New control strategies for longwall armored face conveyors

This paper investigates a new control approach for longwall armored face conveyors (AFCs) using variable-speed drives (VSDs). Traditionally, AFCs have used fixed-speed or two-speed motors, with various mechanical solutions employed to try to solve the problems that this causes. The VSD approach to the control problem promises to solve all the significant problems associated with the control of AFCs. This paper presents control algorithms developed for a VSD-based AFC drive system and demonstrate potential performance via computer simulation.