RESEARCHES REGARDING THE PARAMETERS WHICH INFLUENCE THE WEAR OF SOME SPARE PARTS OF ROCK DISLOCATION TECHNOLOGICAL EQUIPMENT

CARMEN FLOREA1

Keywords: shearer picks, cutting parts, abrasive wear, hard pin, abrasive sandstone. Abstract: The researches regarding the friction-wear as well as dry conditions wear of the parts of rock dislocation technological equipments, deal with establishing the main parameters which appear during these processes. The waste and coal cutting shearer is equipped with cutting picks which are worn permanently, because they are in direct contact with the rock. The wear rate during the dislocation process varies depending on the properties of the rock, working conditions and as well as the technical characteristics of the shearer. The paper deals with the general reasons as well as with the results obtained during the investigation of the specific consumption of the picks, considering the different work conditions of the shearer, as well as the materials which have a contribution during the operation. Introduction. Friction and wear phenomena, characteristic to the components of waste and rock dislocation and transport machineries, are produced with high energy consumption corresponding to a mechanical work, lost by friction, with different values depending on the coefficients of friction.

Prof. Eng. Ph.D. University of Petroani

The realised studies, considering the movement of chains onto the conveyer trough allowed founding a series of laws regarding the dependency of the friction coefficients on the material as well as on the friction conditions (Figure 1). Therefore, considering the speeds of the chain vk = 0,5 . 2,0 m/s, the coefficient of friction decreases by reducing the speed of the chain; the comparison between the values of the coefficient of friction shows that their greater values appear when transporting coal, therefore explaining the rapid wear of the conveyer trough operating in coal mines.

Fig. 1:Dependency of the friction coefficient of the material and the chain speed

By analogy, there is the possibility of studying the friction and wear during the dislocation process of material when digging mine pits in soft rock and coal. The technological equipment is represented by the partial attack cutting machines (Figure 2), with the cutting part placed on a cutting jib.The shearer picks dislocating the rock (figure 3) are installed on the cutting mechanism [1] and constitute the elements with the highest degree of wear, determining important costs which may negatively influence the profit of the operation. The shearer pick is made of steel alloy, while the tip of the pick is made of tungsten carbide. Generally, tungsten carbide based hard alloys meet the physical-chemical properties offering them a large use range, in different fields of activity, properties, which ensure the necessary resistance in bending as well as an increased tenacity of cutting machines. The paper also deals with the presentation of the results of personal research made to establish the influence of the material on the wear rock dislocation tools. Coal or rock dislocation process with the help of cutting machines is influenced by three groups of factors: - mechanical characteristics of rocks (roughness, abrasiveness, resistance to contact pressure, etc.);

Fig. 2:Partial attack cutting machine

Fig. 3: Tangential shearer pick for partial attack cutting machines

Tests and Results. - the geometry and mechanical characteristics of the material of the shearer pick; - the working regime of the dislocation equipment (combination machine and shearer). Laboratory trials have been made using a unit which reproduces the operation of a shearer of a combination machine; it allows the shearer pick to make a rotation movement, while the rock sample advances through a translation movement. The operation of combination machines, respectively of the shearer pick influence their wear especially through the cutting speed of the tip of the shearer as well as the pivoting speed of the jib (Figure 4).

Fig. 4:Shearer picks cutting speed

The rotation speed is greater than the pivoting speed [2] therefore it is approximated with the cutting speed (combination machines have cutting speeds comprised between 2,5...3,5 m/s).

Considering cutting speeds under 2m/s, the shearer cuts thicker chips, and the resulted rock is in the form of large boulders; therefore, less dust is produced, the temperature of the cutting tip is smaller, as well as its wear. The use of different types of shearer picks, considering the geometry of the cutting edge (Table 1), is established according the evolution of their wear in the rock for which the physical-chemical properties are known [2]. Table 1 - Typo-dimensions of the combination cutter Loading degree of the shearer pick Type of rock and working conditions Coal Soft rock normal Coal Soft rock or medium density rock Coal hard rock areas with cracked rock medium density compact rock Brittle rock hard Hard compact rock Faulted areas. 30 import 17,5 indigenous production The diameter of the pin Geometry of the shearer pick

9 indigenous production

semi-hard

25 import

19-22 import

Wear research (both on site and in the laboratory) of hard materials, constituting the cutting edge of the shearer pick, require tests in order to establish the properties of rocks following to be cut.

Figure 5.a represents a variation diagram of the rocks depending on the coefficient of roughness f, obtained through experimental determinations for rocks with different properties. It is observed that as roughness increases, the abrasiveness of rocks increases as well therefore the study of the influence of the third property is implied, namely the resistance to compression.

Fig.5: The variation of rock abrasiveness depending on the coefficient of roughness f and on the resistance to compression k (a,b)

The trials have been made with 15 types of sand stone and have proven, totally, that the abrasiveness increases together with the resistance to compression up to 150 MPa (Figure 5.b). Therefore, for the trials, different abrasiveness and roughness sand stone has been selected. (Table 2) Table 2 - Abrasiveness and roughness of the sand stone with different granulation Structure of the sand stone Fine Granulation Small Granulation Medium Granulation Large Granulation Roughness coefficient f 12 10 8 6 Abrasiveness a[mg] 15,4 20,6 37,3 42,2

The research of the wear of the shearer pick, in real conditions, directly on the combination machine, as well as on the laboratory unit, has been realised at a 3m/s cutting speed. Determining the wear of the shearer pick is based the loss of the weight

of the hard pin, considering the dislocation of several artificial rock samples and then in natural sand stone. It has been determined that in hard artificial rock (Figure 6), slightly abrasive, the degree of wear of the shearer pick is insignificant.

Fig.6-Developement of the shearer pick wear

In very abrasive natural sand stone, the wear of the 19mm tungsten carbide hard pin shearer picks increases together with the cutting length; it may be considered that when the cutting length increases to 90m the wear increases 3 times than for a 30 mm hard metallic pin. Therefore, the great influence of the

Fig. 7: The variation diagram of the wear of the shearer pick depending on the abrasiveness of the rock

cutting capacity in choosing the right shearer pick for the partial attack combination cutting machinery is explained. Figure 7 represents the variation diagrams of the wear of the shearer pick depending the abrasiveness of the rock. The usefulness of these diagrams results from the fact that they can be used by specialist in production, operating rock and coal dislocation machineries, in order to preliminary establish the operation period of shearer pick considering known the mechanical properties of rocks. Conclusions. 1st Conclusion. The roughness and abrasiveness of the rock influences, decisively, the wear of the shearer pick of the combination machinery, namely the cost of spare parts and therefore the cost of production. 2nd Conclusion. The necessary condition for abrasive wear to appear is the difference of roughness of the contact areas. Therefore, it has to be emphasised that the rocks are discontinuous, non-homogenous and anisotropic bodies, with different levels of roughness, even for the same sample. It has also been observed that the elasticity and plasticity theories, cannot be used, when considering rocks, only in limited research fields. 3rd Conclusion. The laboratory mechanical trials for the study of the wear phenomenon that rocks have on hard synthesised carbide materials may be made on samples of rocks of irregular shapes. 4th Conclusion. The results of the trials have been directed towards the determination of the evolution of wear of the shearer picks, allowing however the determination of future research directions for using certain materials for the pins, which will be able to increase their reliability. Bibliography. 1. S c h n e i d e r , H ., Estimating cutting capability from boom-type roadhead, Engineering and Mining Journal, 1, (1988). 2. H i r i a n , C . , Mecanica rocilor, Editura Didactic i Pedagocic, Bucureti, (1981)