Prediction of the Potential Daily Output of a Shearer-Loader

Economic analysis allows for determining the required daily output under certain natural and mining conditions based on the costs of the production process in a particular mine infrastructure. Therefore, there is a need to determine the potential daily output of a longwall using the technical equipment at the disposal of the mine. In the case of mines, when exploiting a few longwalls simultaneously in the conditions of bumping hazards, it is indispensable to ensure safety. Due to a necessity of keeping a safe distance among the longwall fronts, when planning their exploitation, developing a prediction of the longwalls in advance during the planning period is needed. To predict the daily production from a longwall and daily advance of the longwall in the analyzed period, it is necessary to know the current operating time of machines and the capacity of the shearer under given conditions. The current working time of machines results from the available time and the degree of its utilization, which is determined by the sum of unplanned breaks in the production process. The shearer productivity is determined by its haulage speed. Both factors mentioned above are random. Hence, a calculation module has been developed, whose task is to estimate the distribution parameters of these indicators based on empirical data. The algorithm for estimating the parameters of one of the distributions: normal, steady or gamma and its special case of the exponential distribution and Poisson for the obtained input empirical data, constituting a sample from the population, is proposed. The input data are a sequence of numbers obtained from the measurement of the current operating time of machines. These data can be obtained from the longwall shearer memory card, on which its operating parameters are recorded in each longwall. On this basis, it is possible to generate random values of both parameters for individual days of operation. The possibility of determining the haulage speed, based on the longwall shearer’s characteristics obtained from the computer simulation of the mining process, is also discussed. The simulation of the mining process is carried out using the GeneSiSv.3.1 software, developed for designing a picks layout on the drum. The characteristics of the shearer production potential also take into account the capacity of loading the cutting drum. It results from the presented characteristics that, when mining coal with a compressive strength of 27 MPa, the haulage speed is limited by the loading capacity of the cutting drum and, with greater cuttability, by the power of the electric motor driving the drum. The paper presents algorithms describing the procedure of generating random values necessary for determining the longwall production potential and the daily advance during the assumed period. The subject matter presented in the paper is part of a bigger project which concerns planning of a mine operation and developing a few longwalls in the conditions of bumping hazards.