Power Quality

Definition: Electrical transients in the power supply to the

shovel that are harmful to the Electric components.

Discussion:
 Under certain conditions, electrical transients can develop on the mine site power lines (grid) which
are associated with the extended lengthg of trail cables,, coupled
p with the p
pit p
power distribution
electrical characteristics. These transients can have a detrimental effect on the life and commutation
capabilities of the shovel’s DC motors.
 High commutator stress damage on hoist motors can be attributed to Power Quality issues, mainly
on larger
l P&H Sh
Shovell models.
d l ThThe commutator
t t stresses
t h
have resulted
lt d iin accelerated
l t db brush
h wear,
commutator wear, arc horn damage, and an increased number of hoist diverter trip faults.
 See SN-ES-007

© 2009 P&H Mining Equipment Inc. All Rights Reserved

 Excessive E
E-Stops
Stops
Definition: Stopping the shovel motions through the use of the
Emergency Stop (E-Stop) button.

Discussion:
 Stopping the shovel with the Emergency Stop button is obviously needed in some cases. But when
y shut down,, which is much worse that a trip
used the entire shovel is instantly p fault that shuts the
shovel down. When a shovel is “tripped” out there is some opportunity for the control system to
“gently” shut the machine down, in lieu of placing it in a hard shut down.
 E-Stops will have severe damage to all mechanical and electrical components. The brakes will take
th majority
the j it off th
the mechanical
h i ld damage iin th
the fform off hi
highly
hl accelerated
l t d wear or glazing.
l i B
Butt th
the
remainder of the components will see a drastic increase in fatigue damage.

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 Holding Zero Speed without Brakes
Definition: Commonly referred to as “holding a load in the air
while waiting for a truck” without the use of the hoist brakes.

Discussion:
 This condition of holding a full dipper while waiting for a truck by utilization of the hoist motors
g the motor.
instead of the hoist brakes will have similar effects to that of stalling
 The major damage seen by motor stalls are to the motor itself; this has the ability to raise the
commutator bars and create excessive heat (higher than normal) which will create thermal
shutdowns to the system.
 Newer machines have built in logic to prevent this scenario, effectively providing some motion to the
motors.

© 2009 P&H Mining Equipment Inc. All Rights Reserved

 Over Steering
Definition: Turning the machine while propelling in a manner
that creates excess material build up on tracks and under
carbody.
carbody

© 2009 P&H Mining Equipment Inc. All Rights Reserved

 Over Steering
Discussion:
 During the propel function it is vital that the machine is turned in a manner which prevents excess
build up of material on the crawler shoes or under the carbody
carbody. These same scenarios can occur
when the pit floor where the shovel propels in not properly prepared.
 When material builds up on the crawler shoes it can create damage between the shoes and rollers
and also be force into bushing areas on the rollers, idler and tumbler.
 Excess material build up under the carbody can create a condition where the propel transmissions
and propel motors become jacked from underneath as the shovel tries to propel over the material.
This can lead to broken mounting bolts on the propel transmission and propel motor or to broken
propel shafts and input shafts
shafts.

© 2009 P&H Mining Equipment Inc. All Rights Reserved

 Over Steering
Examples of Related Damage:
 Damage to transmission and motor.

Material Build Up under Propel Transmission and Propel Motor

© 2009 P&H Mining Equipment Inc. All Rights Reserved
 Over Steering
Examples of Related Damage:
 Broken propel shaft.

Material Build Up under Propel Transmission and Broken Shaft as a result.

© 2009 P&H Mining Equipment Inc. All Rights Reserved
 Moving Boulders / Exceeding RSL
Definition: Trying to move objects larger or heavier than the
machine is capable of, or trying to dig through un-blasted
material which is not in a free digging state
state.

© 2009 P&H Mining Equipment Inc. All Rights Reserved

 Moving Boulders / Exceeding RSL

© 2009 P&H Mining Equipment Inc. All Rights Reserved

 Moving Boulders / Exceeding RSL
Discussion:
 Shovels have a specific Rated Suspended Load (RSL) which is based on the acceptable load which
can be moved
moved. Per the Payload Operating Guidelines: Payload plus the Dipper Weight should not
exceed the machine RSL. As Dipper Weight varies, the Target Payload should be adjusted. The
cumulative average of all individual Payloads should not exceed the Target Payload by more than
5%. In addition, no more than 5% of all individual Payloads may be greater than 15% over the
T
Target
t Payload.
P l d

 With that said, trying to move boulders or dig through un-blasted, non-free digging material greatly
y and mechanically.
overloads the shovel both electrically y The majority
j y of the damageg will be incurred
by the front end structures and mechanical systems of the shovel: boom, handle and dipper
components. Specifically the dipper and handle will suffer structural damage as the massive
overload enters the shovel system. This damage will include broken GET (Ground Engagement
Tools), cracked dipper bodies, cracked dipper lips, wear of attachment pins, cracking to handle
torsion box, cracking to handle side sticks, etc.

© 2009 P&H Mining Equipment Inc. All Rights Reserved

 Corner Tooth Loading of Dipper
Definition: Encountering material which drastically loads one
side of the dipper compared to the other side.

Discussion:
 P&H Mining Shovels inherently have the ability to be corner tooth loaded when compared to Bucyrus
g handle design
or Marion shovels. This is due to our rigid g that straddles the boom,, where the
competitive machines have torsionally free (no ability to support an overly unbalanced side to side
dipper load) handles that go through the center of the boom.
 Due to this fact, P&H Shovels are abused from a corner tooth loading perspective (often during
moving
i b boulders).
ld ) ThiThis creates
t ah huge ttorsional
i l fforce th
thatt starts
t t att the
th dipper
di tteeth,
th ttransfers
f itself
it lf
through the dipper and attachment pins and into the handles; where it drastically overloads the
handles, torsion box crowd drive components (shipper shaft, pinions and handle racking).
 This damageg will include broken GET ((Ground Engagement
g g Tools),
) cracked dipper
pp bodies, cracked
dipper lips, wear of attachment pins, cracking to handle torsion box, cracking to handle side sticks,
etc.

© 2009 P&H Mining Equipment Inc. All Rights Reserved

 Operating on Excess Grade
Definition: Operation of the machine on grades in excess of the
maximum recommended grade for operation.

© 2009 P&H Mining Equipment Inc. All Rights Reserved

 Operating on Excess Grade
Discussion:
 Shovels are designed to dig on predominantly level ground and operation outside the recommended
grade limits will affect the loading on virtually every component on the shovel . Short
Short-term
term ramping
operations within the limits contained in Service Bulletin 89 are permissible, provided care is taken to
adhere to these recommendations.
 Damage to or failure of components resulting from operation outside maximum recommended grade
limits might take a long time to manifest itself and might be caused by a combination of any number
of superimposed operating events, not just the operating grade. In other words, damage to
components can be initiated by operating on a grade and failure might not occur until some time
afterwards. This is one reason for issuing g the warning g regarding
g g operating
p g limits in Service
Bulletin 89 – which notes the maximum recommended grade for continuous operation as 5%
- this is being subsequently revised to allow for 8% grade operation – correlating to R48147.
 Main Swing Gear will see increased tipping loads on upper machine during swinging can cause
accelerated gear tooth wear
ear and possible tooth breakage
breakage. Catastrophic fail
failure
re possible if slope
causes starvation of lubrication in roller area while on grade.

© 2009 P&H Mining Equipment Inc. All Rights Reserved

 Operating on Excess Grade
Discussion:
 Roller Circle will see increased overturning tipping moment will accelerate fatigue wear of swing
rollers as evidenced by pitting and spalling of surface and accelerated wear of swing roller retaining
surface of inside of swing gear. Catastrophic failure possible if slope causes starvation of lubrication
in roller area while on grade.
 Center Gudgeon will see accelerated gudgeon, bushing and nut wear and heating due to abnormal
radial and axial contact while on grade. Abnormal axial loads may cause failure of the nut retention
system and ultimately catastrophic seizure of center gudgeon to bushing or nut.
 Hoist Motors will see duty cycle increase which contributes to increased motor heating and reduction
in motor component life
life.
 Hoist Transmission will see possible increased duty cycle due to poor digging position will cause
accelerated hoist transmission component wear. Reduced oil flow to rear first reduction bearings
and gears with sloping oil level.
 Front Idler and Rear Idler will see increased overturning tipping moment which will increase front
idler and/or rear idler loading which will accelerate idler bushing wear and reduce fatigue life of idler
shaft itself.

© 2009 P&H Mining Equipment Inc. All Rights Reserved

 Operating on Excess Grade
Discussion:
 Crawler Shoes will see increased crushing loads due to increased tipping moment resisted by front
idler; accelerated crushing,
crushing metal flow
flow, and crack propagation
propagation.
 Propel Motors, Transmission and Final Drive shaft will see more tractive effort required backing out
of cut to reposition. Backing up is when track system is least efficient.
 Swing Motors will see increased duty cycle results in elevated temperature and loading which could
accelerate insulation and motor component wear.
 Swing Transmission, Swing shaft and bearings will see increased duty cycle to overcome increased
tipping loads to accelerate and decelerate upper during swing causes acceleration of wear to swing
t
transmission
i i components. t
 Swing Brake will see increased duty cycle results in accelerated wear to brake friction surfaces.
 Saddle Block, Shipper Shaft, Rack and Pinions will see increased inertial side loading while
swinging causes accelerated wear and more frequent adjustments
adjustments. Also increased likelihood of
swing into pit floor because of the higher inertia and changing elevation of the pit floor may result in
damage to rack and pinion and other shipper shaft components.
 Major structures including dipper handle, boom, carbody, revolving frame, etc. will see increased
hours spent on repair due to the fact that increased tipping loads affect all of the major structures
from a fatigue standpoint.

© 2009 P&H Mining Equipment Inc. All Rights Reserved