Open Cut

Human Aspects of Automation and New Technology in Mining: Integrating People and Technology Through Human-Centred Design

This work explores human aspects of automation and new technology in coal mining, and how people and technology can be better integrated though the use of human centred design to help reduce safety and health risks.

Section 1 describes mining equipment automation and outlines the ....  read more

Tyre Handler Testing Rig Stage 2: Lifting Trials

Tyre handling is a major source of risk in surface mining operations, and in an incident in 2018, a fatality occurred when a tyre slipped from the grip of a tyre handling machine whilst being washed down.

Project C29043 designed, developed and commissioned a tyre handler gripper ....  read more

Design and Evaluation of a Passive Structural Fatigue Gauge

Metal fatigue is an important consideration in the open cut coal mining industry due to the prevalence of heavy-duty machinery and harsh operating conditions intrinsic to mining operations. Cyclic loading and environmental stresses can accelerate metal fatigue, leading to premature equipment ....  read more

Literature Review of Wheels in OTR Applications

The purpose of this project was to identify risks of operating and changing large pneumatic tyres and controls that have been implemented to improve safety, and to review the state of the art of existing wheels and future wheel developments.

The literature showed that OTR wheels used ....  read more

Investigating Vibration Energy Harvesting for Self Powered Sensors at Mine Sites

This project focussed on investigating vibration energy harvesting for self powered sensors at mine sites. Mine Internet of Things (MIoT) has gained considerable attention in recent years due to its potential to enhance safety and productivity in mining operations and pave the way for future ....  read more

Acoustic Sensing for Mobile Machinery Using Laser Vibrometers

The ability to increase the accuracy and effectiveness of monitoring the condition of mobile machinery has been a long held vision of the mining industry. Traditional condition monitoring techniques of mobile machinery typically require the interruption of normal operations, often resulting in ....  read more

On Board Energy Recovery and Battery Storage Systems for Diesel-Electric Haul Trucks

This project aimed to understand how much energy could be harnessed (and further used) from haul trucks travelling on long downhill runs, to reduce the overall usage of diesel fuel. It is understood that many of the mining operations have pits between 200m to 300m deep and the amount of energy ....  read more

Predicting Failure of Hydraulic Pumps and Motors

All hydraulic piston pumps are high speed components with extreme manufacturing tolerances that produce high pressures and forces. With such fine tolerances, failure is inevitable, causing expensive unplanned downtime and maintenance. This project identified a way of predicting these failures ....  read more

Design, Construction and Commissioning of Tyre Handler Test Apparatus

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Wireless Health Monitoring Mine Equipment Using RFID and Machine Learning

Conveyor belts play a pivotal role in the operation, storage, and transportation of bulk materials in the mining industry. Wear and tear of mining conveyor belts as well as monitoring their integrity in real-time mandate a critical concern for safety, security, and maintenance. Zipper failure ....  read more

In-situ Inspection of Dragline Boom Support Strands

Failure of a dragline boom support strands can have catastrophic consequences for the equipment leading to damage and downtime. Currently, in-situ inspection of the boom support strands is undertaken using radiographic techniques. These techniques are particularly valuable in displaying the ....  read more

Wear Debris Removal from Dragline Commutators

The original aim of this project was to establish a method of removing carbon debris from DC machine commutators which does not rely on PPE as a primary method of protecting operators from the hazard of respirable dust.

Prior to the witnessing of dust removal in Feb 2020, BMT engineers ....  read more

Tyre Integrity Monitoring

Driving mine trucks with underinflated and overloaded tyres subjects the steel cords within the tyre walls to cyclic stress and causes them to fatigue. Reinflating such damaged tyres can lead to what is termed a “zipper” failure in which a rapid progressive failure of the cords ....  read more

DynaCut Fundamental Development and Scalability Testing

The primary aim of this project was to validate the performance of the DynaCut rock cutting technology in representative overburden materials, to de-risk further work towards an up-scaled high capacity overburden mining system. A secondary component aimed to investigate new mining approaches ....  read more

Condition Monitoring & Predictive Maintenance Using Artificial Intelligence Technologies

The main objective of this project was to demonstrate how subsets of Artificial Intelligence technologies can play a role in reducing the time and cost of processing mine site condition monitoring data, and increasing the number of corrective actions being deployed to the mining fleet to ....  read more

Verification of Interoperability Protocol for Commercial Proximity Detection Systems

This report describes the outcomes from a project to develop an independent software verification tool to assess the compliance of proximity detection systems with an open industry communications protocol.

The requirement for this tool is driven by the fact that collision management is ....  read more

Stage Two Report: 11 KV Cable Coupler Systems and Stage One Report: 3.3kV 425 Amp Coupler System

STAGE 2 REPORT - 11 KV Cable Coupler Systems

There has been insufficient product innovation over the last 25 years to improve mining cable connectors in order to reduce the incidence of cable arcing incidents. These incidents have the capacity to ignite coal dust or flammable ....  read more

Mining Tyre Integrity Monitoring

Driving mine trucks with underinflated and overloaded tyres subjects the steel cords within the tyre walls to cyclic stress and causes them to fatigue. Reinflating such damaged tyres can lead to what is termed a “zipper” failure. This is a rapid progressive failure of the cords and ....  read more

Dragline Machine House Cooling and Dust Control

This study has led to the development of a computerised method whereby the efficacy of the ventilation system on draglines can be evaluated by determining whether there is adequate air movement throughout the machine house to remove the heat generated by the drives and MG sets. This approach ....  read more

Dragline Machine House Dust Control

A study has been undertaken into the performance of dust filtration systems on draglines to establish the pros and cons of each system in relation to intake air configurations, fan and motor arrangements, dust filtration elements and scavenge system layouts.

As a result of the study, ....  read more

Development of a Smart Condition Monitoring Sensor System for Variable Speed Machinery

The objective of this project was is to design and develop a wireless 'smart' condition monitoring sensor system for variable speed machinery.   This system includes four parts, A Smart Sensor, A Transceiver, PC and A Communication Module. The smart Sensor automatically ....  read more

DC Motor Duty Meter

Compared to other machines, DC machines are relatively complex, since they require a commutator to mechanically rectify large armature currents. This mechanical commutation is inherently a source of maintenance and lost time. However, the robustness and simplicity of control of DC machines, ....  read more

AC Motor Duty Meter for excavating machines: Part 2 (prototype)

Australian mining industry is adopting AC motors with variable speed drives in various applications, including shuttle cars, continuous miners, shearers, as well as excavating machines, such as draglines and electric rope shovels. This transition is expected to continue and possibly accelerate, ....  read more

Shovel Load Assist Project

This project, also known as SLAP, commenced in 2007 with the vision to develop an autonomous mining shovel that was able to:

· automatically dig material without requiring human involvement;

· load this material into trucks in such a way that the tray capacity is fully ....  read more

Quarter Scale Synthetic Rope Testing For Dragline Applications

This report presents the findings of an ACARP research study that continues the investigation, from ACARP project C20026, into the potential of synthetic ropes to provide productivity and safety improvements to mining dragline excavators.

This study focused on testing a ....  read more

Voltage Stabilisation Using Power Electronics.

ACARP project C21030 looked at the applicability of using power electronics for voltage stabilisation in open cut and underground coal mining. The primary outcome has been the analysis of voltage stability issues and the systematic validation of the capability of a Static Compensator (STATCOM) ....  read more

Development Of Heavy Maintenance Manipulator For Dragline Jewellery Repair

The project's objective was to develop a tele-operated manipulator prototype, in order to separate workers from the hazards of heavy maintenance, in particular, dragline jewellery maintenance. Dragline jewellery maintenance presents a high level of HSEC risk to maintenance personnel. ....  read more

AC Motor Duty Meter For Excavating Machines: Feasibility Study

The Australian mining industry has started to adopt AC-driven electrical excavators, draglines and electric rope shovels. This transition is expected to continue and possibly accelerate, necessitating development of condition monitoring tools for AC machines in digging applications.

An Improved System for Dragline Rope Condition Monitoring

In stage one of this project it was demonstrated that it is feasible to use magnetostrictive transducer technologies to generate ultrasonic energy in wire ropes of up to 77mm in diameter and for this energy to be transmitted through the rope and socketing assembly.  The report on stage one ....  read more

Minimal Perception Requirements to Support Effective Remote Control of Bulldozers

Bulldozers often work in hazardous environments. Teleoperation provides a viable means for enabling operators to perform work without being directly exposed to the hazards of these environments. The benefits of utilising teleoperated bulldozers in coal stockpile management tasks, for example, ....  read more

Alternative Rope Materials for Dragline Application

This research study focuses on dragline ropes and the feasibility of substituting steel wire ropes with light weight, high performance synthetic fibre ropes.

By conducting this study into alternative rope materials significant areas of benefit have been identified for existing ....  read more

Demonstration of a Dragline Boom Strengthened With Pre-impregnated Composites

Fatigue cracking in structural members is one of the primary causes of unscheduled downtime in mining equipment. The boom-mast structural system of draglines is vulnerable to fatigue failures. In order to maintain or improve operational reliability and availability throughout the service life ....  read more

Application of StressVision Technology to Dragline Booms

Dragline Booms are commonly cited as one of the highest risk assemblies in open cut mining operations. Most operations incorporate a rigorous NDT regime for dragline booms to ensure that risk of in-service boom failure is properly managed.

This project aims to add value to existing NDT ....  read more

Online Monitoring of Wear and Lubrication Oil Contamination Using a Novel Detector - Field Trials

Reliable monitoring of the effectiveness of working lubrication oils and the condition of lubricant wetted components is crucial to preventing oil related failures of mining equipment.  However, current diagnostic tests based on Scheduled Oil Sampling and used oil analysis cannot promptly ....  read more

Reinforcement and Strengthening of Mining Structures with Pre-Impregnated Composites

This project covered the preliminary investigation into using Sitecured Fibre Reinforced Plastics (FRP's) for strengthening structural members in dragline booms, more particularly tubular members in boom and mast structural system.  Sitecure is a process developed by ICD to cure the ....  read more

Development of a Centre Loading Blade

The objective of this project was to evaluate the concept of using a spade nosed dozer blade in dozer push applications. The research was undertaken in trials working alongside Caterpillar D11R Carry Blades.  The research showed that the blade had increased fill capacities, reduced load ....  read more

Life Extension and Reliability Improvement of Large Electric Mining Shovels

Electric shovels are the primary production machine for many mine sites. They offer mine operators relatively low-cost production and a much higher degree of mobility than draglines.  The industry monitors nominated the P&H XPB shovel at Goonyella Riverside (GYRS) mine for the ....  read more

Performance of Dragline Revolving Frame and Tub Structures at 125% RSL

With mine operators moving to re-rate their draglines to 125% RSL, any structural problems are likely to be exagerated and need investigation. This project sought to evaluate higher loads on the dragline revolving frame and tub structure and develop responsive structural improvements and ....  read more

System for Dragline Rope Condition Monitoring

As a successor to the encouraging results of an earlier project (C13039), the purpose of this project was to confirm and formalise the possibility of producing and measuring vibrations in large wire ropes in order to form an assessment of the condition of the wires within that rope, ....  read more

Collision Control and Avoidance for Electric Mining Shovels

This report details the development and demonstration of a collision control technology for P&H-class mining shovels that minimizes the frequency and severity of dipper collisions between the bucket, crawler tracks and floor. The work was funded by ACARP as project C15038.

Optimisation of Structural Performance of Trucks

The majority of truck and shovel operations in the Australian coal industry use Caterpillar 789, 793 or Komatsu 830, 930 trucks. These trucks are at various stages of their service life and many of them have experienced fatigue cracking at several locations after a relatively short ....  read more

In-situ Inspection of Dragline Boom Suspension Ropes

Our objective during this project was to develop a procedure that optimised radiographic image quality for the assessment of internal wire fractures within practical time constraints. It was also hoped that a determination of the likely uncertainty of assessment would be obtained to ....  read more

Bucket Imaging During Rope Shovel Operations

Bucket fillability in open cut mining operations has a major influence on the productivity of electric rope shovels. The characteristics of bucket filling can be described in terms of the amount and distribution of material in the bucket and the ease of the digging operation. The enhanced ....  read more

Stress Relieving and Pre-Fabricated Nodes for BE Dragline Booms

A previous ACARP project (C11052) identified weld quality and residual stresses as two major factors contributing to poor fatigue life of BE boom clusters compared to Marion clusters. The traditional fabrication methods that have been used for decades without much improvement are ....  read more

Development of a Smart, Cheap, Autonomous Condition Monitoring Sensor System: Stage 2

The objective of this project is to design and develop a ?smart' autonomous condition monitoring sensor system, which does not require external cabling .

This Smart Sensor system can automatically detect machine conditions using a completely selfcontained wireless machine ....  read more

Getting the Most Out of Current Dragline Booms Safely

Investigations conducted on dragline boom structures by MTI have shown that there has been a lack of clear understanding of the main parameters affecting the strength and loading of this structural system. The loading and design criteria used for the original design of the structures ....  read more

Dragline Rope Life Extension

A detailed analysis conducted by MTI in 2002 on dragline maintenance costs identified dragline ropes, including suspension, IBS, drag, hoist and dump ropes, to be a major driver of maintenance costs. These account for 10-15% of the total maintenance costs, and amounts to ~$300K per annum ....  read more

Advanced Signal Processing Tools for ShafTest

The SHAFTEST system utilizes a novel approach for the collection and presentation of ultrasonic shaft defect information, by which the normally complex task of monitoring the condition of large shafts and pins is simplified. The collection and recording of results are more accurate and ....  read more

Chronic Problem Areas, Repair Quality and Improved Repairs for Dragline Structurals

The chronic failures and repairs of field plant structurals have been investigated with a particular emphasis on BE1370 and Marion dragline structurals. The investigation steps included:

• Review of history of structural failures, their classification and mapping

Investigate Swing Shaft and Pinion Failures on Draglines

This report presents the findings of a study conducted as ACARP Project Number C12035, which was aimed at investigating swing shaft failures on draglines with a view to developing some specific proposals for ameliorative measures.

A large proportion of the Australian ....  read more

Dragline Dutymeter

The aim of the project was to develop, build and demonstrate an on-line Dragline Duty Monitor (Dragline Dutymeter) prototype to continuously monitor the operation and log the incremental damage on the machine caused by present operating practices and the current operating regime.

The ....  read more

Development of a Smart, Cheap, Autonomous Condition Monitoring Sensor

The objective of this project was to design, develop and demonstrate a 'smart' autonomous self-contained sensor, which does not require external cabling.

First stage, this Smart Sensor would be suited to ....  read more

Online Monitoring of Lubrication Oil Contamination and Degradation

Issues
The repairs and downtime caused by oil-related engine or other machine failures represent about 30-50% of the operational cost in the Australian mining industry. The reliable monitoring of the effectiveness of working lubrication oils and the condition of lubricant wetted ....  read more

Structural Integrity Evaluation and Crack Detection in Booms with Acoustic Emission

Metacoustics has been involved in a number of research projects jointly funded by Metacoustics (71.5%) and ACARP (28.5%) over the past 6 years. One project has been the adaptation of acoustic emission techniques for use in monitoring the integrity of dragline booms. Now that the research ....  read more

ShafTest System

This report details the advances made by CW Pope in their determination to develop a system that enabled the monitoring of crack propogation in large shafts.

Shafts and pins are vital components of large items of coal production equipment including:

• Draglines

Application of Environmentally Friendly Lubricants to Open Cut Mining Machines

New lubrication specifications are needed to improve the quality of lubricants used in the mining industry.  The mining industry spends more than $20 million a year on lubricants, however, lubrication specifications for machinery are inadequate. ....  read more

Dragline/Shovel Bucket Teeth Retainer System

Current above ground mining practices in open cut / strip mining requires the topsoil or 'over-burden to be removed so as to provide easy access to the target material ie coal and ore. Over-burden can be removed by numerous methods, but is predominantly performed by the walking draglines ....  read more

Wear Particle Characterisation - Auto Ident. of Wear & Contamination Particles Found in Lubrication Systems

Microscopic examination of wear debris for machine condition monitoring was first introduced in the 70's It is reliable but, for the human analyst, can become a tedious and time consuming task. This has limited its widespread usage. In 1994, CMTE ....  read more