ACARP ACARP ACARP ACARP
Open Cut

Active Vibration-Isolation Seat Development

Open Cut » Health and Safety

Published: January 00Project Number: C7011

Get ReportAuthor: Arthur Chaseling | Chaseling McGiffin

This project sought to improve the ride in heavy off-road mining vehicles by replacing the spring-isolation system in a normal operator's seat with a hydraulic actuator assembly which responds actively to movement of the cab, moving the seat vertically in the opposite direction to cab to cancel out vibration resulting from road irregularities and loping. The seat is intended to protect the operator from vibration at low frequencies, which heavy mining vehicles are known to produce and which conventional vibration-isolation seats are known to be unable to attenuate.

This 'powered' seat suspension has become economically feasible due in part to the recent availability of low cost accelerometers and advanced hydraulic switching devices.

Normal vibration-isolation seats function by well-known dynamic principles, with the seat being connected to its base via a spring and damper system. Seats of this type isolate well at excitation frequencies well above the natural frequency of the spring and the mass supported by it. They are however much less effective under circumstances where there are significant excitations around the natural frequency of the system. At such frequencies, the seat actually magnifies the vibration by up to 40%.

Typical spring-isolated seats have natural frequencies around 2 Hertz, and it is not practical to build seats with lower natural frequencies, as the travel of the seat suspension becomes very large under such circumstances. This is unimportant for road trucks, where the significant vibration inputs are at their wheel-turning frequency of 4 to 8 Hertz. It is however critical on large off-highway mining trucks, where wheel-turning frequencies of 2 Hertz are common.

An additional problem with spring-isolated seats is that the suspension does not react quickly to shock loads because of the presence of hydraulic dampers. These dampers have a characteristic in which the reactive force applied by them increases with an increase in seat velocity. They are thus unable to react quickly to shock loads.

The powered seat successfully reduced the low frequency operator vibration and shock loads associated with the predominant spring and damper technique.

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