MINING ENGINES
Cummins and Komatsu have signed a partnership looking to integrate the two companies ’ approach to equipment and engine monitoring
n Avoid unplanned maintenance ; n Predict maintenance needs ; n Decrease production costs and downtime from maintenance ; and n Increase asset utilisation .
“ By removing the need for duplicative communication infrastructure and multiple points of connection , the Cummins and Komatsu solution can offer new insights to help mining managers make better decisions faster ,” they said .
Less hardware also reduces maintenance time and machine downtime as there is less hardware to install and fewer components to maintain .
Such services are going to arguably become even more important in the context of the increasing use of alternative fuels for ICEs .
Currently Cummins has approved blends of both hydrotreated vegetable oil ( HVO ) and biodiesel , and the company is testing towards approval for “ unblended use ”. It has customer trials underway to validate its bench work that , Schaefer says , has been giving the expected positive results thus far .
One such trial is with Rio Tinto at its majorityowned Bingham Canyon mine in Utah , USA , where Cummins and Rio have been testing renewable diesel in a different operational environment and on different mining equipment .
The seven-month trial , which started in October 2022 , compared acceleration , speed , cycle times , fuel usage and engine inspection reports for two trucks running on renewable diesel versus two trucks running on conventional diesel .
In terms of developing carbon-neutral powertrains of the future , Cummins is focused on looking at the whole ‘ green ’ dynamic to achieve the mining industry ’ s goals .
“ Technology adoption in mining is highly dependent on the total cost of operations and performance of the machines ,” Schaefer said . “ In the case of our mutual journey towards a carbon reduced / eliminated future , there is a very high dependence on fuel availability and cost . At the root of this is also the availability of the green electron enabler .
“ It takes green energy coming into a mine site to truly make electrified solutions carbon free .”
In this regard , managing the energy coming into a mine site , or created by the mine site , is a critical and crucial process that will enable the
adoption . It is , however , still a logistical issue that many mine sites have not yet accounted for .
Schaefer said : “ The faster and smarter we all get about energy types , cost and management – the faster the adoption will be .”
This is where Cummins ’ strategies to address the energy dynamic on the stationary power side of the mining business come into play .
Microgrids – a local energy grid with control capability that allows users to disconnect from the traditional grid and operate autonomously – are just one of the strategies Cummins is pursuing , offering controls on these units that accommodate distributed energy power system designs and have the ability to control renewable energy resources ( solar and wind ) and energy storage . “ They provide a single interface control for a completely integrated microgrid power system ,” Schaefer says .
The company is also supplying the power generation sets that fit into the broader microgrid ecosystem .
Add to this the ability to test out different scenarios for the optimal stationary energy solution – using existing , emerging and future technologies – through its new Power Integration Center , and Cummins is well equipped to ensure the adoption of green energy onto mine sites is as fast as it can possibly be .
Matching diesel ’ s performance
Liebherr also has eyes on the speed of adoption of carbon-free electrified solutions , being heavily involved in numerous trials and projects involving hybrid , all-electric and hydrogen fuel cell solutions .
At CONEXPO 2023 , in Las Vegas , it showcased a direct injection solution for hydrogen combustion engines that aims to achieve a power density equal to that of a diesel heavy-duty combustion engine .
The aim of matching the performance of a H2-DI engine to that of a diesel engine requires the system to be capable of ensuring high flow rates , Liebherr explained . “ Due to the low density of hydrogen gas , the injector needs to be a high flow design ,” it said . “ To enable precise control of even the smallest quantities , the system pressure must be regulated with pinpoint accuracy .”
In Liebherr ’ s H2 injection system , this is achieved by means of a gas metering control valve .
Richard Pirkl , Managing Director of Technology and Development at Liebherr-Components Deggendorf GmbH , said : “ To achieve the same drivability with an H2 system as with a diesel , the hydrogen injection system must be optimally aligned with the engine ’ s torque and power . This means that during the transition from idle to full load , the necessary amount of fuel and the corresponding system pressure must be made available as quickly as possible .”
Liebherr ’ s H2 injection system is designed to provide extremely fast and accurate pressure control , regardless of fuel tank position , machine size , layout or engine installation .
This design provides a two-stage pressure control , with the first stage initially stabilising the variable pressure from the fuel tank and the second stage fine-tuning said pressure . The injection pressure is controlled by activating the gas-metering valve via the electronic control unit ( ECU ). The ECU controls the gas-metering valve by a closed-loop feed-forward controller . Customdeveloped hydrogen-specific software modules can be integrated into third-party application software and / or control units .
Pirkl summarised : “ The H2-DI system is designed to operate without an electronic pressure release valve . The idea behind it is to keep the system as simple as possible , whilst avoiding the release of any hydrogen gas into the atmosphere during operation .
“ The injector is the most sophisticated and , at the same time , performance-determining component of the hydrogen fuel system .”
Liebherr says hydrogen direct injection is particularly well suited for applications with high demands on dynamics and power density within a limited installation space , and is a feasible concept Liebherr in Deggendorf is further developing .
52 International Mining | JULY 2023