Developed by the Brisbane-based CMTE (the Australian Co-operative Research Centre for Mining Technology and Equipment), the Cutting Head Performance Analysis Software (CPAS) can predict vibrations for different lacing patterns, coal properties and other operating conditions.
Shearer drum design has been found to have an important effect on the pick and power consumptions, specific energy, respirable dust level, and mean particle size. The reaction force and torque levels, vibrations, and cutting efficiency all depend on the shearer drum design.
CMTE said the performance of longwall shearers has been shown to improve significantly when computer assistance is used in drum design.
The program was developed for checking a given shearer drum design against excessive vibrations and inefficient cutting conditions.
Analysis is carried out through predicting the reaction forces and shaft torque acting on shearer drum and drawing its breakout pattern. This software can be used for longwall shearer drums, continuous miners, and the surface miners.
This work has been partially funded by ACARP (Australian Coal Association research Program). CMTE is not planning to market the software as a standalone package at this stage. However, the interested parties are welcome to contact CMTE for an application of the software to understand issues associated with a particular shearer design.
