Integrated Modeling and Evaluation of Electric Mining Trucks During Propel and Retarding Modes

Mining trucks are sophisticated equipment that must operate continuously under difficult environmental conditions at the limit of their capacities. Hence, any tool that helps to evaluate the stress of mechanical components and/or overloading of electrical components will be of great benefit. This paper presents the development of an integrated electric-mechanical model of a hauling truck capable of determining all the variables of interest of the powertrain, traction, and retarding systems. The developed model is first evaluated on idealized uphill and downhill routes, providing a clear view of the performance of each component. These results are then applied to the analysis of a complete downhill-uphill truck cycle in a copper mine. Finally, selected sectors of the mine road are evaluated in order to compare field records with the corresponding signals of the developed model. Results show a good agreement with errors between 2% and 5%.