Title: Incorporating changing duty cycles in CM-shuttle car matching using discrete event simulation: a case study

Authors: Angelina Anani; Kwame Awuah-Offei

Addresses: Department of Mining and Nuclear Engineering, Missouri University of Science & Technology, 226 McNutt Hall, Rolla, MO 65409, USA ' Department of Mining and Nuclear Engineering, Missouri University of Science & Technology, 226 McNutt Hall, Rolla, MO 65409, USA

Abstract: Ignoring changing duty cycles result in equipment mismatch which increases operating cost and misallocation of resources. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of changing duty cycles on the optimal shuttle car fleet size used to mine a particular panel width. A room and pillar mining system is modelled using discrete event simulation and validated using data from a real mine. Experimental analysis is conducted to evaluate the effect of ignoring changing duty cycle in a 17-entry coal panel. Changing duty cycle is accounted for by determining the optimal fleet size in defined segments within the panel. The study shows that, for the 17-entry panel studied, a fleet of four shuttle cars is optimal for the entire panel when changing duty cycle is not accounted. However, by accounting for changing duty cycle, a fleet size of four is only optimal for 80% of the defined segments.

Keywords: discrete event simulation; room and pillar mining; shuttle car-continuous miner matching; fleet size; optimisation; duty cycle.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMME.2017.084202

International Journal of Mining and Mineral Engineering, 2017 Vol.8 No.2, pp.96 - 112

Received: 15 Feb 2016
Accepted: 05 Dec 2016

Published online: 20 May 2017 *

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