ACARP ACARP ACARP ACARP
Open Cut

ShafTest System

Open Cut » Maintenance & Equipment

Published: June 01Project Number: C7005

Get ReportAuthor: Guy Cotterill, Adam Van Dyke, John Perceval | CW Pope & Associates

This report details the advances made by CW Pope in their determination to develop a system that enabled the monitoring of crack propogation in large shafts.

Shafts and pins are vital components of large items of coal production equipment including:

  • Draglines and Shovels:
    • Swing Shafts, Propel Shafts, Boom Foot Pins, Boom Suspension Pins
  • Bucket Wheel Reclaimers:
    • Main Head Drive Shaft
  • Longwall Miners:
    • Ranging Arm Drives, Conveyor Drives
  • Haulage Equipment:
    • Sheave Shafts, Winder Drum Shafts

Shafts and pins are susceptible to failures without apparent warning. Consequences of shaft or pin failure are catastrophic with enormous costs in downtime, consequential damage to associated equipment and potential injury to personnel.

Safe operation of plant and equipment relies on pro-active maintenance aided by newly emerging condition-monitoring technologies. Operators of critical plant are particularly interested in early detection of conditions that lead to in-service failures of rotating shafts and fixed pins.

Failures of shafts and pins are usually preceded by fatigue cracking. Current non-destructive examination (NDE) techniques allow in-situ detection of fatigue cracking in shafts and pins. The major shortcoming of these techniques, however, is that crack detection and quantitative analysis of crack length and depth demands a high level of skill and experience. Further, the inherent difficulty of inspection leads to inconsistencies in results and often requires extended periods of access (hence equipment downtime and lost production) for re-evaluation of critical areas.

Coal mining industry maintenance personnel have identified the need to advance in the capabilities of NDE to provide solutions to the current deficiencies in shaft testing. This has been reinforced by recent examples of fatigue cracks that have been monitored in dragline and face shovel swing shafts, dragline walking cam shafts, shovel propel shafts, dragline and shovel boom foot pins. In all of the above components the consequences of failure are very serious.

A system for the ultrasonic examination of shafts and pins has been developed with the assistance of ACARP funding (C7005). The system was designed to satisfy the following key requirements:

  • The ability to test and monitor complex shafts
  • The ability to detect fatigue cracking at an earlier stage
  • The ability to analyse data using advanced techniques to improve characterisation and discriminate
  • Provide detailed information to allow correlation of plant history and the development of fatigue cracking
  • Capability of implementing automated monitoring of critical or inaccessible components
  • The ability to gather repeatable data
  • The ability to store historical data
  • The ability to trend data
  • The ability to collect data with lower skilled people

Underground

Health and safety, productivity and environment initiatives.

Recently Completed Projects

C34019Longwall Bretby Cable Handling Monitoring With Fibre Optics

This project examined the potential of using fibre optic sensing tec...

C27049Mine Machine Radar Sensor Integration

The aim of this project was to develop an integrated radar sensor an...

C29007Innovative Coal Burst System To Investigate The Influence Of Confinement Loss And Pre-Conditioning On Coal Burst Mechanism

The challenges associated with designing and operating a safe and pr...

Underground

Open Cut

Safety, productivity and the right to operate are priorities for open cut mine research.

Recently Completed Projects

C33035High Water Recovery, Low Cost Desalination Using PV-Powered Membrane Capacitive Deionisation (Mcdi)

Capacitive deionization is a robust, energy efficient and cost effec...

C28035Topsoil Deficits In Site Rehabilitation Accelerated Transformation Of Spoils To Functional Soils

The incorporation of commercial biological amendments (compost, worm...

C34036Tyre Handler Testing Rig Stage 2: Lifting Trials

Tyre handling is a major source of risk in surface mining operations...

Open Cut

Coal Preparation

Maximising throughput and yield while minimising costs and emissions.

Coal Preparation

Technical Market Support

Market acceptance and emphasising the advantages of Australian coals.

Recently Completed Projects

C34060In-Situ Investigation Of Coke Structure Formation Under Stamp Charged Coking Conditions

Stamp charged cokemaking has emerged as an effective technique to im...

C34062Improving The Classification Of Microstructure Distribution In Coke CT Images Using Deep Learning And Lineal Path Calculations

This project builds on a number of earlier projects that have helped...

C29071Source Of Variability Of Reactivity Of Coke In The CSR Test

The Coke Strength after Reaction (CSR) test is used worldwide to det...

Technical Market Support

Mine Site Greenhouse Gas Mitigation

Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from the production of coal.

Recently Completed Projects

C28076Selective Absorption Of Methane By Ionic Liquids (SAMIL)

This third and final stage of this project was the culmination of a ...

C29069Low-Cost Catalyst Materials For Effective VAM Catalytic Oxidation

Application of ventilation air methane (VAM) thermal oxidiser requir...

C23052Novel Stone Dust Looping Process For Ventilation Air Methane Abatement

This multi‐phase project is concerned with the mitigation of m...

Mine Site Greenhouse Gas Mitigation

Low Emission Coal Use

Step-change technologies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Recently Completed Projects

C17060BGasification Of Australian Coals

Four Australian coals were trialled in the Siemens 5 MWth pilot scale ga...

C17060AOxyfuel Technology For Carbon Capture And Storage Critical Clean Coal Technology - Interim Support

The status of oxy-fuel technology for first-generation plant is indicate...

C18007Review Of Underground Coal Gasification

This report consists of a broad review of underground coal gasification,...

Low Emission Coal Use

Mining And The Community

The relationship between mines and the local community.

Recently Completed Projects

C16027Assessing Housing And Labour Market Impacts Of Mining Developments In Bowen Basin Communities

The focus of this ACARP-funded project has been to identify a number...

C22029Understanding And Managing Cumulative Impacts Of Coal Mining And Other Land Uses In Regions With Diversified Economies

The coal industry operates in the context of competing land-uses that sh...

C23016Approval And Planning Assessment Of Black Coal Mines In NSW And Qld: A Review Of Economic Assessment Techniques

This reports on issues surrounding economic assessment and analysis ...

Mining And The Community

NERDDC

National Energy Research,Development & Demonstration Council (NERDDC) reports - pre 1992.

Recently Completed Projects

1609-C1609Self Heating of Spoil Piles from Open Cut Coal Mines

Self Heating of Spoil Piles from Open Cut Coal Mines

1301-C1301Stress Control Methods for Optimised Development...

Stress Control Methods for Optimised Development and Extraction Operations

0033-C1356Commissioned Report: Australian Thermal Coals...

Commissioned Report: Australian Thermal Coals - An Industry Handbook

NERDDC