PRODUCTION ESTIMATING TECHNIQUES FOR

UNDERGROUND MINING USING ROADHEADERS

David M. Neil 1, Jamal Rostami 2, L. Ozdemir2, R. Gertsch2

1 Neil & Associates, Inc. 1010 10th St., Golden, Colorado 80401.
2 Earth Mechanics Institute, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado.
 ABSTRACT

Roadheaders are one of the most popular Background

mechanized excavators used in mining and civil
underground construction. These machines are Roadheaders have traditionally operated in
primarily used in soft to medium hard rocks. This sedimentary rock with an unconfined compressive
paper reviews the parameters associated with the strength of less than 100 MPa (~15,000 psi).
application and operation of roadheaders and Occasionally harder rocks have been excavated
presents a method for estimating cutting where joints, bedding planes, fractures or other
performance. planes of weakness were present. As rock strength
and especially silica content increase, the per-
Introduction formance of roadheaders drops off dramatically.
The reasons for this include:
Roadheaders are a unique class of mechanical
excava-tion machines that break rock by utilizing the inability of the cutting tools to take high
tungsten carbide tipped cutting tools laced in a penetration force,
specific geometry on a spherical rotating cutting the inability of the machines to maintain the bit
head. The cutter head is driven by an electric motor in the cut or the ability of the bit to track,
through a heavy duty epicyclic or transverse the low mass available to react to the required
gearbox for either milling or ripping cutting actions. force,
The cutter boom is connected to a pedestal that lack of understanding of the physical properties
allows unrestricted boom movement throughout a of the rock related to cutting forces.
fixed maximum profile. Boom movement is
controlled by hydraulic cylinders sized to provide In the following section the factors effecting the
force sufficient to maintain the cutting head in operation of roadheaders will be reviewed.
contact with the face, and the machine is track
mounted to allow tramming from one work face to Rock Properties
another.
Several rock properties affect the cutting
The ability of roadheader or boom type forces acting on a bit or the overall force
machines to operate and cut effectively in hard rock requirements of the cutting head, hence,
has been limited by the system stiffness, the ability performance of the roadheaders. They include:
of cutting tools to withstand high normal forces, and
the inability of carbide inserts to resist impact or the * Density or specific gravity, affects the muck
heat generated from impact in high silica rocks. handling properties of the excavator.
Several roadheader manufacturers have recently Uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) is one of
developed high horsepower, large mass machines in the most important parameters affecting rock
an effort to increase performance capabilities and to excavability.
broaden the applications base of traditional Splitting tensile strength (Brazilian test) indi-
roadheaders into hard rock cutting. Recent cates the toughness of the rock fabric.
developments in bit and cutter technology, coupled Ultrasonic pulse velocity (acoustic velocities)
with the development of high torque output at low reflect the competency of the rock and its
RPM and improved system stiffness, have success- brittleness and strongly affect its ease of
fully improved the cutting ability of roadheaders. excavation.
 Elastic constants, (Young's modulus and cutting. This ratio is found by testing several
Poisson's ratio) which also indicate the combinations of spacing and penetrations.
competency and brittleness of the rock.
Cerchar abrasivity index (CAI) is a direct In addition to measured forces, information
abrasion test that gives a strong indication of the on the rock chipping and failure process, fracture
bit wear. surface characteristics, and geometry can be
Abrasivity estimated from the quartz content of recorded. All these data then are incorporated in a
the rock is a rough measure of the abrasiveness lacing design for the cutterhead. Therefore, the
of the rock. design is directly related to actual cutting of the rock
Compressive to tensile strength (UCS:T) ratio is to be encountered in the field, eliminating expensive
a measure of the toughness of the rock fabric. guesswork.
Point load strength directly indicates the forces
required to penetrate and fail the rock. Machine Calssifications
Punch strengths is an alternative form of point
Roadheaders can be divided into two types: milling
load test that uses indenters resembling
(axial) with the cutterhead rotating around the boom
excavator cutters and bits.
axis, and ripping (transverse) with the head rotating
perpendicular to the boom axis. Seven roadheader
Force Measurements
manufacturers worldwide presently offer small (30
ton), midsize (70 ton) and large (up to 120 ton)
The three-dimensional forces experienced by
roadheaders. These machines operate with an
a rock cutting tool can be measured directly with the
installed cutting motor power of 80 kW up to 300
aid of a linear cutting machine (LCM), such as that
kW and a maximum torque up to 2.5 times the
maintained by the Colorado School of Mines
running torque.
(CSM). The LCM is a rigid, instrumented steel
frame that holds a single cutting tool in place while
To increase torque and the ability to cut hard
a rock sample is forced past it. The tool and rock
rock, a two speed gear box arrangement or motor
are full sized. The depth of penetration and speed
change is required to reduce the rpm. On early
of cutting during tests are controlled, as is the
machines, the motor change usually coincided with
distance between cuts. The values of these
a reduced horsepower which to reduce the speed of
parameters are chosen to mimic the action of
the peripheral bit tips and to minimize bit damage
multiple cutters on a field excavator, which directly
while maintaining penetration. However, in some
affect the forces acting on the cutting tool during
early designs where only a gear reduction had been
excavation. Different combinations of cut spacing
used, the high input horse-power could be used only
and penetration expressed as a ratio (the S/P ratio)
for a limited period of time without gear failure.
are tested to assess cutter performance.
Modern machines now use pole switchable motors,
variable frequency motors, or a new hydraulic drive
The forces are measured by a load cell in the
which converts from a 300 kW electric drive
base of the cutting tool while traversing a single
through a planetary gear to a high power hydraulic
cutter along a line through the rock. The readings
drive which operates at 25% of the speed of the
are recorded at a rate of 1,000 sample per second,
standard electric drive but at higher torque. In
averaged, and used to calculate the energy required
addition, the slewing speed are reduced to accom-
by the cutter to excavate a unit volume of the rock
modate the slower bit tip speed and penetration
(specific energy of cutting). The optimum S/P ratio
requirements. Meanwhile, the additional stiffness
is the one that requires the lowest specific energy of
needed to sump into hard rock is provided by higher
mass of the machines and a telescopic boom with
0.7 to 1.0 m ( 2 to 3 ft) stroke to direct reaction rock. In this zone, a pressure bubble is formed and
forces to the center of the machine. The latter the hydraulic effects of the fines propagate fractures
reduces loss of energy caused by tractive in the rock fabric. These fractures are not very deep
inefficiencies. This is especially effective on due to the limited forces available on the tool which
transverse machines. Today we also see the cutter creates a relatively small crushed zone with low
head power on some large high production pressure created. Succeeding passes of following
machines has been increased to as much as 375 kW bits at a set spacing take advantage of these
(500 hp). fractures to form chips and relieve the rock from the
face.
Cutting Tools
Unfortunately, due to lack of stiffness and
Roadheader cutting heads laced with the nature of the cutting operation with boom type
tungsten carbide tipped point attack bits have machines, cutter tracking is very difficult. The
evolved into the state of the art in impact rock result is criss-crossing of the bit paths and
breakage for boom type mechanical excavators. inefficient cutting due to ineffective use the fracture
However, high silica rocks limit their application pattern developed by previous cuts.
for hard rock cutting due to the heat generated at
impact and its effect on carbide. The cobalt content The spacing between the cuts has a
of tungsten carbide can be varied to improve the significant effect on the cutting forces. Short
toughness and reduce heat effects on the bit tips. spacing between the cuts means very inefficient
Also, the bit shape has changed to accommodate cutting and excessive over-crushing and dust
more efficient cutting with reduced amount of dust generation. As the spacing is increased, the cutting
and heat generated during the cutting. Recently, a gets more efficient up to a certain point where the
new wear material has been made available by the interaction between the fractures from neighboring
steel industry for use in bit shanks. This material cuts ceases. Specific energy of cutting, defined as
has higher toughness and abrasive resistance to the energy required to cut a unit volume of rock, is
prevent the premature loss of carbide. The new the main indicator of cutting efficiency. The lower
generation of bits will have longer shanks with less the specific energy, the more efficient the cutting.
material around the carbide tip, since the higher There is a range of spacing to penetration (S/P)
quality of the matrix material can support the forces ratios for which the specific energy of cutting is
acting on the carbide. Recent developments in minimized. This range is unique to each rock type
layered carbides, shaped polycrystalline diamonds, and critical to the roadheader cutting head design
and small diameter disc cutters offer a breakthrough and selection of cutter geometry. For conical point
in technology that will allow more effective cutting. attack bits the optimum S/P ratio usually is 2-4
The new cutters are gradually being used in new times penetration. For brittle rocks, this ratio can be
roadheader designs. They will allow more effective greater than four (Ozdemir 1978). Bit geometry
use of cutting head power, and will significantly also effects the penetration and the ability of cut
improve roadheader application in siliceous rocks. material to egress from the point of contact into the
muck stream.
Pricipal of Rock Fragmentation with Bits
For silica rocks, an index has been proposed by
When cutting, the bit tip strikes the rock at a set Schimazek (1987) as a value of abrasivity related to
penetration angle. As the tool penetrates into the the volume of quartz as a percentage of the total
rock, a zone of crushed material is developed under volume. This index indicates the feasibility of
cutter which transfers the load to the surrounding
cutting rock with roadheaders featuring point attack total force requirement is estimated by calculating
cutters and has been described by Schimazek to be: the number of bits in contact, times the average
VT dt (estimated or measured from the LCM) normal
Ic = force requirement. Force requirements are then
100
(1) compared to the forces available on the machine
Where: Ic = Index of Cutting being evaluated.
Td = Ave. dia. of quartz grain
t = Tensile strength (MPa)
V = Volume hard minerals as % of quartz

Force Estimation

For situations where direct measurement of

Estimating Roadheader Performance
cutter forces is not available, several methods have
been proposed to estimate the cutting forces needed
Step 1: To evaluate existing cutter head
to achieve a certain penetration depth. One of the
designs submitted by suppliers or to design a site
most common methods, developed by Evans
specific cutter head lacing requires an understanding
(1984), predicts the drag force on a conical bit by:
of the energy requirements of the rock types to be
excavated. The optimum bit spacing and the S/P
16 t 2 d 2
Fc = (2) ratios that give the lowest specific energy of cutting
Cos. c are best determined by laboratory testing. The
optimum spacing to penetration ratio usually occurs
Where; in a range from 2 to 4 for road-headers, with the
Fc = Mean peak drag force higher value normally associated with more brittle
d = Depth of cut rock.
= Half of tip angle
t = Rock tensile strength Step 2: Determine the cutter head rotational
c = Compressive strength speed from the maximum allowable bit tip speed:
Vb
RPM =
The ratio of drag force to normal force on a D
bit depends on the rock type, rock fabric, bit shape, (3)
attack angle, and depth of penetration. For most Where: Vb = Max. bit tip velocity
point attack cutters, this ratio (known as cutting or D = Cutterhead diameter
drag coefficient) is approximately 0.5-1.0. The
normal force can be obtained either from direct Bit tip speed is limited by the heat dissipa-
measurement with a LCM , or from the estimated tion characteristics of the bit. This can be a
drag force using the above mentioned or other significant contributing factor in bit failure on some
formulas. Most heavy duty point attack cutters are high RPM transverse cutting machines in high silica
now designed to withstand a maximum cutting force or massive rocks.
of 15 ton (30,000 lbs.), generated by a typical large
roadheader. Step 3: Determine the number of bits
needed on the cutting head:
The total thrust requirement for the cutting
head is the sum of all the bit normal forces. This
 Lc (Note: Cos-1 in degrees)
N .N C
s
S For axial type machines, however, Nc is a
(4) func-tion of the ratio of sumping depth to the length
Where: N = Number of cutters of cutting head. Therefore, during the sumping
Lc = Length of cutting profile on head mode, this number can be estimated by:
S = Spacing between the bits D sump
C = A constant accounting for nose and back Nc .N
trimming bits N
Ns = Number of starts on the head (6)
Where: L = length of cutting head measured along
Lc is the arc length of the curvature of the the boom axis
cutterhead. C represents the number of extra cutters
at the nose and back trimming area, where the While arcing, the above number should be
spacing is reduced due to more severe cutting divided by two since only half of head is cutting the
conditions. The number of extra bits depends on rock.
the type of cutterhead and the condition of the rock.
For axial type roadheaders this empirical formula For the cutting action of a transverse
gives the required number of bits within 10%, roadheader in a rock mass, an empirical factor can
taking into account trimming and sumping bits. be used to account for the rock quality effects on
However, a ripper type roadheader carries two heads cutting as well as the operators intuitive selection of
laced in a pattern to cut in compression rather than a cutting depth. In order to estimate the number of
shear and may require up to 10% more bits per head bits in contact this factor, "f ", is used in the formula
than axial machines. as below:
N
The estimated number of bits in contact at Nc = f
2
any one time is influenced by the Rock Quality (7)
Designation (RQD) and UCS:T, compressive to Where: f = Cutting Efficiency Factor calculated by:
tensile strength ratio of the rock. High RQD and B1 c 5000
B2
UCS RQD 25
UCS:T values above 7.5 will result in the operator f 1.0 0.06. 7 0.5. 0.1.
T 25 5000
intuitively cutting with only a partial area of the (8)
available cutting head surface. 1 and 2 are empirical coefficients 0.4, and 2,
respectively. his equation is valid for English
For cutting intact rock the number of cutters
units. For metric units, the coefficients must be
in contact can be estimated by using depth of sump
recalculated or parameters converted to English
as follows:
system. In essence, "f" is the ratio of sumping
N . R D sump
Nc cos
1 depth to the cutterhead radius, below 1 if the depth
180 R of sump is less than a full radius, above 1 for
(5) sumping, passed the rotation axis of the cutterhead.

where: Nc = Cutters in contact per head (multiply Step 4: Evaluate the available forces on the
by 2 when sumping) cutter head. During sumping, the tractive effort
N = Total number of cutters (thrust) of the machine is combined with the torque
R = Cutting head radius needed by the drag forces to break the rock. The
Dsump = Sumping depth sum of the two would be:
 Fts = (Th + Tr /R)m
(9) Where: Thr = Thrust or sumping force required
Where: Fts = Total sumping force (max.) Far = Arcing force requirement
Th = Thrust or tractive effort Tq = Torque
Tr = Torque Fn = Normal force
R = Radius Fd = Drag force = Fn.Cd
m = Mechanical efficiency Cd = Drag coefficient.
Th is a function of cutting head design and Ravg= Average radius of active cutting area
is usually in the range of 20-60 tons. When cutting Ravg = R - Dsump/2
in arcing mode, the machine is held in a fixed Ri = Individual bit position radius
position by its mass (and is often aided by stelling Cp = Conversion factor for power (i.e.
jacks to improve system stiffness) and a lateral force 1.9x10-4 for ft-lbs/min to hp)
is applied to push the head into the rock. The total
available lateral forces can be estimated as: For a transverse roadheader, the calculated
value of Th must be multiplied by two to account
Fl = Fa.m for both heads. The drag coefficient for medium
(10) rock is within the range of 0.5-1.0 (average 0.7) for
point attack bits depending on tip shape and bit
Where: Fl = Maximum lateral force available penetration angle. Estimated torque must be lower
Fa = Available arcing force than the installed torque on the machine. Overall,
the estimated total force and power requirement of
The machine efficiency can be influenced the head, must be below the available capacities of
by cutting on a decline or incline, slick or wet the proposed machine .
floors, and other factors that may influence machine Step 6: Calculate the tons per foot of
stiffness or cutting efficiency, including dull or advance in the drift as:
inefficient bits. A A.
Vpl = or Wpl =
Cv Cw
Step 5: Estimate the cutterhead force, (15)
torque, and power requirements by multiplication of Where: Vpl = Volume of rock per unit length.
the number of cutters in contact times the estimated Wpl = Weight in tons per unit length.
forces for the given penetration: A = Cross Sectional area of the tunnel
Thr = 1 Fni Nc. Fn
Nc = Rock Density (lbs/ft3 or gr/cm3)
Cv = Conversion factor for volume
(11) Cw = Conversion factor for weight
and Far 0.5Thr
(12) Step 7: When the general specification of
Tqi = 1 Fni. C d . R i the machine and specific energy of cutting for a
Nc Nc
and Tq = 1
particular rock type are known, the theoretical
(13a) maximum advance rate for given opening size can
or for a gross estimate: be estimated using the following formulas:
HP. Vph .
Tq = Nc.Fd.Ravg = Thr.Ravg.Cd Vph = and Wph =
(13b) SE Cw
and (16)
Power = Tq.RPM.Cp
(14) Where: Vph = Production rate in m3/hr, yd3/hr
 HP = Cutting head power (kW/hp) Ar*. D Sump .Wsump . f 2
SE = Specific Energy (hp-r/yd3) Ar = (20)
A
= Efficiency of the system (as a whole) Where: Ar = Advance rate (i.e. m/hr or ft/hr)
Wph = Production rate in tons per hour Wsump= Width of sump, determined from
= Rock density (i.e. gr/cc, lbs/ft3) head diameter and depth of sump as:
Cw = Conversion factor for weight, Wsump = D 2 ( D 2. Dsump ) 2
Hence, the maximum achievable advance rate Dsump = Depth of sump (mm or in)
"Ar"(in ft/hr or m/hr etc.) would be:
Step 9: Utilization can be calculated as a
Vph Wph
Ar = = percentage of the available cutting time per shift
Vpl Wpl using a machine mechanical availability and normal
(17) and mandatory delays (such as maintenance, support
Step 8: Estimation of the advance rate can installation, etc.) as:
be done in various ways. On a full face machine, Tt - Td
U =
when the penetration rate is known, the advance rate Tt
can simply be calculated by: (21)
Where: Tt = Total time per shift (minutes)
Ar* = Cs.p.RPM
Td = Total delay time (minutes)
(18)
Td =(Dn+Dm+Du)
Where: Ar* = Advance rate (of full face machines,
or cutterhead speed) in m/hr, ft/hr Dn = Normal delays
p = Penetration (mm/rev, in/rev) Dm = Mandatory delays
Cs = Conversion factor (0.06 for metric and Du = Delays to install utilities or
5 for English system) support.
RPM = Rotational speed in "rev/min".
The penetration "p" must be adjusted for the Step 10: The face advance per shift and
cutting condition and used in above mentioned tons produced per shift can be calculated by:
formula as follows:
As = Ar.Tt.U and Wps = As x Wpl
padj = p.f (22)
(19) Where: As = Advance rate per shift (m or ft/shift)
Wps = Production rate (tons/shift)
Where: p = Nominal penetration
f = Cutting Efficiency Factor Example
For a partial face machine such as a road-
In this section, an example of performance
header cutterhead speed can be revised to estimate
prediction using the suggested method will be
the advance rate by using the distance a head must
presented. Assume a project including excavation
travel per unit length of tunnel. This figure, in turn
of a 3 by 5 m (10x15 ft) tunnel using a medium size
is calculated from the sumping width which is
roadheader with 200 kW (260 hp) installed cutting
influenced by the RQD, UCS:T, factor f, and the
head power. The machine has 35 ton sumping force
sumping depth of the cutting head. Consequently,
with 17 ton lowering and lifting, and 7 ton arcing
the advance rate is determined from the following
force capacity. The machine is a transverse type
equation which is adjusted for the "f " factor: with head diameter of 1000 mm (40 in), laced with
44 point attack picks (tip angle 100, =50), and
the rotational speed of 58 RPM. The compressive follows. For the nominal sumping depth of 400 mm
strength of the rock is 100 MPa with a tensile (16 in) in intact rock (Eqn. 4):
strength of 10 MPa (14000 and 1400 psi respec- Nc = 20.6 ( or 21)
tively), density of 2.25 gr/cm3, and 70% RQD. The Or for rock mass with discontinuities (Eqn. 6,7):
maximum line spacing between the bits is 30 mm
(1.2 in). f = 0.893
Nc = 20
The optimum spacing to penetration is The estimated total sumping and arcing force
selected to be 3, which is within the range of 2-4 requirements are (Eqn.10,11) :
S/P ratio. Thus, the nominal penetration is selected
to be 10 mm (0.4 in). Cutting forces grow with Thr = 2x21x6.75 = 283.4 kN ~ 28 ton
penetration as follows (the cutting forces are (sumping)
measured and a curve is fitted to the resulting Far = 21x6.75x0.5 = 70 kN ~ 7.2 ton
forces): Note that "Thr" or sumping force is
Fn = a.pb multiplied by 2 to account for both cutting heads
while sumping, however, since operators use
Where "a" and "b" are constants, 2000, and 0.3 subsequent sumping when machine runs out of
respectively. This would estimate the normal force sumping force, this limit is often automatic-ally by
in terms of pounds, given that penetration rate is passed. However, if the difference between the
provided in inches. The estimated forces can then required and available sumping forces is an order of
be converted to the appropriate units (i.e. metric magnitude, it means that an efficient cutting may
etc.) The drag force can be estimated using a drag not be achieved.
coefficient of 0.5. Hence the forces for the nominal
penetration will be: Using a 90% mechanical efficiency factor
the available machine capacities are (Eqn. 8,9):
Fn = 1520 lbs = 6.75 kN
Fts = 31.9 kN
and using Cd=0.5; Fl = 5.6 kN
Fc = 760 lbs = 3.4 kN This means that the sumping force
requirement is met but the machine is likely to run
If the cutting force measurement was not arcing force limited and must be checked in more
available, then Evans formula (Eqn. 2) could be detail. The torque requirement of the cutting head
used, which yields: is (Eqn. 12):
Tq = 21x3.4x(0.5-0.225)=20 kN-m=15000
Fc = 570 lbs = 2.5 kN
ft-lbs
and using Cd=0.5, the normal force would be;
This figure, combined with 58 rpm head speed,
Fn = 1150 lbs = 5.0 kN gives (Eqn.13):
Head Power requirement 166 hp = 125 kW
The specific energy of cutting was measured
at 9 kW-hr/m3 (~hp-hr/Cyd). With the rock cutting This is within the range of installed power of the
charac-teristics defined, the next step is to evaluate cutting head even if the installed power were to be
the machine capabilities. Since the prospective reduced by 10% to account for the mechanical
roadheader is already designed, there is no need to efficiency of the system. Production and advance
estimate the number of bits on the head and RPM. rate can be estimated as follows (Eqn. 14):
The number of bits in contact can be found as Vpl = 15 m3/m = 5.56 Cyd/ft
 Wpl = 33.7 ton/m = 10.3 ton/ft water jets through the head sprays, to clean the
crushed zone while lubricating and cooling the bits,
Production rate from specific energy and
has been used to show a marked improvement in
machines power can be estimated at (Eqn. 15):
cutting ability. The next logical step in this
Vph = 15.5 m3/hr = 20.6 Cyd/hr progression is to combine the cutting technology of
Wph = 34.8 ton/hr hard rock TBM's to the flexibility of the modern
Advance rate from specific energy method (Eqn. roadheader design with the use of minidisc cutters
16): recently developed at the Colorado School of
Mines. At present, design of a roadheader cutting
Ar = 1.0 m/hr = 3.4 ft/hr head utilizing minidisc cutters for hard rock
The boom speed could be estimated at (Eqn. 17,18): application is underway at CSM. Plans call for
laboratory testing of the disc cutterhead in near
Ar*= 34.8 m /hr = 116 ft/hr
future.
and advance rate from boom speed (Eqn. 19):
Ar = 1. m/hr = 3.3 ft/hr References

Using a 55% utilization factor over an 8 Evans, I., 1984, " A Theory Of The Cutting Force
hour shift the advance rate per shift (of excavation) For Point Attack Picks", Internl. J. of
would be (Eqn. 21): Mining Engineering, 1984. 2. ,pp 63-71.
As = 4.4 m/shift = 14.42 ft/shift Friant, J., 1989, "Principals of TBM Operation"
Ws = 148 ton/shift ISDT short course CSM.

Conclusions Gehring K.H., 1989, "Roadheaders: A Cutting

Comparison", Tunnels and Tunneling, v. 21,
Project estimating and selection of the n. 11, Nov. 1989.
proper machine for the job requires a knowledge of Gertsch, L. , Ozdemir, L. 1991, "Performance
the rock physical properties as well as job site prediction of mechanical excavators in
conditions. By using the geotechnical and rock Yucca Mountain welded tuffs from linear
physical properties information as well as the cutter tests", Project report prepared for
measured specific energy, the project engineers can Sandia National Lab., Earth Mechanics
develop a suitable machine specification to Institute, Colorado School of Mines,
maximize the efficiency of the cutting operation and Golden, Colorado.
production rate. The methodology proposed in this
Neil, D. Taylor, D., 1991, "A First Look at
paper accommodates the capability to evaluate and
Roadheader Construction and Estimating
select the proper roadheader for the project, while
Techniques For Site Characterization at
providing a reasonably close estimate of advance
Yucca Mountain, Nevada" HLNWC Las
and production rates.
Vegas, NV May,
A roadheader capable of cutting rocks harder
than 100 MPa (15,000 psi) effectively is needed by Neil, D. , Ozdemir, L. 1991," Considerations for
the mining and tunneling industry. Various Development of Hard Rock Roadheaders",
methods for improving the cutting ability of 1st Mine Mechanization and Automation
roadheaders are being developed to move these Symposium, Golden, Colorado, June, 1991.
machines into the next level of capability. Already Ozdemir, L., 1990, "Recent Developments in Hard
several methods of increasing torque and thrust are Rock Mechanical Mining Technologies" ,
available. Utilizing the effects of high pressure
 4th Canadian Symposium on Mine
Automation, Saskatoon, Canada, Sept. 1990.
Ozdemir L., 1992, " Mechanical Excavation - Today
and Tomorrow", International
GeoEngineering Conference, Torino, Italy,
Sep. 1992.
Rostami J., Ozdemir L.,1993, " Computer Modeling
for Cutterhead Design and Layout of
Mechanical Excavators", Proceedings of
ISDT Annual Technical Meeting, Las
Vegas, Nevada, May 2-6, 1993.