TY - THES

T1 - Comparison of State-of-the-Art Continuous and Batch Hauling Systems in the Development of Underground Coal Mines

AU - Gross, Thomas

N1 - embargoed until null

PY - 2016

Y1 - 2016

N2 - The continuous and still growing demand for energy drives mining companies to increase the output of their underground coal mining operations. Bigger and more powerful machines are used and the speed of advance is increased to achieve the scheduled production targets. However, the production rate is not only determined by the size and number of machines being used but also by an adequate and efficient setup of the production cycles underground. The optimization of production is a still ongoing task and the efforts being done nowadays mainly concentrate on the elimination or reduction of existing bottle necks. Every mine tries to make the mine’s output as continuous as possible even it is well known that a fully continuous production is not possible. One of the big bottlenecks in the development of longwall roadway entries or the production cycles of room and pillar sections is the haulage system. The whole production cycle might work perfect for a certain percentage of the production cycle; for the remaining percentage this is definitely not the case as the haulage system is not able to follow the continuous miner and to haul the bulk good with an according speed. In this case the continuous miner must wait for the haulage, it is haulage dependent. The aim of this project work is not to do detailed investigations, simulations or calculations for a mining section but it shall point out a comparison of existing haulage systems in use, show advantages and disadvantages of state of the art systems and give an outlook to future developments. Due to the complexity of this topic it is not possible to give a full overview on the world’s mining operations, suppliers and markets. This would go far behind the limits of the scope of this project work. For this reason the focus of investigation will be laid on examples out of the entirety and those will be compared accordingly.

AB - The continuous and still growing demand for energy drives mining companies to increase the output of their underground coal mining operations. Bigger and more powerful machines are used and the speed of advance is increased to achieve the scheduled production targets. However, the production rate is not only determined by the size and number of machines being used but also by an adequate and efficient setup of the production cycles underground. The optimization of production is a still ongoing task and the efforts being done nowadays mainly concentrate on the elimination or reduction of existing bottle necks. Every mine tries to make the mine’s output as continuous as possible even it is well known that a fully continuous production is not possible. One of the big bottlenecks in the development of longwall roadway entries or the production cycles of room and pillar sections is the haulage system. The whole production cycle might work perfect for a certain percentage of the production cycle; for the remaining percentage this is definitely not the case as the haulage system is not able to follow the continuous miner and to haul the bulk good with an according speed. In this case the continuous miner must wait for the haulage, it is haulage dependent. The aim of this project work is not to do detailed investigations, simulations or calculations for a mining section but it shall point out a comparison of existing haulage systems in use, show advantages and disadvantages of state of the art systems and give an outlook to future developments. Due to the complexity of this topic it is not possible to give a full overview on the world’s mining operations, suppliers and markets. This would go far behind the limits of the scope of this project work. For this reason the focus of investigation will be laid on examples out of the entirety and those will be compared accordingly.

M3 - Master's Thesis (University Course)

ER -