High temperature wear assessment of mining machines operating tools

Abstract

Mining is widely associated with the use of a variety of mining machines for various duties, such as extraction, loading and transportation of rock. Due to prolonged use of machines, the amount of wear of operating tools and machine parts increases. This problem is especially acute for mining and loading machines used in excavation and reclamation, because the wear rate is increased on those duties. The development of wear process and evaluation of the residual life of operating tools of mining and loading machines is well studied in world practice. However, given the variety of climatic, geological and mining conditions, unique for each mineral deposit, we are facing difficulties in creating a comprehensive model of wear process development. In modern researches on this area such issues as estimation of operating tools residual life during intense wear under extreme conditions of high temperatures and sharp temperature drop are understudied. These conditions are typical for deposits of such minerals as coal and peat, which are especially prone to spontaneous combustion. This review discusses methods for assessing various wear mechanisms and the effect of temperature on the intensity of those processes, as well as methods to determine the residual life of operating tools of mining and loading machines working in high-temperature environment.