Calculations on Materials

Handling: Surface Coal Mining

By Dailyn Nivero
Calculation
All the production calculations for
loading and haulage equipment that treat
the material as discrete units can be
characterized by a cycle.
Capacity – refers to the volume of
material that a loading or haulage unit can
hold at any point in time.
e.g. volume of loading machine bucket or
truck bed
Classification of Capacity

Struck Capacity – volume of material that a

loading or haulge unit when it is filled to the
top, but with no material above the sides or
carried on any external attechments such as
bucket teeth.
Heaped Capacity – maximum volume of
material that a loading or haulage unit can
handle when the material is heaped above the
sides. While the struck capacity is a constant for
any unit, the heaped capacity is a function of the
material properties and the shape of the unit.
 Calculate capacity
The general relationship between
production rate, cycle time, and capacity is
quite simple and can be stated as:
production rate = capacity × (no. of
cycles/unit time)
When all efficiency factors are considered,
productivity = production rate × efficiency
factors
Loading and Haulage Production Calculations:
Bucket Payload

An excavator’s bucket payload (actual

amount of material in the bucket on each
digging cycle) is dependent on bucket
size, shape, curl force, and certain soil
characteristics.
Average Bucket Payload = Heaped Bucket
Capacity x Bucket Fill Factor
e. g.
Select the bucket size for a fleet on mining shovels
at a coal ore operation given the following
assumptions about the operation:
Daily Required Capacity/Machine (3
Machines)=32,000 tpd
Estimated Daily Operating Time=17.02 hours
Diggability Rating = very hard digging
Estimated Work Cycle =37 seconds
Material Bulk Weight = 6,000 lb/yrd 3
Swell Factor = 0.60
Dipper Fill Factor = 0.80
Solution:
Conventional double backup loading
planned; therefore, a standard boom
length is satisfactory.
Shovel Cycles per Day =

= 1,656 cycles/day
Required material.

Tonnage per Cycle =

= 19.8 tons or 39,600 lbs

Dipper Size =

= =13.8, say 14 yd3

 Production Capacity of Continuous Flow
Loaders
If I is nominal bucket capacity in yd 3, z is
number of buckets per wheel in ft, then:
Ss = Vi x Z/ D
Where Ss = no. of bucket discharges per
second
Qt = I x Ss x 3,600
And Qt = theoretical capacity of the excavator
in yd3/hr (m3/h)
M x g = M x Vi2/R
M = mass of material, lb (kg)
R = radius of the wheel in ft (m)
g = acceleration due to gravity
Vi = = Vmax
Practical values of speed lie between 0.4 to
0.6 Vmax.
Yet another factor that affects the output of BWE
is the bucket filling capacity.
Actual capacity of the BWE in any soil is:
Qa = I x Bf x Ss x 3,600
e.g.
A BWE has eight buckets with a nominal capacity
of 2 m3/bucket. The wheel has a diameter of 15
m and operates at a speed of the 0.4 m/s. In a
material with a digging resistance of 25 kg/cm,
the BWE is producing 400 m3/hr. If the speed of
the bucket does not change, what would be the
bucket-fill factor for the buckets when cutting a
material with a digging resistance of 45 kg/cm?
Solution:

Q2 = Q = 400 = 123.5 m3/hr

The production rate can also be expressed

as:
Q = I x Bf x Ss x 3,600
Solving for Bf,
Bf = but Ss= , therefore
Bf =

=0.252 or 25.2%
Carying Capacity of Discrete Unit
Haulers
Theoretical Productivity
The tons/kg or cubic yards/cubic meters
per hour produced by an operating unit if
no delays were encountered. This
indicates 100% potential, which is rarely,
if ever achieved.

Tons =
Bank yd3 per hr, bcy/hr =

Loading Time
There are several methods for determining
the no. of shovel, dragline, or loader
passes per load and the resulting load
time.
Weight per yd3 of material (loose) = weight
in bank x swell factor
No. of tons per pass = bucket capacity(yd3 or m3) x
fill factor x loose weight per yd3 or m3
No. of passes per load = rate capacity of haulage
unit (tons or kg) per pass
Load time (min) = no. pf passes x excavator cycle
time (min)
Travel time can be calculated by:

Travel Time(min) =
or

Travel Time(min) =
e.g. An operator is determining which of the
two possible haul roads should be used:
1. The first alternative is a level roadway, 6000
ft long with a rolling resistance factor of 120
lb/ton and a coefficient of traction of 0.45.
2. The second alternative is a 3,000 ft roadway
with a 5% adverse grade on the haul, and a
rolling resistance factor of 200 lb/ton and
coefficient traction of 0.40.
The hauling unit is an off-highway truck with a
gross vehicle weight of 130,000 lb; with
81,000 lb on the rear wheels when loaded to
rated capacity.
Solution:
Alternative 1:
Rolling Resistance Factor = 120 lb/ton
= 6%(20 lb/ton =1 %)
Grade resistance in Haul =0%
Grade resistance on return = 0%
Effective Grade on Haul = 6% + 0% = 6%
Effective Grade on Return = 6% + 0% = 6%
a.) Gross vehicle weight = 130,000 lb
Power Required = 130,000 lb x 6% = 7,800lb
Power Available = 8,000lb at 16 mph
Power Usable = 81,000 x 0.45 = 36,450lb
Vehicle will be able to haul under the given conditions:
b.) haul time 4.70 min
return time + 2.40 min
TOTAL 7.10 min
Alternative 1:
Rolling Resistance Factor = 200 lb/ton
= 10%(20 lb/ton =1 %)
Grade resistance in Haul =5%
Grade resistance on return = -5%
Effective Grade on Haul = 10% + 5% = 15%
Effective Grade on Return = 10% - 5% = 6%
a.) Gross vehicle weight = 130,000 lb
Power Required = 130,000 lb x 15% = 19,500lb
Power Available = 20,000lb at 7 mph
Power Usable = 81,000 x 0.40 = 32,400lb
Vehicle will be able to haul under the given conditions:
b.) haul time 5.50 min
return time + 1.30 min
TOTAL 7.10 min
Discrete Unit Haulers with Fixed Paths

Productivity =
Dragline Calculations
The dragline reach factor is the horizontal
distance between the bench crest and the
spoil pile peak.

Reach Factor =

Stacking Height = h – D
e.g. Consider an operation with the
following parameters:
=1:3 (highwall slope)
= 1.25:1 (spoil pile slope)
D = 90 ft (overburden depth)
S = 25% (swell factor)
W = 120 ft (pit width)
T = 5 ft (coal thickness)
t = 0 ft (spoil pile touches the coal)
Solution:
1st calculation is to find the dragline reach
factor
RF=
= 140.63 + 30 + 30
RF = 200.63 ft
2nd calculation is to find the stacking
height
Stacking height = h – D
h= = 131. 50 ft

131.50 – 90.0 = 41.5 ft

Thanks for Listening!!