MINING ENGINES
Thiess ’ partnership with Mine Energy Solutions on dual-fuel technology commenced with the planned conversion of a fleet of six mining trucks
changed compared with the work carried out at New Acland – Thiess and MES are installing the dual-fuel technology on Cat 793F trucks with C175-16 engines , while the New Acland trial involved Cat 789s and Cat 3516B haul trucks and engines , respectively – the objectives remains the same .
“ We ’ re continuing to demonstrate the pathway to decarbonisation and the steps that can be achieved with current technology ,” Box said .
The plan with the Thiess project is to have a “ familiarisation truck ” up and running in August to allow all site personnel to get trained on the new system , with the five follow-on trucks coming online before the end of the year .
At the same time as Thiess and the mine site owner are familiarising themselves with this technology , MES will be running haul truck engine simulations with tri-fuel technology .
This solution – which incorporates diesel , methane and hydrogen – will see the “ green ” hydrogen blended into the methane , providing a “ zero emission component ” of the gas blend , Box said . With both tri- and dual-fuel , more than 70 % of energy will be derived from non-diesel sources .
The company plans to start running simulations with this technology on its 3,500 hp ( 2,610 kW ) dynamometer fitted to a large-format engine in the September quarter .
Box expanded on this : “ We have a state-ofthe-art dyno facility where we are able to operate the engine to its full rated power as if someone is physically operating the truck . We oversee that from a control room and run simulations based on actual circuit data that our mining clients provide us . This includes the haulage cycles their trucks are running , the grades and declines experienced , load profiles and many other operating parameters and conditions .
“ All of our development work is carried out with this circuit simulation capable dyno and we then put it into a field-operations environment as we are about to do with Thiess .”
MES intends to field test its tri-fuel program in the first half of 2023 .
The OEM view
All these options and more are open to the likes of GHH Group , an underground-focused mining OEM that is used to providing engine options to suit its clients ’ needs .
The company is one of the few OEMs in the mining and construction industry to provide all its trucks , scalers and most of its loader offering with Tier 3 , Tier 4 Final and optional Stage V engine packages , while its drills , bolters and long-hole production drills have electronically controlled Stage IIIA and Stage V engine packages available .
GHH Group aims to meet or exceed the most stringent regulations and to keep customers ’ operations clean and profitable , it says .
Service availability , engine footprint and regulatory and legislative guidelines are often behind the customers ’ choice of engines , according to the company . Against this backdrop , GHH has recently added more engine options to its offering .
The SLP-8 8 t loader , for instance , has recently been updated with the option to include a Stage V Cummins QSB 6.7 engine able to generate 173 kW at 2,200 rpm . This machine was originally powered by a Deutz Stage III engine .
GHH Group also has the LF-10 NEO loader incoming , which will debut with both Tier 3 and Stage V Mercedes OM 936 engine package options able to generate up to 240 kW of power . To keep these engines up and running , GHH has sought to add sensors to key components for improved visibility .
This includes , for example , additional sensors that measure ambient air temperature to detect poorly ventilated areas and prevent catastrophic engine failure and smoking . GHH explained : “ Although engine suppliers provide sensors of this nature , by the time the warning is realised and acted on , the air filters are totally clogged and sometimes too heavy to remove with ease , leading to increased downtime or additional consequential failures .
“ This information is also logged on the data logger so customers can be easily informed and plan maintenance activities .”
Mine Master , part of the GHH Group , already offers many of its rigs with battery-electric options , with the Face Master FM1.7KE and Roof Master RM1.8LE being two key examples .
Outside of this , it currently uses Stage IIIA engines in most machines , but the low-profile units are offered with Stage V engine packages , as are all new machines ( FM 2.320 , FM 2.310 included ).
To support customers with their engine maintenance-related activities , the company ’ s GHH inSiTE solution displays and monitors engine parameters in near-real-time .
“ Most of the engines , regardless of energy source , generate valuable data that can not only show the health status , but also describe the activities the machine is performing ,” GHH says . “ Typically , an engine can provide up to 200 different data points over the standardised J1939 protocol . GHH is making active use of these signals with the help of our end-to-end digital solution , GHH inSiTE .”
This system allows logging of data at high frequencies and performs various types of nearreal-time or retrospective analysis on the cloudbased platform , the company says .
The users of GHH inSiTE at various levels , such as mine production and maintenance crews , service partners or even GHH representatives , can gain technical insights about the performance and conditions of single machines or an entire fleet in an intuitive web interface , configurable for parts ordering , maintenance or downtime planning activities , the company added . IM
To support customers with their engine maintenance-related activities , the GHH inSiTE solution displays and monitors engine parameters in near-real-time
56 International Mining | JULY 2022