The German publishing house VGE Verlag GmbH – Verlag Glückauf, Essen, has been serving the mining industry – or more specifically the deep mining industry – for more than 145 years and is in many respects Germany’s most important trade publication. Glückauf is currently published in German, with versions also available in Russian and Chinese.

If you are interested in one of the following articles of the current issue #2010, please send us an e-mail, and we will send you a pdf of the translated english text for a special price!

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Karsten Gutberlet, Dipl.-Ing. (Chief editor)

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Eikhoff: Roadheading in German Hard Coal Mining

In a short review the paper points out the development of roadway support systems with respect to the growing depth of the roadway drivages of RAG Deutsche Steinkohle. The main emphasis as to roadway drivage next to technology is put on systematic optimisation as well as standardisation. The development and standardisation of roadheading techniques in the framework of a companywide technology strategy together with the development and implementation of a maintenance plan for our roadheaders are described. Aspects which particularly had to be considered and examined in this context are commented in more detail. All work was carried out in the frame of our standardized improvement program LEAN. By the example of the roadheading process we describe, how proper bundling of formerly distinct activities secures know-how, optimizes efficiency and increases performance.

Reinewardt and Achilles: First application of a partially automated road header at Prosper-Haniel colliery

Mechanical road heading in the RAG Deutsche Steinkohle mines makes use of AM 105 road headers. Within the scope of an EU-subsidised R&D project the machine has been subjected to an automation of its control features and an integration of sensors for seam position identification and for navigation. The focal points of the automation are:

• the scheduled performance of automated cutting operations,
• the adherence to a defined loading height due to seam position identification and
• the incorporation of first auxiliary functions for navigation (position sensing).

In addition, the machine is expected to determine its respective functional state and recognise potential functional faults by itself, and – subject to its present load condition – it is to deliver the basis for a maintenance scheme geared to its current condition. This paper describes above-mentioned development steps and reports on the experience gathered in the underground use of that machine in the Prosper-Haniel colliery.

Pesch and Koch: Practical experience with a partly automated drilling jumbo in Auguste Victoria colliery

On the German hard coal mines from RAG Deutsche Steinkohle the two-armed drilling jumbo for blasting and bolting called BTRK 2 is used in headings by drilling and blasting work. This type of device was fitted in a first step with an electro-hydraulic control system and an IPC. With the help of the IPC main functions of drilling in operation and execution were easier and more accurate. Based on the improvements a partial automation of the drilling jumbo was carried out. The semi-automated unit can line up virtually to the roadway axis through a simple orientation at the laser. Then for the drilling operation a virtual heading face is assumed which is drilled out. The report presents on the basis of the first application at the Augusta Victoria colliery the procedure during the implementation and the operational experience from the perspective of the heading operation.

Langhanki and König: Lean processing as driving force behind efficiency increase and comprehensive optimization of heading operations

Next to coal production, roadway drivage with a length of nearly 48 km in 2009 holds an important second rank amongst the core processes in German collieries. The requirements as to roadway installations, roadway cross section and quality of roadway support have grown constantly over the years past. In this context the complexity of the drivage procedure has increased as well. Of course such a development necessarily results in a revision of methods for efficiency increase, since the aims of process optimization are fixed: Improvement of quality, reliable scheduling and a reduction of production costs. At RAG, Lean Processing is the preferred optimization tool to meet these requirements. An overall analysis covers the optimization of process components on site, in the adjacent back area as well as the supporting maintenance and logistics processes. Transparency through key figures as well as a systematic and methodical approach, including the working staff, is the key element to eliminate waste from the processes, to further increase work safety and to meet the customer’s requirements as to later usage.

Schlüter, Lüttig and Barth: The Extension of the 7th level south shaft-landing, 10 shaft, Prosper Haniel colliery

During the further sinking of shaft 10 the landing on the 7th level was bilaterally discontinued for approx. 10 m. In September 2008, with the drifting of the lateral C467 the interconnection was effected at the northern landing. For that interconnection a numerical model was created in advance so as to assess the influence of the drifting on the very stiff support casing of the landing (steelfibre-reinforced shotcrete with reticulate supports and anchorage). A detailed scheme of the individual drifting steps was elaborated based on the calculation results and the present geological/geotechnical situation, and the planned scheme was subsequently implemented with success in underground operations. Based on a further detail investigation of the rock mechanics and the experience gathered in the establishment of the northern landing the recommendation for the southern landing was to perform the further drifting by starting from shaft 10 and not to head for the shaft once more. Owing to the large cross section of the southern landing the planning of the drifting required solutions that are not normally applied in ordinary roadheading business and which are in particular:

• Use of a rigid platform supported in the drift wall at approx. 4.5 m elevation above the level platform of the southern landing.
• Use of a drill jumbo on the drifting platform.
• Use of a bobcat as loading device on the drifting platform.
• Conceptual design of a drifting and support technology which is to cope with the loads to be expected.

The planning operations and experiences with this heading are the subject of this report.

Burgwinkel et al: Dynamic modelling and simulation of complex drive systems of large belt conveyors

For the first time the Co-simulation method was successfully used for full representation of a large belt conveyor for an open cast mine in a simulation model at the Institute for Mechanical Engineering in the Raw Materials Industry at Rhineland-Westphalia Technological University in Aachen. The aim of this project was the development of an electro-mechanical simulation model, which represents all components of a large belt conveyor from the drive motor to the conveyor belt in one simulation model and thus makes the interactions between the individual assemblies verifiable by calculations. With the aid of the developed model it was possible to determine critical operating speeds of the represented large belt conveyor and derive suitable measures to combat undesirable resonance states in the drive assembly. Furthermore it was possible to clarify the advantage of the full numerical representation of an electromechanical drive system.

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