Optimising Shovel-Truck Fuel Consumption using Stochastic Simulation

Abstract

Stochastic simulation was conducted to analyse the fuel consumption of a shovel-truck system. An example shovel-truck system, comprising a single shovel and four trucks was considered. At 95% confidence interval, the monthly simulated fuel consumption by the shovel-truck system was found to be about 198 127 litres against the actual fuel consumption of 203 772 litres, registering a variance of -2.70%. About 22 000 litres of fuel was consumed per month due to truck waiting. Optimising the fuel consumption and truck waiting time can result in significant fuel savings. The paper demonstrates that stochastic simulation is an effective tool for optimising the utilisation of fossil-based fuels in mining and related industries. Keywords: Stochastic, Simulation Modelling, Mining, Optimisation, Shovel-Truck Material Handling