and cost-effective planning of steelwork repairs and upgrades, as well as improve the operational safety of shaft hoist systems.

Human reliability assessment of intelligent coal mine hoist system based on Bayesian network

The human reliability of intelligent coal mine hoist operation system is affected by many factors, in order to reduce the occurrence of human error in the hoist system and improve the reliability of the system. The characteristics of phased-mission task operation of hoists is combined, the phase dependence of human cognitive errors is considered and, a new human reliability evaluation method is proposed with the help of Bayesian network (BN) model in this paper. Firstly, the phase dependence of human cognitive errors was analyzed based on the cognitive behavior model. Then the human error analysis in the hoist system was carried out, and several main performance shaping factors are selected. Secondly, BN was used to build the human reliability model of the hoist system at each stage. Finally, it is found that the phase dependence of cognitive errors has a negative impact on the human reliability of the hoist system through the case analysis. At the same time, several main performance shaping factors (PSFs)were quantitatively analyzed by using the reverse reasoning ability of BN, which proves the effectiveness of the proposed method, and provides a scientific and reasonable theoretical basis for the development of effective human error prevention measures for the operation of intelligent coal mine hoists.

Active Vibration Control of Nonlinear Elastic Wire Rope in Mine Hoisting System

Based on the importance of the safe operation of the mine hoist mechanism, an adaptive control method based on Fuzzy Sliding Mode Control (FSMC) was applied to synchronize the large-amplitude response of geometrically nonlinear elastic wire rope in mine hoist systems. To efficiently and precisely synchronize the lateral vibration of a wire rope under the adaptive synchronizing method, the control equation of the elastic wire rope was given considering the large von Karman geometrical deformation, and it was converted to a six-dimensional nonlinear dynamical system using third-order Galerkin discretization. Based on this dynamic system, the existing FSMC is improved, so that the improved control strategy will be available for the active dynamic control of multidimensional nonlinear dynamical systems. The research shows that the control strategy can effectively synchronize the large-amplitude response of wire rope, thus providing the basis for dynamic design, fault diagnosis, and safe operation of the mine hoist system.

Multi-Disturbance Observers-Based Nonlinear Control Scheme for Wire Rope Tension Control of Hoisting Systems with Backstepping

The objective of this paper is to pursue a wire rope control methodology for reducing the tension difference between two wire ropes of a hoisting system. As we know, complicated disturbances exist in the complex electro-hydraulic hoisting system, notably, some of these disturbances are coupled, such as high-speed airflow disturbances, structure vibrations and vibrations in flexible wire ropes. Furthermore, there are model errors in force modeling due to the Coulomb friction between two wire ropes and two moveable head sheaves in the real physical hoisting systems. To eliminate disturbances, two types of disturbance observers (DOs) are employed: a traditional disturbance observer (TDO) and a coupled disturbance observer (CDO), both of which are utilized to estimate and compensate for the Coulomb friction and coupled disturbances online. As a result, a nonlinear backstepping control scheme is presented with estimation values from the TDO and the CDO. The experiment’s results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control methodology.

Study on fault diagnosis method for the tail rope of a hoisting system based on machine vision

Healthy operation of the tail rope is crucial to the stable and safe operation of a friction hoisting system. Failure of the tail rope will threaten the property and personnel. In this study, a fault diagnosis algorithm based on deep learning is proposed for the tail rope. Specifically, we add a spatial attention mechanism in the feature extraction stage to assign different weights to different regions in images. This way “guides” the model to focus on more important regions. A class-balance cross-entropy loss is introduced to alleviate the imbalanced data distribution in the actual conditions for enhancing the robustness of the algorithm and its transferability in practical applications. Experimental studies are conducted to validate the algorithm. The accuracy of the algorithm on the conducted dataset is 99.4819%. The accuracy of the provided algorithm is increased by 10% and 7% compared with those of the hand-crafted features, namely, scale-invariant feature transform with support vector machine and random forest, respectively. Results show that the proposed algorithm can meet the requirements of high accuracy and generalization in practical engineering applications.

Analysis of longitudinal oscillations in a vertically moving cable subject to nonclassical boundary conditions

In this paper, we study a model of a flexible hoisting system, in which external disturbances exerted on the boundary can induce large vibrations, and so damage to the performance of the system. The dynamics is described by a wave equation on a slow time-varying spatial domain with a small harmonic boundary excitation at one end of the cable, and a moving mass at the other end. Due to the slow variation of the cable length, a singular perturbation problem arises. By using an averaging method, and an interior layer analysis, many resonance manifolds are detected. Further, a three time-scales perturbation method is used to construct formal asymptotic approximations of the solutions. It turns out that for a given boundary disturbance frequency, many oscillation modes jump up from order ε amplitudes to order ε amplitudes, where ε is a small parameter with 0<ε<<1. Finally, numerical simulations are presented to verify the obtained analytical results.

Design &amp; Development of Electro Hydraulic Control Valve for Integration of Hoist and Steering System of a Dump Truck (35t)

The intent of this paper is to propose a system to control the steering operation and hoist operation of the Dump truck through combination of electro hydraulic valves and priority valve housed in Integrated manifold block. Electro hydraulic control valve(EHCV), and Electronic controller unit (ECU) for steering and hoist operation of the dump truck. The orbitrol valve consists of load sensing line, when the Orbitrol valve sense an effort on the steering wheel by the operator, the load sensing line will give a feedback signal to the electro hydraulic valve, which will divert the pressurized hydraulic oil to the steering system for steering operation, else the hydraulic oil is available for hoist operation. The hoist operation is control through Electronic Controller Unit (ECU). If there is no signal from the controller for hoist operation the hydraulic oil will flow back to tank. The Electronic controller will energize the combination of solenoid operated valves, depending upon the input received from operator through the momentary switch (Raise Switch, Lower/Float Switch, Hold Switch) mounted inside the cabin, which will allow the flow of pressurized hydraulic oil to the hoist cylinder for body raise and lower operation through electro hydraulic control valve. The electronic controller memorizes the signal from momentary switch and energizes the solenoids as per the logic till the next input signal receive by controller.

Comparative Analysis of Mine Shaft Hoisting Systems' Brake Temperature Using Finite Element Analysis (FEA).

This paper studies both the thermal and mechanical behavior of brake system models in the case of the emergency braking of a mine hoist model. Using a step-by-step approach inspired by studies conducted on small brake systems with high rotation speeds specific to road and rail vehicles, a comparative analysis using a computer simulation was performed for the two types of brakes of a mine hoist system. A Solidworks model was built for two configurations: the drum-and-shoe and the disc-and-pads, and it was imported to COMSOL Multiphysics, where the material properties and simulation parameters were defined. Simulations were performed for each configuration, first using a Heat transfer module in the solids to investigate the frictional heat. The results showed the locations of the hot points on the disc and on the drum, with the surface temperature reaching 97 °C on the disc and 115 to 159 °C on the drum. Next, simulations using a Structural Mechanics module were run to obtain the stress and deformation induced by the heat generated during braking. The von Mises stress of the drum-and-shoe brake occurred on the external surface of the drum and had a value of 2 × 108 N/m2. For the disc-and-pad brake, the stress occurred towards the edges of the brake pad contact and was 4 × 108 N/m2. Both values were under the yield stress of the passive brake element material. Regarding the deformations, for the drum-and-shoe brake, it appeared towards the outer boundary of the drum, being 0.45 mm, and for the disc-and-pad brake, it was situated at the external edge of the disc, being 0.25 mm. COMSOL Multiphysics allowed the evaluation of the thermo-mechanical behavior using noninvasive techniques since actual emergency braking testing on a working mine hoisting installation is not possible because of safety and logistic concerns.

ESTIMATE RIG CAPACITY AND RENTAL COST IN DRILLING OPERATION GH-02 WELL EXPLORATION MATALOKO GEOTHERMAL FIELDRATION GH-02 WELL EXPLORATION MATALOKO GEOTHERMAL FIELD

Exploration well GH-02 will be drilled directionally at an inclination of 44º and a target of 5920 ft MD or 4840 ft TVD. So that the drilling process can be safe, the rig capacity must be determined optimally so that it is not over capacity which causes higher rig rental costs and also low capacity which causes disruption of the drilling process. The main components that influence the calculation of the horsepower required by the rig are the hoisting system, the rotary system, and the circulation system. The amount of horsepower required in the hoisting system is influenced by the lifting velocity, the hook load and the efficiency factor. While the rotary system is influenced by the amount of rpm and the target depth. Circulation system is influenced by the pump flow rate and pressure loss along the circulation system. The total horsepower required can be calculated by adding up the horsepower from the hoisting system, rotary system, circulation system, plus the safety factor of 100-250 HP for rigs with more than 1000 horsepower. The drilling time is designed optimally so that not much time is wasted which can cause the drilling costs to increase expensive. The amount of the rig rental cost is obtained from the rig rental cost per day with the planned drilling time. The results of the case study calculations show that the rig capacity is 1500 horsepower, drilling is carried out for 22 days and the cost of renting the rig is 660000 USD

Vision-Based Measurement for Catenary Transverse Vibrations in the Winding Mine Hoist

The characteristics of rope vibration of the winding mine hoist are one of the main evaluation indices for evaluating the characteristics of the engineering mechanics and the safety coefficient of the hoist system. For this purpose, research was conducted on the vision-based measurement method for catenary transverse vibration. Firstly, a high-speed camera was utilized to capture grayscale images of the catenary transverse vibration. Secondly, the region of interest (ROI) was selected, and the ROI was binarized based on the wavelet edge extraction algorithm. Thirdly, in the ROI, the centroid position of the rope was obtained by calculating the matrix, which was described by the binary, and later, the transverse vibration signal of the catenary was obtained. Finally, the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method was used to remove the periodic excitation caused by the displacement of the catenary winding. The experimental results show that the proposed method quickly and accurately comprehends the noncontact measurement of the catenary transverse vibration, and this method could also provide the technical support necessary for the measurement and evaluation of the safety parameters of the hoisting system.

Intelligent overhead crane improves operator ergonomics and productivity

Operator ergonomics is a crucial factor for well-being at work. In this paper, an intelligent overhead crane (hoist system) is presented to assist operators in handling large loads. Existing overhead cranes have several downsides when it comes to operator ergonomics and productivity. During operation, the equivalent inertia of the overhead crane is heavily affecting the flexibility of an operator to move a load. This can lead to potential muscles issues and to low productivity. Throughout this work, a design upgrade of an existing overhead crane that allows to improve both the flexibility of the system and ergonomic issues of operators, is described. With human operators being central in the load’s manipulation, it is not only important to consider the ergonomics but also the usability of these machines during the design stage. This includes assessment of where controls can be positioned, which forms of control, feedback and feed-forward are provided and how all of these affect efficiency and effectiveness of the solution in the specific context. After capturing the requirements of operators in different contexts, a prototype is built which includes several upgrades compared to existing systems. First, a semi-automatic movement system (“Follow-Me”) is implemented. This system reduces operator forces and increases handling speed for movement in the X-Y plane. Secondly, the usage of wireless controls is explored as well as (color-coded) labeling and led-indicators on the crane. Finally, an intelligent gripping system for large panels is designed and constructed. This gripping system is capable of adjusting its gripping points automatically to the most suited positions.

Co-simulation model coupling of flexible rope hoisting system and hydraulic braking system for a mine hoist

The hoist is an important equipment in the mine pit. Since the containers are lifted or lowered with flexible steel wire ropes, there are shocks and vibrations during operation, especially in the emergency braking stage, the shocks and vibration will be more severe. Mine hoist is a complex system; therefore, it is difficult to obtain all its dynamics information only by investigating the flexible hoisting subsystem or hydraulic brake subsystem. Therefore, it is very necessary to establish an accurate model to predict these characteristics of the hoist, this will provide useful tools for hoist design and maintenance. Therefore, a joint modeling methodology is proposed and implemented in this paper. A hoisting system model considering the non-linear factors such as contact characteristics and flexibility was established in RecurDyn. The hydraulic braking system model and control system model were established in AMESim, and the co-simulation model was constructed by the interface module. In this co-simulation model, not only the flexible hoisting subsystem and hydraulic brake subsystem are included, but also the coupling effect of subsystems is considered. Finally, taking the lifting condition as an example, execute emergency braking research on the hoisting system under experiment, mathematical model, and co-simulation model, respectively. Comparing the co-simulation model with the mathematical dynamics model, and the experimental test results, research indicates that the joint simulation model of coupled hoisting system and hydraulic braking system can effectively reflect the dynamic characteristics of the actual hoisting system. It provides an effective tool for hoist design, optimization, performance analysis, and operating condition simulation. In addition, the methods and techniques used in the co-simulation modeling procedure are portable. Therefore, the paper is of significance for the mine hoist.

Dynamic Simulation of a Dual-Cable Parallel Winding Hoisting System with Flexible Guides

A dual-cable parallel winding hoisting system (DCPWHS) is a feasible system for ultra-deep vertical shaft hoists. In this system, two hoisting cables are winded on two separate drums, and their lower ends are connected to a conveyance. Two guiding cables are installed in the shaft to provide guidance for the conveyance; thereby, transverse vibrations of the cables and the conveyance interact with each other. A mathematical model of the DCPWHS with flexible guides that constitute two guiding cables is presented to analyze its coupled vibrations in out-of-plane transverse and torsional directions. Lagrange’s equations with constraints in combination with the continuous vibration theory are used to derive equations of motion of the system, and coupling relations among hoisting cables, guiding cables, and the conveyance are described by geometric matching conditions. Numerical simulation results are in good agreement with those calculated by MSC.ADAMS. Natural frequencies (NFs) of the stationary system at different positions of the conveyance are also obtained, and a graphic approach is presented to distinguish and extract hoisting cable transverse NFs and guiding cable NFs from system NFs. Numerical results show that transverse vibrations of hoisting cables cause the conveyance to vibrate in both transverse and torsional directions. However, due to restrictions of guiding cables, the rotation of the conveyance is small and negligible. The influence of the guiding cable tension on the dynamic response of the system is also investigated, which can be used for selection of the guiding cable tension in the design of the DCPWHS.

The measurement of strain of a prototype pulley system using a Brillouin optical time domain analysis

AbstractIn the chain and rope hoist systems of large cranes, instant and monitoring of the strain caused by different loads is of great importance. Strain is a size that cannot be measured directly and whose effect can be measured. Strain can be measured point by point with the help of electronic sensors. However, increasing the number of measuring points causes complexity in electronic systems. Thanks to distributed fiber sensors, this problem has been overcome and standard SMF has been used as tens of thousands of measuring points. In this study, a model of the pulley system used in large cranes is created and the strain occurring at a certain point of a SMF was experimentally measured using the BOTDA technique. SNR was improved by using the wavelet noise reduction technique in the processing of the received signals. In order to monitor the measured strain, a user‐friendly interface was designed.

Tribological investigation of quality of the industrial speed reducer synthetic lube oil used in material handling industry

Industrial gear reducers regulate the speed of conveyors, cranes and hoist systems as well as mixing and other equipment. Optimal operating conditions must be defined in order to ensure efficient operation and minimize downtime due to any problems. Processes that need regulated torque output range from complex to simple, depending on their complexity. The objective of experimental investigation is to perceive the deterioration interaction of Industrial Reducer oil and inspect the effect & impact of debasement on the overall quality of synthetic oils utilized in mechanical reducers. An experimental test rig having mechanical reducer driven through AC motor (25 HP) is utilized for this assessment. Unused Industrial gearbox lubricating oil (IOCL Servo Gear HP 140) is utilized for overall performance assessment evaluation in mechanical reducer. The synthetic oil test was collected at various time intervals from test arrangement. The performance of utilized synthetic oil was evaluated based on oil properties. The viscosity was reported to be decreasing due to friction, while the total acid number was reported to be increasing due to lubricating oil oxidation.

Life-cycle assessment of gravity energy storage systems for large-scale application

Interest in energy storage systems has been increased with the growing penetration of variable renewable energy sources. This paper discusses a detailed economic analysis of an attractive gravitational potential energy storage option, known as gravity energy storage (GES). The economic performance of this energy storage system is compared to other alternative energy storage technologies such as pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) and compressed air energy storage (CAES). Moreover, a life cycle costs and levelized cost of electricity delivered by this energy storage are analyzed to provide expert, power producers, and grid operators insight about the economic implications of this grid-scale gravitational energy storage technology. Depending on the considered scenarios and assumptions, the levelized cost of storage of GES varies between 7.5 €ct/kWh and 15 €ct/kWh, while it is between 3.8 €ct/kWh and 7.3 €ct/kWh for gravity energy storage with wire hoisting system (GESH). The LCOS of GES and GESH were then compared to other energy storage systems. The obtained results show that GESH is very cost-competitive with pumped hydro and Compressed Air Energy Storage technologies; while GES is competitive with PHES and may be cost-competitive with CAES depending on the operation cycles. The performed analysis has also shown that both GES and GESH offer interesting economic advantages for the provision of energy arbitrage service.

Autonomous construction hoist system based on deep reinforcement learning in high-rise building construction

Construction hoists at most building construction sites are manually controlled by human operators using their intuitions; as a result, unnecessary trips are often made when multiple hoists are operating simultaneously and/or when complicated hoist calls are requested. These trips increase a passenger's waiting time and lifting time, reducing the lifting performance of the hoists. To address this issue, the authors develop an autonomous hoist supported by a deep Q-network (DQN), a deep reinforcement learning method. The results show that the DQN algorithm can provide better control policy in complicated real-world hoist control situations than previous control algorithms, reducing the waiting time and lifting time of passengers by up to 86.7%. Such an automated hoist control system helps shorten the project schedule by increasing the lifting performance of multiple hoists at high-rise building construction sites.

Dynamic Modelling and Pendulation Laws of Cable Hoisting System

The dynamic characteristics of the cable hoisting system (CHS) are studied by combining theoretical modelling and visual simulation. The dynamic model is derived using D’Alembert’s principle. It contains the effect of horizontal motion and lifting motion, and also takes into account the quality of the cable to improve the accuracy of model. The Runge-Kutta method is used to solve model numerically, and simulation is conducted within Adams environment to verify the dynamic model. Based on the dynamic model and numerical calculation, the effect of horizontal motion, lifting motion and system parameters on swing was studied. The results show that the dynamic model and numerical calculations are accurate; during the movement, the payload oscillation is mainly affected by the initial acceleration, sudden change of acceleration and lifting speed; the length of steel cable and the mass of hoisting payload determine the frequency of CHS, which does not affect the payload oscillation; the oscillation and frequency are affected by lifting laws; and the study of acceleration laws can be used to guide the design and control of CHS.

Analysis of transverse vibration of wire rope in flexible hoisting system

Taking the flexible hoisting system as the research object, the transverse vibration mathematical model of the steel wire rope of the winding hoisting system is established, and the transverse vibration displacement, velocity and acceleration of the steel wire rope at 18 m away from one end of the wire rope under the sine excitation at other end is obtained through the comparison and verification of the results from the mathematical model, mechanical model and experiment. The results show that: for the length of the wire rope of 20 m, under the sine excitation at the end of amplitude of 0.002 m and frequency of 20 Hz, the transverse vibration displacement at 2 m from one end of the wire rope with length of 20 m is basically between –0.005 m and 0.005 m, the transverse vibration velocity at 2 m from one end of the wire rope is basically between –0.04 m/s and 0.04 m/s, and the transverse vibration acceleration of the wire rope is basically between –0.5 m/s2 and 0.5 m/s2. And the transverse vibration displacement decreases near the end, meanwhile the transverse vibration frequency increases with the reduction of length of vertical section of wire rope.