Earthmover

tyre fitment

and rotation:

Strategies for mines

Harry Godwin

2012
Bachelor of Materials
Engineering (Hons) –
University of Queensland

2012 – 2016
Otraco International
-Extreme tyre enthusiast
-Spend too much time looking ahead
(crystal ball style)
-Developed new automated
forecasting program specific to OTR
tyres.
-Living and breathing numbers
Tyre Fitting is Dangerous Work

All fatalities associated with rubber tyred equipment maintenance

(Australian mining industry, 1980 – present)
Most fatalities were caused by tyres
or rims during only 2% of total
machine hours.

Fatality risk up to 10 x
higher.

3 x tyre fitters

Fatalities 8 x non tyre fitters

during
non – tyre
equipment
maintenance
Fatalities
while servicing tyres
How do we reduce this
exposure?
 Best practice procedures
 Fit-for-purpose tooling
 Trained and competent tyre fitting
personnel
 Custom built tyre bay/changing facility

What else….?
 Improved tyre life
 Tyre rotation and fitment strategies
 Normal Life Cycle of an OTR Tyre

 OTR haul truck tyres start life fitted

to the front axle

 After certain interval (nominally

33% of life) tyre is removed

 Placed into “run out” stock

 Then tyre is fitted to rear axle to be

“run out”
How to reduce the number of
tyre changes?

 Increase tyre life

 Line up major component changes and rim
Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)
 Smarter tyre rotation strategies
 Better tyre specification selection for site
application
The Effect of
Tyre Life on Tyre Changes
300 900
New Tyre Requirements and Tyre

Projected Downtime Hours

250 800
Base calculation

200

700

720
 Number of tyre hours

Changes

150

600

required / average
617
240 tyre life
100

206 500

120  6 tyre positions per

50

103 400

truck

0 300
 ~500 engine hours
Tyre Life = 6,000 hours Tyre Life = 7,000 hours
per truck per month
New Tyres Required Minimum Tyre Changes
Minimum Annual Downtime  500 x 12 x 20 =
120,000 operational
Haul Truck Fleet Truck Config. Change Time = tyre hours/year
-20 Trucks -Front axle: 2 tyres 3 hours
-Availability: 86% -Rear axle: 4 tyres Min. changes per
-Utilisation: 80% (two sets of duals) tyre = 2
Potential Tyre Fitment and
Rotation Strategies
 Fit new tyres as required (no rotation
strategy)
 Fit all new tyres to front axle positions
only
 Fit a proportion of new tyres to rear
axle positions
 Tyre Usage
and Rotation Strategy
200 Change @ 33% Life
Total Tyres Change @ 67% Life
Required = 120 Total Tyres
Number of Tyres

150 Required = 120

100

50

Front Rotation Interval (Hours)

New-To-Front Tyres New-to-Rear Tyres
Total
Total New
TyreTyre Requirements
Requirements Run Out Tyres Required
 New-to-Rear tyre fitments
Common arguments against new-to-rear fitments
 Tyres more likely to fail prematurely on the rear
 It’s preferable to lose a well worn tyre due to premature failure

Problem with these arguments

 As the proportion of new tyres fitted to the front axle increases,
front tyres have to be replaced at even lower average life
 Average haul truck life overall is independent of the proportion
of new tyres fitted by axle
 There is a considerable detrimental effect on haul truck
downtime
 The Tyre Change Index

Tyre Change Index = Proportion of new tyre fitment to front axle + 1

 All tyres fitted new to front: Index = 2.0

 40% of tyres fitted new-to-rear: Index = 1.6
 Result – 20% decrease in haul truck downtime
 Tonnes-Kilometres-Per-Hour

 TKPH is the work rating of a tyre.

 This work rating is similar to the load capacity of a tyre, but also
accounts for heat generation due to load, speed and flexing.

 Value given to all Earthmover tyres by manufacturers.

 In theory, if SITE TKPH is less than a rated TYRE TKPH
operation can occur with little risk of heat failures.
TKPH = Average Work Day Speed x Average Tyre Load

Positives Positives
-Slower wear Selected tyre -Copes well with

 Good starting point -Fewer rock cuts

-Fewer sidewall
always has to
be a
high speeds
Negatives
cuts -Faster wear
compromise
for tyre selection. Negatives -More prone to rock
cuts & sidewall
-Can’t tolerate
damage
high speeds

Select more cut resistant compounds

Select more heat resistant compounds

Low Operational TKPH High

 TKPH –
Real Life Data - Lower TKPH on the rear axle

Komatsu 930E Dump Truck

2000
Operating TKPH / Tyre TKPH Rating

1750

1500

1250

1000

750

500

250

0
3:30 PM 9:30 PM 3:30 AM 9:30 AM 3:30 PM 9:30 PM 3:30 AM 9:30 AM
29-Jul-15 29-Jul-15 30-Jul-15 30-Jul-15 30-Jul-15 30-Jul-15 31-Jul-15 31-Jul-15
Front TKPH 4 hour moving Avg. Rear TKPH 4 hour moving Avg.
53/80R63 Bridgestone
TKPH Rating VRPS E3A
– Heat Resistant E-4
Compound TKPH Rating
53/80R63 – Standard
Bridgestone Compound
VRPS E1A E-4
 Case Study – Coal Site
 New fleet of 17 ultra-class trucks mobilised on site.
 New 53/80R63 tyres (same specification/rubber compound)
fitted to front and rear axle of most trucks.
 Batch analysis showed the following results for tyre life.

No corrections for
Average Tyre Life by Fitment Axle uneven wear
6,500
completed
Tyre Life (Hours)

6,250 New-to-Front
30 tyres fitted
6,000 2.7 changes per tyre
6,285
5,750 New-to-Rear
5,926
54 tyres fitted
5,500 1.9 changes per tyre
New Fitments (2011-2012)
New-To-Front New-To-Rear -43 tyre changes saved
-Tyre life ~4% higher
 Case Study – Hard Rock
 220 tonne truck fleet (20 trucks) – 40.00R57 tyres
 New tyre fitments occurred 2011-2012
 Standard Compound (regular TKPH rating) – front axle
 Abrasion/Cut Resistant Compound (low TKPH rating) – rear axle
(seasonal)

Stnd Tyres
-Life = 3,898 hrs
-New Tyres = 178 Standard Tyres
Recommended

Changes/tyre = 4.0
-Life = 3,969 hrs

Standard
Practice
Practice

Cut Resistant Tyres

-Equiv. New Tyres =
-Life = 4,376 hrs 238
-New Tyres = 53
Changes/tyre = 3.5 Est. Cost = $8.325M
Total Changes = 951
Est. Cost = $8.085M Downtime = 1,105
Total Changes = 898
Downtime = 1,041
Two Pronged Approach:

Tyre Selection and Fitment Policy

Tyre Life: New-to-Front = 6,000 hours Tyre Changes: Front Fitments = 2

New-to-Rear = 7,500 hours Rear Fitments = 1

200
Front Rotat. Int. +50%
80 Tyres New-To-Front
Number of Tyres

150 32 Tyres New-to-Rear

Tyre Changes = 192

100
100% New-To-Front
50 New Tyres = 120
Tyre Changes = 240

Front Rotation Interval (Hours)

New-To-Front Tyres New-to-Rear Tyres
Total Tyre Requirements Run Out Tyres Required
Potential Benefits
 Reduced annual tyre usage by 8
 @ $50,000 / tyre = $400,000

 Reduced minimum tyre changes by 48

 At 3 hours/change = 144 hours tyre related downtime

 Fitting
tyres new-to-rear the most effective
method to rectify run-out stock levels

 Wear rates decreased – Asymmetric (uneven)

wear severity reduced
 Summary
 Easy change to tyre management practices on site
 Check TKPH requirements of front and rear axle for
your major haul truck fleets
 Fit more cut resistant tyres to rear axle (if
appropriate)

Benefits
 Lower exposure to high risk tyre change activities
 Increased truck availability (fewer tyre changes)
 Increased tyre life
 Reduced annual tyre usage for haul fleets
Thank You

4th August 2016