Research on determination of haul truck speed depending on mining and technical conditions

Abstract

One of the primary methods to enhance the profitability of open-pit mining transportation is to establish and adhere to an operational regime tailored to specific operational and technical conditions. A critical factor defining productivity and safety in these operational regimes is the truck speed. Accurately determining the speed facilitates precise transportation task planning, optimal administrative measures, and operational management capabilities. Several methods exist for determining the speed of dump trucks, with the analytical method commonly used under safety conditions to set speed limits on curvy or steep segments of the road. The graphic-analytical method utilizes dynamics of force and load travel performance to determine the appropriate speed for each road segment. Currently, analytical and graphic-analytical methods used for determining the speed of mining dump trucks are up to 10-15% variance in accuracy, does not fully meet today’s requirements. Mining dump trucks operate in stable and variable motion regimes during a single work cycle, and it is impossible to determine the speed during these various regimes using simple analytical methods alone. However, with the advancement of big data processing today, high-precision measurements and production tests can be conducted, enabling the derivation of mathematical equations and models during these motion regimes, which in turn allows for the programming of the entire dump truck travel in a comprehensive model. This study utilized a large dataset from Erdenet open-pit mining operations to define the influence of operational and technical factors such as mine depth, distance, road gradient, and pavement type on the speed of movement. This methodology enables conducting various analytical tests, developing models, and quickly determining the speed of movement under specific production conditions.