Intensification of Open Mining Operations with a Small Distance of Transportation of Rock Mass

Abstract

Sometimes in open mining, it is economically expedient to extract and transport rock mass with the help of wheel tractors-scrapers. To improve the hopper filling with the rock mass operating with clay or loosened rocks, it is advisable to use scrapers equipped with loading intensifiers in the form of a raking wall located inside the hopper. The article presents the experimental filling study results of wheel tractor-scraper hopper models of different capacities with a standard and increased hopper length at the presence or absence of a raking wall. The investigations were carried out on an experimental rock removal bench equipped with a strain gauge measuring system to record forces that arise during the hopper model filling with rock mass. Data are given on the rock mass removal for various filling methods, as well as for the resistance values for the piling wall movement and the energy capacity of the hopper filling process for operating with sandy loam, loam, clay, and limestone crushed stone. There were realized the calculations of the operational productivity and the specific cost of works, depending on the rock mass transportation distance with elongated hopper scrapers equipped with a scraper wall, scrapers with standard hoppers and scrapers operating with a pusher bulldozer set. The rational application areas for each of the machines were revealed.