SPECIALIST EQUIPMENT
of paper, the strategy has been to design a new tailor-made mine drive from the ground up. T e idea is not to simply repackage a standard product, but instead design a rugged and purpose-built drive. T e regenerative function of drives is
important as it allows the capture of braking energy from the motor, and even from hydraulic pumps, to be stored in a battery or supercapacitor. T e drive is controlling the fl ow of energy and transforming any kinetic or potential energy back to electric energy.
The issue of ventilation Ventilation and air circulation are also key drivers and big cost items in underground mines. Since electric vehicles reduce both waste heat and emissions generated, ventilation requirements are lower compared to diesel engines. On a day-to-day basis, this can drastically reduce the cost of energy needed to circulate air to meet health and safety requirements. Savings can amount to millions of euros per year. And, when a mine expansion is being considered, the reduced heat and emissions from electric vehicles means the dimensioning of the ventilation system can be much smaller and therefore much cheaper. Maintenance costs and reliability are other important issues. Many of the OEMs have seen, as they have been working closely with electric vehicles and drives, that the maintenance cost for electric is much less due to fewer wearing parts. For example, there is no gearbox, and no oil lubrication system is necessary. Diesel-electric is also a possibility to extend the range of vehicles. Sometimes called series- hybrid technology, the diesel runs a generator that feeds electricity to the motors to drive the vehicle. T e key benefi t is that, instead of using diesel for the maximum peak power, the dimensioning of the diesel engine can be smaller to cover the average power demand. Considering all the requirements for electric mining vehicles, and based on careful listening to the market and close work with OEMs, the new purpose-built HES880 mobile drive has been developed. T is is a brand new design, although it is based on the well-proven ACS880 all-compatible drive technology,
which mine operators and OEMs are already familiar and comfortable with. In addition to being robust and compact, this electric-vehicle drive is a modular product, based on a single design model and three diff erent types of fi rmware. T is single model is tailored to specifi c applications simply by installing the appropriate fi rmware for the diff erent applications. T ese software options can control the motor and generator, the power grid connection, and power fl ow to and from the energy storage. So the hardware is the same whatever the application, to simplify stocking of equipment by allowing interchangeability of parts. Due to the compact size of the drive, the
layout of the components becomes much more fl exible. In a typical diesel vehicle, the engine and powertrain take up most of the available space and are very fi xed in the positioning in the middle of the vehicle. Electric drivelines, conversely, are more fl exible and therefore can be placed to allow the driver a greater fi eld of view in the workspace. As the electric vehicle technology develops, this greater freedom of placement and layout could well mean more user-friendly and safer equipment. T e mining industry, like many other older established sectors, is inherently conservative about adopting new technology. So although it has taken some time for electric vehicles to gain acceptance, the growing list of advantages is clearly starting to get noticed by the progressive pioneers at OEMs and mining companies. Considering the large potential cost savings
and effi ciencies that electric vehicles off er, as well as the short payback times, ABB has decided to invest resources in this technology to catalyse these trends. New mining-vehicle solutions such as the HES880 drive have the potential to create both a stronger market pull from the mining operators and a greater market push from the OEMs that will be very benefi cial to the mining industry. T e future for electric mining vehicles has started.
For more information at
www.engineerlive.com/ime
Teemu Ronkainen & Vesa Kajander are with ABB Drives and Controls.
www.abb.com/drives
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