DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY KHARAGPUR

Part 2: Tutorial Questions, Mining Machinery and Automation

Instructor: Prof. Sunita Mishra, TA: Abhisek Mohapatra 30th October 2024
SHOVEL

CAPACITY OF SHOVEL

Shovel Capacity is given by the following expression.

𝐵 ×𝑓 × 𝑢
𝑄= 𝑚3 /𝑠
𝑡 × 𝑆𝑓
where,
B = Bucket capacity in cu m
f = Bucket fill factor
u = Shovel utilization factor
t = Shovel cycle time in seconds
Sf = Swell factor or rock loosening factor

So, shovel capacity on hourly basis is given by

3600 × 𝐵 × 𝑓 × 𝑢
𝑄= 𝑚3 /ℎ𝑟
𝑡 × 𝑆𝑓

There is another capacity i.e. technical capacity of shovel, where technical factor is taken into
consideration is given by

3600 × 𝐵 × 𝑓 × 𝑢 × 𝑘𝑡
𝑄= 𝑚3 /ℎ𝑟
𝑡 × 𝑆𝑓
where,
kt = Technical factor

Now, Production cost per unit of the material excavated by shovel.

P = purchase price of shovel

L = Estimated life of shovel in years
E = Energy cost of shovel, i.e., either fuel cost or power cost per month
S = Salary of manpower engaged per month
I = Insurance cost of shovel per month
i = Bank interest on investment
D = Depreciation cost of shovel per month
R = Repair cost of shovel per month
Lub = Lubrication cost shovel per month
EMI = Equal Monthly instalment paid to Bank for investment of shovel.

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Hence, Depreciation cost per year, D = (P/L)

Assuming zero salvage value at the end of life and depreciation follow starlight line method.

Again
𝑃𝑢𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒 + (𝑃𝑢𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒 × 𝑖 × 𝐿)
𝐸𝑀𝐼 =
12 × 𝐿

𝑃
= (1 + 𝑖 × 𝐿)
12 × 𝐿

Total production cost (TPC) = Fixed cost + Variable cost

T.P.C = (EMI + D + I) + (S + E + Lub + R)

Production cost Per unit (P.C.P.U.) = Total production cost per year/Total production per year

P.C.P.U = T.P.C/Qyear

Problem 1: A shovel having bucket capacity of 4.6 cu.m operate in an iron ore mine with the
following conditions
• Shovel cycle time = 23 sec
• Utilization factor = 75%
• Bucket fill factor = 0.85
• Swell factor = 1.25
Shovel operates 2-shift per day. Working days per year 350. Calculate yearly capacity of the
shovel, if bulk density of material is 1.7 T/m3.
Ans: 3.5 × 106 T/year
Problem 2: The following particulars refer to Diesel and Electric shovel.
Sl. No. Item Bucket Cycle time Fill factor Swell factor
Capacity
1. Diesel 1.91 cu.m 22 sec 0.75 1.25
2. Electric Shovel 4.6 cu.m 38 sec 0.75 1.25

The following options are available:

a. 2-diesel shovel and one electric shovel.

b. 2-diesel shovel
c. 3-diesel shovel
d. one diesel shovel and one electric shovel

Calculate which among the above four will produce maximum production in the project.

Ans: 5092.33 cu.m.

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Problem 3: The following particulars refer to electric shovel
• Capacity - 4.6 cu.m
• Average life - 20,000 hrs or 10 years
• Power - 500 KVA
• Lubrication cost - 12% of power cost
• Repair cost - 60% of deprecation cost
• Cycle time - 38 sec.
• Bucket fill factor - 0.75
• Purchase price - Rs 6.0 crore.
• Salary of manpower engaged - Rs 65000/month
• Bank interest - 15%
• Insurance is - 10% of purchase price per year

(a) Calculate the production capacity per hour, if utilization is 88%

(b) Find production cost per hour.
(c) Find the cost per ton of materials, if bulk density is 1.77 cu.m.
Ans: Rs. 12.75 per ton
Problem 4: The following data refer to diesel shovel
(i) Bucket capacity - 1.91 cu.m.
(i) Shovel life - 7 years
(ii) Fuel consumption - 28 litres per hour
(iii) Lubrication cost - 25% of the fuel cost
(iv) Repair cost - 75% of the depreciation cost
(v) Bucket fill factor - 0.75
(vi) Purchase price - 1.0 crore
(vii) Manpower cost in 20,000 per month
(viii) Insurance cost - Rs 2 lacs per year
(ix) Cycle time - 22 sec
(x) Bank interest 15%
(xi) Fuel cost Rs 40/litre
Calculate the extraction cost per cu.m of the material extracted. Assume any suitable data.
Problem 5: The particulars of the shovel as given in Problem no 4. This shovel will be given
on rental basis to a local contractor. Calculate the asking rate of the rent of the shovel for 15
days, so that the organization can earn a profit of 20%.
Ans: Rs.3,82,780/-

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Problem 6: The following particulars refer to diesel, electric and hydraulic shovel.
Sl. No. Item Diesel shovel Electric shovel Hydraulic shovel
1. Capacity 1.91 cu.m 4.6 cu.m 3.0 cu.m
2. Cycle time 22 sec 38 sec 28 sec
3. Fill factor 0.75 0.75 0.85

3 options are available (a) 3 diesel shovel; (b) 2-hydraulic shovel; (c) one electric shovel.
Determine which one will give maximum production.
Problem 7: A diesel shovel having bucket capacity 1.9 cu.m having following particulars.
• Average life - 7 years
• Fuel consumption - 30.00 lit per hr.
• Lubrication cost - 25% of fuel cost
• Repair cost - 80% of deprecation
• Cycle time - 22 sec.
• Bucket fill factor - 0.75
• Purchase price of shovel - Rs 1.0 crore.
• Wage of operator etc. - Rs 5,00,000 per months
• Utilization factor - 80%
• Cost of fuel - Rs 40.00 per litre
• Insurance cost/lac per year
• Bank interest - 15%
• Working stiff - 2 shift per day
• Working days - 29 day/month
If the project is to make a profit of 22%. How much money the project authority should
charge per cu.m. of material excavates?
Ans: Rs. 13.6/-
Problem 8: Calculate the annual production capacity of a shovel having bucket size 4.6 cu. m.
operating in an iron ore mines with the following conditions
Shovel operates 2 shifts per day. Working days per year in the mines 350 days. Average
utilization of the shovel 75%. Average cycle time of shovel 23 sec. Average size of blasted rock
is 350 mm. No. of hole rows in blasted block is 2-3. Bulk density of iron ore is 1.7 T/m3.
Ans: 1047 cu.m./hr, 7473900 t/year

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 DRAGLINE

CAPACITY OF DRAGLINE

Hourly capacity of dragline is given by the following expression.

60 × 𝐵 × 𝑓 × 𝑢
𝑄= × 𝑛 𝑚3 /ℎ𝑟
𝑆𝑓
where,
B = Bucket capacity in cu m
f = Bucket fill factor
u = Shovel utilization factor
n = No. of cycle per minute
Sf = Swell factor or rock loosening factor

There is another capacity i.e. technical capacity of dragline, where technical factor is taken into
consideration is given by
60 × 𝐵 × 𝑓 × 𝑢
𝑄= × 𝑛 × 𝑘𝑡 𝑚3 /ℎ𝑟
𝑆𝑓

where,
kt = Technical factor

Problem 1: Calculate the yearly extraction capacity of a dragline having bucket size 15 cu.m
operates in coal mines having the following conditions.

• Dragline operates 3-shift per day

• Working days per year 350 days
• Average utilization factor 0.85
• Average cycle time 60 sec
• Bucket sill factor 65%
Ans: 4.177 × 106 cu.m./year
Problem 2: A dragline with 24 cu.m bucket capacity and 90 m boom length is employed for
the removal of overburden from an open cast project. Determine the expected time of shift the
dragline to another place when

• Bucket fill factor - 65%

• Utilization factor - 80%
• Cycle time 75 sec
• Operating area for the dragline = 200 sq.m
• Average depth of over burden = 20 m
Ans: 6 hr 40 min 38 sec

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Problem 3: A dragline having specification 15/90 working in a coal mines. Calculate the cost
per ton on material extracted for the following conditions

• Average life of dragline - 15 years

• Lubrication cost - 25% of power cost
• Repair cost - 80% of deprecation cost
• Cycle time - 65 sec.
• Bucket fill factor - 0.65
• Purchase price - Rs 10.00 crore
• Manpower cost - Rs 50,000 per month
• Insurance cost for whole life - Rs. 20 Lacs
• Tax for entire life - Rs 25 Lacs
• Working on shift per day for 350 days per year
• Power cost - Rs. 5/ kWh.
• Utilization factor - 0.7
• Bulk density of material - 2 T/m3
• Interest on investment - 15%
Ans: Rs. 5.75/T

Problem 4: A dragline with a 15-cu. m. bucket capacity and 90 m boom length is employed
for the removal of overburden from an opencast project. The average depth of overburden is
20 m. Determine the expected time to shift the dragline to another place when

• Bucket fill factor = 65%

• Job efficiency = 80%
• Cycle time = 65 seconds
• Average surface area of the overburden = 200 sq m and
• Average utilisation = 80 %
Ans: 11.5 hours

Problem 5: Calculate the yearly extraction (overburden) capacity of dragline having bucket
size 15 cu. m. operating in a coal mine having the following conditions. Dragline operates 3
shift per day, Working days per year = 350 days, Average utilization = 85 %, Average working
cycle = 60 sec, Average size of blasted rock = 450 mm, Number of holes in blasted block = 4.5.
Ans: 813634 cu.m./year

Problem 6: A dragline having specification 24/96, working in a coal mines. Calculate the cost
per ton of materials extracted for the following conditions

• Average life of dragline - 15 years

• Power 1000 kVA machine
• Lubrication cost - 2.5% of power cost
• Repair cost - 80% of deprecation cost
• Cycle time - 70 sec
• Bucket fill factor - 0.65

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• Preaches price - Rs. 150.00 crore
• Wage of operator, oil man etc. - Rs 1.0 lac per month
• Insurance cost of machine - Rs 2.0 lacs per year.
• Tax for the dragline per day - Rs 550.00
• Working shift is 3 per day for 340 days per years.
• Power cost – Rs. 5 per unit.
• Utilization factor - 0.7.
• Bulk density of material - 1.5 T/cu.m.
• Bank interest on investment - 15%.
• Assume suitable data, if you require.

Ans: Rs. 15/T

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 BUCKET WHEEL EXCAVATOR

CAPACITY OF B.W.E

Let
I = Inner Volume of single bucket in litre
S = Number of buckets discharged /min
Sf = Swell factor
Z = Number of buckets in a wheel
N = rpm

Hence, Theoretical Capacity

−3
𝑚3
𝑄𝑡ℎ = 𝐼 × 𝑆 × 10 × 60 (𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒)
ℎ𝑟
𝐼 × 𝑆 × 10−3 × 60 𝑚3
𝑄𝑡ℎ = (𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑 𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒)
𝑆𝑓 ℎ𝑟

Number of bucket discharge per minute S=N×Z

𝐼 × 𝑁 × 𝑍 × 10−3 × 60 𝑚3
𝑄𝑡ℎ = (𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑 𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒)
𝑆𝑓 ℎ𝑟

Here,
Vs = Slewing speed m/minute
h = Cutting height in m
d = Depth of cut in m (average)
Qth = 60 × h × d × Vs cu m/hr (bank measure) = 60 × h × d × Vs × Sf cu m/hr (loose measure)

Annual production
QA =Service factor × Qth × hours run per year cu.m./year
Service factor depends on working condition and operational efficiency. It varies from 0.5 to
0.7 and Sf = 1 + % swell

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Problem 1: The following particulars refer to a bucket - wheel excavator.
• Bucket capacity - 500 litres
• Number of buckets on wheel - 10
• Rpm (max) - 7
• Fill factor - 0.8
• Specified weight (Bank measure) - 1.25 t/cu. m.
You have to select a belt conveyor to match the above B.W.E. What would be the capacity of
the belt conveyor?
Ans. 1750 tonnes/hr
Problem 2: Calculate the annual capacity of a B.W.E. having the following dimensions.
• Bucket capacity - 350 litres
• Bucket speed at the periphery - 4.0 m / minute
• Bucket diameter - 6.2 m
• Number of buckets - 8
• Fill factor - 80 %
Assure number of working days as 300/year and 75% utilisation.
Ans. 4.5 x 10 cu. m./year
Problem 3: Calculate the hourly production volume of B.W.E. for the following condition.
Cutting method terrace
• Slew angle - 115°
• Cutting height - 20.0 m
• Wheel diameter - 8.0 m
• No of bucket - 9
• RPM - 15
• Depth of cut - 20cm
Ans. 10 cu. m./hr

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 FRONT-END LOADER

CAPACITY OF FRONT-END LOADER

𝐵×𝑎
𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑃 = 𝑚3
𝑡
where,
B = Bucket capacity in loose cu.m.
a = Availability in minutes
t = Cycle time in minutes

Problem 1: Calculate the hourly production capacity of a front-end loader having 1 cu.m.
bucket capacity operating under the following condition-
• Average loading time: 10 seconds
• Average discharge time: 8 seconds
• Average travel speed with loaded bucket: 12 kmph
• Average travel speed with empty bucket: 20 kmph
Bucket fill factor: 0.9 and rock loosening factor: 1.5, bulk density of material: 1.3 t/cu.m. The
distance between loading and dumping point is 200 m.
Ans: 16 tph
Problem 2: Front end loader (s) of 1 cu.m. bucket capacity are used to load iron ore from a
dumping yard to railway wagon side. The distance between railway wagon side and dumping
yard is 300 m. Maximum speed of the loader with empty bucket is 25 kmph and that with
empty bucket is 15 kmph. The authority wanted to despatch one rack of rail wagon (40 wagons
of 25 tonnes each filled with iron ore daily from the project. Estimate the numbers of front-end
loader required for the purposes. Assume bucket fill factor 0.9, rock loosening factor of 1.3 and
bulk density of material 1.7 t/cu.m. The loaders should be so controlled that loading and
discharging time should not exceed 10 sec per cycle. The loaders would be working on 2 shift
per day having 75% machine availability.
Ans. 8 nos.
Problem 3: One wheel mounted, and one crawler mounted loader is available in a project
having the following particulars.
• Wheel mounted unit: 1 cu. m. bucket size
• Maximum speed with loaded bucket - 20 kmph
• Maximum speed with empty bucket - 35 kmph
Crawler mounted unit:
• 1.5 cu.m. bucket size
• Maximum speed with loaded 12 kmph
• Maximum speed empty bucket 15 kmph

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Both will have receiving and delivery time of 10 sec each. Calculate the distance of travel in
which output of both of them will be equivalent, while all other factors remain the same for
both the machines.
Problem 4: Blasted rock is to be transported form the dumping yard to a railway siding 500 m
apart with the help of wheel mounted front end loader having the following features:
- Bucket capacity - 1 cu.m.
- Average discharge time - 8 sec.
- Average loading time - 15 sec.
- Maximum travel speed with loaded bucket 12 kmph
- Maximum travel speed with empty bucket 20 kmph
Assume the bucket fill factor and rock loosening factor to be 0.9 and 1.5, respectively and the
availability of front-end loader per day is 85%. Calculate the loading capacity of the machine
per day when operated on 2 shifts a day.
Ans. 112 cu.m. per day

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 DOZER

The major dimensions of a dozer blade

h = Height of the blade

L = Length of the blade

So, the theoretical load

ℎ2 𝐿𝛾
𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑 =
2

where, γ = Specific weight of the material.

On the level or horizontal ground 20% center bulging was found.

Hence,
1.2ℎ2 𝐿𝛾
𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑 = = 0.6ℎ2 𝐿𝛾
2
Effect of Grade

Downhill
The blade generally pushes 4 percent more for each percent of down slope as found in actual
practice on a level floor Hence on a 25 percent grade the machine pushes almost double the
amount of its normal load on level ground.

Uphill
A half load in comparison with load on level ground is pushed up in a 20 percent grade and
one-fourth of the load is pushed in a 100 per cent grade.

This is mainly to counteract W sine θ, where W is the dozer weight and θ is the gradient.

Output
Estimated output is given by
60𝐻
𝑃=
𝐶
where,

H = Heaped blade capacity (in loose m3)

C = Cycle time (travel time + fixed time)
P = Loose cu. m./hr

Fixed time = 0.15 minutes (nearly), if only forward and reverse lever shifting is required.
= 0.3 minutes (nearly), if both forward and reverse shifting is required.
(Incline or grade).

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Problem 1: A dozer blade having dimensions 4315 mm × 1875 mm operate in an uphill
gradient 5%. What would be the output of dozer?
Ans: 7.964 cu.m.

Problem 2: If the required output of a dozer on level ground is as found in previous question.
What would be the size of blade that you would select if the height to length ratio of the blade
is 0.43?
Ans. 1530 × 3560 mm

Problem 3: A dozer blade having dimensions 4315 mm × 1875 mm operates on level ground.
The average speed of the dozer is 10 kmph. What would be the hourly output of dozer, if the
materials is to be shifted over a distance of 50 m?

Assume that the cutting length to be 50 m.

Ans: 982.5 cu.m./hr

Problem 4: A dozer blade having dimensions 4315 mm × 1875 mm operates on level ground.
The average speed of the dozer is 10 km/hour. What would be the hourly output of the dozer if
the material is to be shifted over a distance of 100?
Ans. 412.5 cu. m./hr

Problem 5: A dozer blade has dimensions 4315 mm x 1785 mm. Calculate the capacity of the
dozer when it operates on down the gradient of 7%. Deduce any expression you have used.
Ans. 10.55 cu.m.

Problem 6: A damage road is to be repaired by dozer. The effective length of the road is 150
m and width 15 m. The blade dimension is 4315 mm and 1875 mm.

Assuming forward speed of dozer is 5 kmph and reverse speed of the dodger is 15 km/hr.

Calculate the time required to complete the job is cutting 5 cm throughout the road space of
150 m x 15 m. Mention clearly your assumptions.
Ans. 20 min. 40 sec.

Problem 7: The dozer as given in problem 6 operates under the same conditions in the same
area with variation of depth of cut become 10 cm throughout the road, what will be the time
requirement for the job.
Ans. 4 min, 12 sec.

Problem 8: A dozer having blade dimension of 4315 mm x 1785 mm operates in the following
conditions
(i) up to gradient of 5%; 7%; 10% and 12%.
(ii) down the gradient of 5%; 7% 10% and 12%.

Calculate the output of dozer in cu.m in each case and draw the graph showing variation of
output against gradient for up and down the gradient separately.

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