Mining Vehicle Research Articles

Drilling and bolting rigs operator support using FGS (Feeder Guiding System) and remote control

Abstract The article presents the assumptions and main functionalities of two operator support systems – the FGS (Feeder Guiding System) and the remote control system of a drilling or bolting rig. Both of these systems greatly facilitate the work of an operator of a self-propelled mining vehicle in the conditions of an underground metal ore mine. The first of the described system allows for real-time control of the current position of the mining boom and facilitates the drilling of blast holes according to a predetermined drilling pattern. The second of the systems – a remote control system – is used especially in conditions of unstable rock mass or in the case of work in particularly difficult operating conditions, where it is advisable to limit the presence of the crew from the face-up to the necessary minimum. The intensity of these vibrations was related to the conditions of the cutting process.

Equivalent Markov models for filtering and smoothing of mining vehicle positions

A linear state-space model is described whose second-order moments match that of a hidden Markov chain (HMC). This model enables a modified transition probability matrix to be employed within minimum-variance filters and smoothers. However, the ensuing filter/smoother designs can exhibit suboptimal performance because a previously reported transition-probability-matrix modification is conservative, and identified models can lack observability and reachability. This article describes a less-conservative transition-probability-matrix modification and a model-order-reduction procedure to enforce observability and reachability. An optimal minimum-variance predictor, filter, and smoother are derived to recover the Markov chain states from noisy measurements. The predictor is asymptotically stable provided that the problem assumptions are correct. It is shown that collapsing the model improves state-prediction performance. The filter and smoother recover the Markov states exactly when the measurement noise is negligible. A mining vehicle position tracking application is discussed in which performance benefits are demonstrated.

Design of fire scenarios for Australian underground hard rock mines – Applying data from full-scale fire experiments

One of the most significant tools when designing fire safety in an underground mine is the design fire methodology. This paper presents a number of design fire scenarios which were developed from risk assessments and risk analysis where a deterministic approach was implemented and where the results from earlier full-scale fire experiments in underground mines and analysis were included in the process. The developed scenarios showed that for scenarios, in which ventilation flow was in the same direction as the fuel continuity, continued fire spread to all major components were provided and longer and intermittent periods which resulted in high heat release rates resulted, would present a considerable risk to underground personnel. It was also found that the inclination of the decline has little influence on the resulting heat release rate – despite the flame tilt – and that the design of the mining vehicles was found to effectively delay or even prevent the ignition of adjacent fuel items in a number of cases. The design fire scenarios developed will provide a key tool when evaluating fire protection measures in an underground mine. • The most rapid initial fire growth scenarios presented a risk during evacuation. • The inclination of the decline had little effect on the heat release rate curve. • Delayed, sudden increase of heat release rate posed a risk during rescue operations.

Application of SINS/DGPS integrated navigation technology in unmanned mining vehicles

The continuous development of driverless technology has provided more possibilities for the expansion of unmanned operation. In this paper, the SINS/DGPS integrated navigation system is used in the unmanned mining vehicle, and its combination mode and working mechanism are expounded. The equations and observation equations of the combined navigation filter system are derived. The measurement residual error checking algorithm is designed to eliminate DGPS Gross error. At the end of the paper, the correctness of the combined system is verified on the simulation platform, and the robustness is better.

Properties of weld overlays on regenerated wheel hub of a mining vehicle

The paper presents problems related to the regeneration of wheel hubs for mining machinery vehicles carried out with arc welding using the MAG method. Hubs made of medium-carbon cast steel, type LII500, were weld surfaced with filler metal grade of G4Si. The tests were aimed at determining welding imperfections and metallographic properties of the surfacing welds. The influence of heat treatment on the properties of surfacing was investigated. Hardness distributions in welded hubs after various heat treatment operations were determined. Recommendations for the technology of weld surfacing the wheel hubs were formulated.

3D UNDERWATER MINE MODELLING IN THE ¡VAMOS! PROJECT

Abstract. The project Viable Alternative Mine Operating System (¡VAMOS!) develops a novel underwater mining technique for extracting inland mineral deposits in flooded open-cut mines. From a floating launch and recovery vessel a remotely-operated underwater mining vehicle with a roadheader cutting machine is deployed. The cut material is transported to the surface via a flexible riser hose. Since there is no direct intervisibility between the operator and the mining machine, the data of the sensor systems can only be perceived via a computer interface. Therefore, part of the efforts in the project focus on enhancing the situational awareness of the operator by providing a 3D model of the mine combined with representations of the mining equipment and sensor data. We present a method how a positioning and navigation system, perception system and mapping system can be used to create a replica of the physical system and mine environment in Virtual Reality (VR) in order to assist remote control. This approach is beneficial because it allows visualizing different sensor information and data in a consistent interface, and enables showing the complete context of the mining site even if only part of the mine is currently observed by surveying equipment. We demonstrate how the system is used during tele-operation and show results achieved during the field trials of the complete system in Silvermines, Ireland.

Analysis and Countermeasure of Positioning Sound Source Interference of a Certain Mining Vehicle with Large Depth

The acoustic positioning of seabed mining vehicle is directly related to the acoustic positioning of mining vehicle. This paper analyzes the interference of multi-path interference and background noise of seabed mining vehicle and the influence of other factors on the acoustic positioning of mining vehicle. A through signal source frequency coding method and a new type of underwater acoustic positioning signal system, which can effectively reduce the receiver to the location of sound source high quality requirements, simple filter processing, can put forward the noise influence, in addition, new type of underwater acoustic positioning signal system can enhance the anti-interference ability of the mining vehicle acoustic positioning.

Path Tracking of Mining Vehicles Based on Nonlinear Model Predictive Control

Path tracking of mining vehicles plays a significant role in reducing the working time of operators in the underground environment. Because the existing path tracking control of mining vehicles, based on model predictive control, is not very effective when the longitudinal velocity of the vehicle is above 2 m/s, we have devised a new controller based on nonlinear model predictive control. Then, we compare this new controller with the existing model predictive controller. In the results of our simulation, the tracking accuracy of our controller at the longitudinal velocity of 4 m/s is close to that of the existing model predictive controller, at the longitudinal velocity of 2 m/s. When longitudinal velocity is 4 m/s, the existing model predictive controller cannot drive the mining vehicle to track the given path, but our nonlinear model predictive controller can, and the maximum displacement error and heading error are 0.1382 m and 0.0589 rad, respectively. According to these results, we believe that this nonlinear model predictive controller can be used to improve the performance of the path tracking of mining vehicles.

Experiments in feedback linearized iterative learning‐based path following for center‐articulated industrial vehicles

AbstractThis paper describes the design, industrial application, and field testing of a technique for autonomous wheeled‐vehicle path following that uses iterative learning control (ILC) in a feedback linearized space. One advantage of this approach is that ILC is used without having to employ approximate linearization at every time step. The main contribution of this paper is the unique field experiments that used two large industrial‐scale center‐articulated underground mining vehicles. The described field work not only tested the underlying technique on commercial vehicles, but also presents a method for parallel speed learning, wherein the speed is adjusted over subsequent learning trials to improve cycle productivity. Finally, presented are field results for an approach to prelearning through simulation before deployment in the field to reduce the initial path‐following errors.

Track shoe structure optimization of deep-sea mining vehicle based on new rheological calculation formulae of sediment

Based on compressive and shearing rheological models of the deep-sea sediment simulant, new rheological calculation formulae of traction forces for actual track shoe structures were deduced and the multi-objective structural optimization models were established in order to determine optimal track shoe structural parameters. RecurDyn software with introduction of programed rheological models was used to simulate the moving performances of the tracked mining vehicle before and after optimization. Research results show that the maximum traction force calculated by the new rheological calculation formula is much smaller than that by the Bekker theory and more close to the actual situation. The optimized tracked mining vehicle has larger traction force and smaller sinkage than the original tracked mining vehicle, which verifies the validity of the multi-objective optimization model based on the new rheological calculation formula of track force. It is better to choose the thick-triangle track shoe or the sharp-triangle track shoe when the sinkage or the traction force is considered as a dominant factor, respectively. The new rheological calculation formula of traction force and the multi-objective structural optimization model could provide a theoretical basis for safe operation and optimal design of a tracked mining vehicle.

Vibration Performance Analysis of a Mining Vehicle with Bounce and Pitch Tuned Hydraulically Interconnected Suspension

The current investigations primarily focus on using advanced suspensions to overcome the tradeoff design of ride comfort and handling performance for mining vehicles. It is generally realized by adjusting spring stiffness or damping parameters through active control methods. However, some drawbacks regarding control complexity and uncertain reliability are inevitable for these advanced suspensions. Herein, a novel passive hydraulically interconnected suspension (HIS) system is proposed to achieve an improved ride-handling compromise of mining vehicles. A lumped-mass vehicle model involved with a mechanical–hydraulic coupled system is developed by applying the free-body diagram method. The transfer matrix method is used to derive the impedance of the hydraulic system, and the impedance is integrated to form the equation of motions for a mechanical–hydraulic coupled system. The modal analysis method is employed to obtain the free vibration transmissibilities and force vibration responses under different road excitations. A series of frequency characteristic analyses are presented to evaluate the isolation vibration performance between the mining vehicles with the proposed HIS and the conventional suspension. The analysis results prove that the proposed HIS system can effectively suppress the pitch motion of sprung mass to guarantee the handling performance, and favorably provide soft bounce stiffness to improve the ride comfort. The distribution of dynamic forces between the front and rear wheels is more reasonable, and the vibration decay rate of sprung mass is increased effectively. This research proposes a new suspension design method that can achieve the enhanced cooperative control of bounce and pitch motion modes to improve the ride comfort and handling performance of mining vehicles as an effective passive suspension system.

Nonlinear Multi-Body Dynamic Modeling and Coordinated Motion Control Simulation of Deep-Sea Mining System

In this paper, a nonlinear integrated multi-body dynamic (MBD) model of a deep-sea mining (DSM) system was developed. A particular nonlinear interaction model between the mining vehicle and the seabed sediment was derived. The fluid resistance and the resistance torque acting on the vehicle were obtained by the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) numerical simulations. In addition, a rigid-flexible coupled discrete element method (DEM) was adopted to model an extremely long mining riser efficiently and accurately. Developed by the C# program, a user-defined subprogram was intended to establish the DEM model of the riser. A motion control system model for trajectory tracking of the vehicle was developed in which the fuzzy control algorithm and the fuzzy adaptive PID control algorithm were used to control the speed and speed ratio of the tracks, respectively. Furthermore, the collaborative simulation between the dynamic model and the control model was achieved, and a coordinated motion mode for the total mining system was proposed and simulated. Accordingly, the trajectory tracking accuracy and slip of the vehicle, the spatial state change of the riser, and the interaction forces among subsystems were analyzed. This paper can provide a valuable theoretical basis and technical reference for the integrated design, performance prediction, and operation control of the practical DSM system.

Development of Innovative Methods for the Assessment of the Technical Condition of the Gearboxes of the Mine Belt Conveyors in the Parameters of the Lubricating Oil

This article shows that a significant part of the cost of coal is the cost of transporting it from the long wall to the mine surface, which makes it important to search for reserves in order to increase the efficiency of using mine vehicles, in particular, belt conveyors. This article proposes a method for diagnosing the state of gears of mine belt conveyors based on the actual condition of the lubricating oil. The advantages of combining the study of oil parameters by spectroscopic and microscopic methods are shown. The results of testing lubricating oil of the mine gearboxes located on belt conveyors installed in a single transport and process chain. In order to determine the concentration of wear products the oil was examined with an optical emission spectrometer. For lubricating oil, in which excess wear was observed, a microscopic examination was carried out to clarify the types of wear. Micrographs of wear particles in lubricating oil are given. It characterizes one or another type of wear or their combination. This particular combination of methods increases the probability of identifying possible malfunctions of gearboxes at an early stage of defect development. Thus, the introduction of this technique will reduce the duration of unplanned emergency downtime of belt conveyors and improve the safety of mine transport.

Finite Element Simulation of Armor Steel used for Blast Protection

Safety of defense and paramilitary operators in hostile environments can be ensured by using ballistic materials. Various destructive and non-destructive techniques are available for characterizing ballistic materials and performance of respective products but they can be expensive and protracted. Finite Element method (FEM) is useful in these situations as it can be used during design phase to determine critical design sections and material performance in products. This study focuses on FE simulation of ARMOX armor steel used for blast protection in anti-land mine vehicles using CONWEP method to simulate blast. Plate is modeled as deformable solid with Johnson-Cook plasticity. Parametric study is performed to determine appropriate element size. Results of numerical simulation were validated from results of experiments published earlier by various researchers. Layered and laminated steel plates of varying thicknesses were tested to assess blast protection as against monolithic armor plate using developed numerical model. Results showed that layered steel plates performed worse and laminated plates performed better than monolithic armor steel plates.

A method of driving characteristics recognition on vehicle operation sequence

Driving behavior has been proved to have a great influence on road safety. Recognizing driving characteristic is an essential part of reducing traffic fatalities and developing intelligent traffic system. In this paper, we propose a method of driving characteristics recognition through mining vehicle operation data such as GPS, velocity and direction collected by the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) port of vehicles. Based on the feature extracted from the vehicle operation sequence, we employ K-means algorithm to cluster and recognize different driving characteristics after reasonable normalization and dimensionality reduction of the features. Analysis and experimental results indicate that the proposed method has good application significance on mining effective information in vehicle operation data sequence.

A Study of Position Measurement System for Seabed Resource Mining Vehicle

A Study of Position Measurement System for Seabed Resource Mining Vehicle

Determinaton of indcators for assessing mining vehicles quality in modern conditions

In Russia, mineral resources are located mainly in Siberia, Yakutia, the Arctic and the Far East that predetermines the development of mining industries in those regions. Mining and transport equipment operates mostly in harsh weather conditions characterized by sharp continental climate for most of the territories. Under the influence of these factors, the efficiency of using the equipment of various types is significantly different, and it normally decreases while operating costs increase by 2-5 times comparing to similar expenditures in Central Russia. In modern economic conditions, when there is a wide choice of mining and transport equipment of local and foreign production, mining companies face the problem of choosing machines that are suitable to operate in certain mining, geological, climatic, geographic, and economic conditions. To assess the quality of mining equipment, there is a need for a special technique that will allow selecting a machine of certain type, size, and manufacturer taking into account its working effectiveness and the cost of its acquisition and operating in specific conditions.

Optimization Design of Cooling System for Mine Truck Engine

Taking the engine cooling system of mine truck in research as an example, aiming at the mine vehicle working in the mining area under the bad environment, and the current engine cooling system cannot guarantee the engine running in the best condition of the problem. The optimal design of the cooling system is realized by designing the real-time control system of the electric water pump. It can solve the problems that existed in the cooling system of mine truck engine, and provide an effective and reasonable way for the optimization design of engine cooling system.

Turning traction force of tracked mining vehicle based on rheological property of deep-sea sediment

Abstract Based on main physical and mechanical properties of deep-sea sediment from C-C poly-metallic nodule mining area in the Pacific Ocean, the best sediment simulant was successfully prepared by mixing bentonite with a certain content of water. Compression–shear coupling rheological constitutive model of the sediment simulant was established by endochronic theory and the coupling rheological parameters were obtained by compressive and compression–shear creep tests. A new calculation formula of turning traction force of the tracked mining vehicle was first derived based on the coupling rheological model and consideration of pushing resistance and sinkage of the tracked mining vehicle. Effects of the turning velocity, crawler spacing and contacting length of crawler with deep-sea sediment on the turning traction force were analyzed. Research results can provide theoretical foundation for operation safety and optimal design of the tracked mining vehicle.

Evaluation of commercially available seat suspensions to reduce whole body vibration exposures in mining heavy equipment vehicle operators

As mining vehicle operators are exposed to high level of Whole body vibration (WBV) for prolonged periods of time, approaches to reduce this exposure are needed for the specific types of exposures in mining. Although various engineering controls (i.e. seat suspension systems) have been developed to address WBV, there has been lack of research to systematically evaluate these systems in reducing WBV exposures in mining heavy equipment vehicle settings. Therefore, this laboratory-based study evaluated the efficacy of different combinations of fore-aft (x-axis), lateral (y-axis), and vertical (z-axis) suspensions in reducing WBV exposures. The results showed that the active vertical suspension more effectively reduced the vertical vibration (∼50%; p's < 0.0001) as compared to the passive vertical suspension (10%; p's < 0.11). The passive fore-aft (x-axis) and lateral (y-axis) suspension systems did not attenuate the corresponding axis vibration (p's > 0.06) and sometimes amplified the floor vibration, especially when the non-vertical vibration was predominant (p's < 0.02). These results indicate that there is a critical need to develop more effective engineering controls including better seat suspensions to address non-vertical WBV exposures, especially because these non-vertical WBV exposures can increase risks for adverse health effects including musculoskeletal loading, discomfort, and impaired visual acuity.