Applied Engineering Letters Vol.5, No.

2, 50-61 (2020) e-ISSN: 2466-4847

FAULT ANALYSIS OF GEARBOXES IN OPEN PIT MINE

UDC: 621.833.01
Original scientific paper https://doi.org/10.18485/aeletters.2020.5.2.3

Milan P. Vasić1, Blaža Stojanović1, Mirko Blagojević1

1
Department for mechanical constructions and mechanization, Faculty of Engineering, University of
Kragujevac, Serbia

Abstract: ARTICLE HISTORY

The paper presents the results of testing gearboxes in coal open pit mine Received: 04.05.2020.
which have been damaged by various mechanisms. Gearboxes, as Accepted: 10.06.2020.
constituents of belt conveyors, bucket-wheel excavators and bucket chain Available: 30.06.2020.
excavators and spreaders, are the most loaded segments of drive units the
functionality of which affects the operation of complete coal and
overburden systems. Therefore, special attention has to be paid to their KEYWORDS
Gearboxes, Fault information
condition so that the analysis of relevant condition indicators could lead to
visualization, Wear type
correct conclusions as to their functionality, as well as point to the factors statistic, Fault tree analysis
causing their fault. Tests were carried out on 95 gearboxes throughout (FTA)
2017, during general repairs at Drmno mine workshop. After examination,
all identified failures were illustrated with an appropriate photo, classified
according to the appropriate standard, and described in the form of
manifestation and cause. The research has shown that the most dominant
were faults of bearings and lubrication, whether seals and cuffs or a thin
hermetic layer between the housing and covers. In addition, some of the
faults happened on gears and toothed and stepped shafts. Major
irregularities in operation, resulting from damage to gearbox elements, are
show by fault tree analysis (FTA).

1. INTRODUCTION associated with possible injuries to workers and

secondary damages to adjacent subsystems.
In lignite open pit mines there are many According to Matuszewski [3], in considered
different complex systems (belt conveyors, bucket- lignite mine, as much as 14% of gearboxes can be
wheel excavators and bucket chain excavators and replaced each year due to unexpected failures
spreaders) consisting of a number of mechanical such as gear and bearing failures.
subsystems, where, among others, special role and To avoid such a scenario, several types of
importance is attributed to gearboxes. maintenance have been developed, from
Their heavy exploitation, accompanied by loads breakdown maintenance to condition-based and
with pronounced dynamic and stochastic character proactive maintenance [4]. Implementation of
[1], gives rise to failures in both structural and condition-based maintenance involves monitoring
mechanical parts. the operating condition of gearbox based on
Gearboxes are expected to operate 24 hours a degradation-sensitive physical parameters. These
day in running order. Unplanned shutdowns due to parameters are obtained by measuring vibration,
faults result in high maintenance risks and noise, temperature, and oil condition analysis [2].
production costs [2]. High costs are triggered by The importance of monitoring condition is
production shutdowns, losses and the urgent shown by Zimroz and Król [5] who compared the
procurement of spare parts. High risks are total number of identified faults on belt conveyor

CONTACT: M.P. Vasić, e-mail: milanpvasić@gmail.com © 2019 Published by the Serbian Academic Center
 M.P. Vasić et al. / Applied Engineering Letters Vol.5, No.2, 50-61 (2020)

gearboxes over a 13-year period. If we compare essentially determine the further direction of
1993 when up to 29 gearboxes failed with 2006 tribological process development.
when only 4 gearboxes failed, we can conclude Since gearbox elements differ in their purpose,
that introduction of condition-based monitoring characteristics and geometry, element failures will
significantly reduces the number of faults. Of be viewed separately.
these, faults most frequently occur on the inlet
elements in the gearbox. According to Scoć [6], 2.1 Typical gear failures
who analyzed drive units at underground mining
machines, the percentage is over 50%, which is Gear failures and damages are numerous. They
expected as the highest rpm, highest temperatures mostly occur on the teeth and almost never on the
and start-up shocks are found at the inlet. body. If not discovered in time, the consequences
Bartelmus [7], points out that fault is not the could be catastrophic.
process of development of a single defect. According to ISO 10825 [9], more than 20 types
Considering the condition monitoring for cracks of failures have been defined that are classified in
and tooth fracture, it should be taken into account six main groups, and include: surface deterioration,
that crack and tooth fracture can be the result of scuffing, permanent deformation, surface fatigue
several events, such as, for example, bearing wear, phenomena, cracks and tooth fracture.
which secondarily causes shaft and gear Surface deteriorations occur on the working
misalignment. surfaces of tooth flanks from the very beginning of
In addition to the condition monitoring exploitation [10-12]. Over a longer period, they
technique, we need to have knowledge of wear also result from the effect of dirt, mechanical
and failure processes. However, monitoring impurities in oil, or wear products that reach the
condition of technical systems in the mining coupling zone. They are manifested by the
industry is not as well developed as in other occurrence of dents, notches, grooves and
industries [5]. Most studies focus on identifying scratches in sliding direction [11], as shown in
failures by measuring vibrations, pointing it out as Fig.1.a and 1.b. Failures first occur between the
the most reliable method as each gearbox is pitch and root circle, and then between the pitch
considered to have normal vibrations in certain and tip circles, only to spread on the entire surface
frequency bands, until an error occurs, which of tooth active part [10]. Depending on the form of
greatly increases vibrations [8]. In addition, most emergence, we differ among: sliding wear,
studies were carried out on simple gear and corrosion, overheating and erosion [9].
bearing failures, not expounding other types of Scuffing occurs on the working surfaces of
possible failures, changes that occur on gearbox tooth flankes, most often between the tip and root
elements, or the causes that lead to them. circle [10]. It is formed as a result of oil film
This paper discusses typical gearbox element disruption, local metal contact, sudden
failures as well as typical changes to the condition temperature increase due to friction, local welding
of lubricating oil. Each individual failure or and tearing of welded particles [10-13]. It is
condition change is identified and illustrated with manifested by the appearance of creases and
an appropriate photo, classified according to the notches in the sliding direction. An example of
appropriate standard, described in the form of pronounced scuffing due to a large deviation in the
manifestation and cause. parallelism of coupled gears axes is given in Fig.1.c.
The research was carried out on 95 gearboxes Permanent deformations occur on the tip, side,
that were collected throughout 2017, during
and very often on the entire tooth. They are
general repairs at Drmno mine workshop.
formed as a result of high loading, impact due to
the large side clearance, interruption of lubrication
2. TYPICAL GEARBOX ELEMENT FAILURES
which leads to warming and reduction of gear
Toothed gear failure implies changes to the material strength, as well as when foreign particles
mechanical elements that result in the total or pass through coupling [10-12]. They are
partial loss of working capacity of the gearbox manifested by the appearance of dents, creases or
under consideration. In this case, several types of complete reshaping of tooth parts. Examples of
failures on multiple elements can occur permanent deformations due to the presence of
simultaneously on a single gearbox, but as a rule, chipped parts of other elements in the coupling are
one of the resulting types is dominant and will given in Fig.1.d and 1.e.

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Fig.1. Typical gear failures on analyzed gearboxes

Surface fatigue phenomena occur most often impact on service life, according to ISO 10825 [9],
on the working surfaces teeth sides. They result fatigue wear is classified into: initial pitting,
from the mutual contact of the teeth in the progressive pitting (Fig.1.g), micro pitting (Fig.1.h).
coupling, which results in displacement of the flake piting (Fig.1.i), spalling (Fig.1.j) and case
superficial layers on contact surfaces [14,15]. As a crushing.
result of constant displacement, fatigue occurs Cracks most often occur in the root or side of a
that can be divided into three phases [11]. The first tooth, sometimes on the gear body. They are
phase is the initiation of a crack at or just below caused by quenching, grinding or fatigue [14]. They
the surface, most often at the sites of various are manifested by separating the material crystal
irregularities in the crystal structure. In the second lattice, and creating a new surface. Quench cracks
phase, due to variable normal voltages, cracks occur during heat treatment due to excessive
grow, and in the third phase, parts of material are internal stresses and are detected only after a
chipped, creating a characteristic relief in the form certain operating time. Grinding cracks are
of smaller or large holes (Fig.1.f). Depending on the generally short, not very long and regularly
method of formation, development, shape and distributed, and occur during or after grinding.

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Fatigue cracks (Fig.1.k) result from cyclic loads the Surface deteriorations, shown in Fig.2.a, occur
intensities of which are most likely lower than the at locations of relative displacement of firmly
material tensile strength. mounted parts such as bearings, gears, and
Fractures most often occur at the root or in the couplings. They are manifested by the appearance
middle of the tooth side, sometimes also on the of dark brown spots that represent fretting
gear body, independently or as a result of tooth corrosion (Fig.2.a), as well as by the emergence of
fracture [10]. They occur as a result of overloading, clefts in the rotating direction (Fig.2.a) which
tooth shear, plastic deformation, or material represents abrasive wear.
fatigue [14]. They are manifested by the loss of Surface fatigue phenomena occur on the
material from larger surfaces, and an example of stacked parts. They are caused by the relative
such a material fatigue fracture is shown in Fig.1.l. displacement of elements along the shaft in cycles
Overloading fracture is brittle, ductile, or quasi- n times. They are manifested by the appearance of
brittle, and results from the effect of great load smaller or larger holes, forming a characteristic
[14]. Shear fracture is characterized by a cut relief in phases (Fig.2b), as in gears.
surface, similar to that of machining. Fatigue Shaft failures most often occur on the input
fracture has two specific zones at the fracture shafts of the worm and bevel gears, which are
surface: fatigue region and final fracture region. made as a one piece with the shaft, at places of
The fatigue region is relatively smooth-matte, and pronounced discontinuities in cross section sizes.
They occur as a result of overloading, plastics
the final fracture region is relatively rough, coarse-
deformations or fatigue, and each type of fracture
grained and rugged.
is manifested by the characteristic appearance of
the fracture surface [16]. In case of overload, the
2.2 Typical shaft failures fracture surface is relatively rough. In case of shaft
fatigue fracture, the fracture surface is relatively
Shaft failures and damages are not as smooth, and the final fracture is relatively rough.
numerous as that of gears. They can be classified An example of such a fracture is shown in Fig.2.c,
into: surface deteriorations, surface fatigue and 2.d, where a characteristic rough portion
phenomena and shaft fractures [16,17]. Surface representing the final fracture can be observed,
deteriorations mainly occur on the outer surfaces, while the rest of the fracture surface is smooth.
which results in an increase in the radial clearance Bending stress fractures are perpendicular to the
between the shafts and the elements mounted on shaft axis, just as in Fig.2.c and 2.d, while torsional
them, and shaft fractures have far greater stress fractures are often set at an angle of 45° to
consequences. the shaft axis of the, just as in Fig.2.e.

Fig.2. Typical shaft failures on the analyzed gearboxes

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2.3 Typical bearing failures cavitation of the lubrication inlet pipelines [21].
They are manifested by damaging the contact
Bearing failures and damages are numerous. surfaces in the form of notches (Fig.3.c), grooves
They occur on almost all elements: rings, cages, and scratches.
rolling bodies and seals [11]. According to ISO Adhesive wear occurs as a result of poor
15243 [18], all failures can be classified into 6 lubrication, when the oil film thickness is not great
major groups, which include fatigue (pitting), enough to completely separate surfaces in contact
abrasive and adhesive wear, corrosion, electro- with each other [11]. In such conditions, at places
erosion, plastic deformation and fracture. of rolling bodies with considerable pressures, heat
Fatigue (pitting) is the result of cyclic stress that is generated and adhesion forces are formed, that
develops at the contact surface [11]. It is is, instantaneous micro-welding occurs [19-21]. It is
manifested by the appearance of pits in the initial manifested by the removal of material from the
phase and the destruction of the contact surface in surface, accompanied by discoloration due to
the final phase [19-21], creating a characteristic heating and softening of the material.
relief, as in gears and shafts. An example of pitting Oxidation corrosion is caused by the presence
on a double-rowed roller bearing is shown in of moisture. It is manifested by the appearance of
Figu.3.a, while Fig.3.b shows an example of pitting oxide coatings of different thicknesses and colors:
on a bronze cage of a roller bearing. thin - relatively light (<40 μm), medium - light
Abrasive wear occurs as a result of the effect of brown and gray (<500 μm), as well as thick -
hard particles that have reached the contact zone usually dark coatings (>500 μm) [11]. As the
during bearing operation [11]. Hard particles are thickness of the oxidized coatings increases, they
often chipped parts of the bearing elements burst and are removed from the surface, leaving a
themselves. Also, particles can be contained in the relief surface. An example of oxidation corrosion
lubricant, in case there is no filtering, or due to the on the outer bearing ring is shown in Fig.3.d.

Fig.3. Typical bearing damages on the analyzed gearboxes

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Fretting corrosion occurs when there is a gap fatigue [19-21]. They are manifested by the loss of
between the shaft and the inner ring or housing material from the damaged element surface.
and the outer ring [19-21]. The gap allows for the Overload fracture is usually caused by rough
relative displacements of the aforementioned handling (impact) when the bearing is mounted or
parts resulting in chipping of small particles of dismantled (Fig.3.f), by use of inadequate tools
material. It is manifested by red oxide coatings or during mounting, or when the bearing is
black coatings in the presence of oil or borax hammered onto an incorrect shaft diameter.
peroxide (rust) coatings in the presence of Fatigue fracture occurs at sites where surfaces
moisture [11]. An example of fretting corrosion on have already been affected by pitting. In this case,
the inner bearing ring is shown in Fig.3.e. cracks continue to grow until complete fusion and
Plastic deformations occur as a result of impact final fracture of the element. An example of cage
and uneven loads or irregular mounting [19-21]. material fatigue fracture is shown in Fig.3.g.
They are manifested by dents or partial changes in
the shape of damaged surface. Improper mounting 2.4 Typical housing failures
may result in the formation of dents most often on
outer and inner rings, as well as on seals. Also, Hosing failures and damages are not as
plastic deformation may occur if oil contains hard numerous as that of gears and bearings. They can
particles of some foreign material, e.g. worn cage be classified into: surface deterioration (abrasive
or ball particles. These particles cause dents in the wear and corrosion) and sealing failures. Fractures
rolling path and cause damage to all the inner and cracks are very rarely found in places of
parts of the bearing. bearings, ribs and other parts, although this is not
Fractures occur due to overloading or material impossible.

Fig.4. Typical housing failures on the analyzed gearboxes

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Abrasive wear occurs on the resting surfaces of Sealing failure occurs on the cuff seals, the thin
covers and housings. They are manifested by the layer of sealant between the housing and cover,
appearance of dents, notches, grooves, and and due to insufficient tightening of cover screws
scratches in the rotation direction [11]. Fig.4.a [16]. They are manifested in many ways. Fig.4.d
shows the consequence of slippage of the outer shows an example of oil leak due to the sealant
ring of a two-row roller bearing. Abrasive wear can failure on the side cover. Fig.4.e shows an example
also occur in the axial direction, or in the direction of notched rubber lining when mounted on a shaft
of transverse shaft, as shown in Fig.4.b. Such wear with a wedge groove. Also, during mounting, the
occurs if the screws on the side covers are not spring that presses the rubber lining may be
tightened enough, so there is a gap which, due to damaged or may come out of its groove.
vibrations, allows the bearing to have smooth axial
Sometimes it is improperly set as shown in Fig.4.f.
displacement. Often, transverse failures may also
Excessive exposure to high temperatures causes
occur when replacing bearings in the mechanical
rubber to harden and crack, as shown in Fig.4.g.
room.
Also, during exploitation, the rubber liner can
Oxidation corrosion is caused by the presence
separate from the tin L profile (Fig.4.h), which also
of moisture, and almost all housings are exposed
to atmospheric precipitation. It is manifested by causes oil to leak.
the appearance of oxide coatings of various
thicknesses and colors, as in bearings. An example 2. TYPICAL LUBRICANT PROBLEMS
of a partially oxidized housing is shown in Fig.4.c.
First, the oxidized layer is formed at the places of Typical lubricant problems include oil
damaged surface protection, such as edges of a degradations that cause negative lubrication
smaller radius, or surfaces damaged during changes, resulting in wear and failure of the
mounting/dismantling, and then the oxidized layer gearbox components. They can be classified into:
tends to spread, with layer thickness depending on oil foaming, oil oxidation, water penetration into
the material characteristics, surface protection, oil, oil contamination with foreign materials [22,
temperature and the amount of moisture. 23].

Fig.5. Typical lubricant problems

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Oil foaming occurs due to the application of An example of chipped teeth in oil is shown in
inadequate viscosity oil, due to the low or too high Fig.5.d.
oil level, air penetration, mixing oil with another oil
of different viscosity, oil contamination with dust 3. FACTORS LEADING TO FAILURES
and water [23]. It is manifested by the appearance
of small air bubbles on the lubricant surface. Gearbox wear depends on a number of
Formed foam impedes oil temperature different factors that can be classified into 6 main
maintenance, accelerates oxidation processes and groups: operating loads, operating conditions,
stimulates aeration, which results in intense material, production, mounting and structural
cavitation, poor lubrication, and reduced service design. It should be emphasized that a number of
life of the oil itself. An example of oil foaming in a factors are common to all elements of the gearbox.
cylindrical bevel gearbox is shown in Fig.5.a. Operating loads include bending stresses at the
Oil oxidation is the chemical reaction of oil with tooth base, tooth shear stress, contact pressure on
oxygen. This is an inevitable occurrence that the tooth side, shaft misalignment, bending and
causes oil to age and cannot be prevented. twisting stress of the shaft, surface pressure
Appearance of oil oxidation leads to an increase in between the bearing elements, or all phenomena
viscosity, formation of varnishes, sediments and that occur during the transmission of power.
deposits, additive consumption, an increase in acid Operating conditions imply inadequate type of
numbers, and the appearance of corrosion on the lubrication, impurities in oil, insufficient oil
gearbox elements [22]. It is manifested in oil color viscosity, inadequate oil, and insufficient oil
change, blurriness, darkening and sludge content. Conditions that occur during exploitation
formation. are generally different from those in calculation.
Water penetrates the lubricant due to sealing Teeth flanks surfaces must theoretically be
failure and remains in the gearbox as dissolved, separated by an oil film between the current
emulsified and free. Below the saturation level, points of contact and movement. However,
water molecules are dispersed next to oil favorable lubricant layer cannot be created each
molecules, resulting in water in oil that is not time, so direct metal-to-metal contact occurs,
visible. When the amount of dissolved water resulting in contact surface wear.
exceeds the saturation limit, oil can no longer Material defects occur as a consequence of
absorb water molecules, which results in casting imperfection, e.g. inclusions, pores, gas
emulsification. It is manifested by the bubbles, layered and incoherent structure.
characteristic misty appearance of oil, as shown in Production defects include poor machining
Fig.5.b. Further increment of water in oil results in (dimensional errors and roughly machined
water and oil levels separation, which causes water surfaces), errors in heat treatment (too soft or too
to settle at the bottom due to lower density. tight gear).
Water in oil significantly affects viscosity increase, Mounting defects include poor toothing,
formation of deposits, foaming, which results in oil improper clearance adjustment and improper
handling. Installation must be carried out on
film strength reduction and the appearance of
suitable working surfaces, in dry dust-free
cavitation.
conditions. Impurities such as: metal shavings,
Oil contamination with different impurities is
sawdust, sand, corrosive liquids must never enter
due to residues of the materials used in gearbox
the gearbox, as they would cause wear on the
repair (metal scrap, sealant material), materials
gearbox components immediately after starting
from the atmosphere or the working environment
work.
(water, dust, sand, etc.), materials formed by
Structural defects can cause excessive stresses.
gearbox parts wear or corrosion (Fig.5.c). Very
This is primarily related to sudden changes in the
often, gearbox oil looks flawless macroscopically, shafts cross-sections and insufficient stiffening of
but it actually contains many microscopic particles. bearing grooves on housings. Even when failures
The consequences of the presence of particles occur, it is very difficult to determine structural
depend on their size in relation to the clearance of defects and their impact on failure.
gear in the coupling and bearing elements. Severe
failures may occur if the particle diameter is similar 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
to the clearance size. In this case, the particle fits
into the contact/coupling zone where pressures The results of the research done on 95
are significantly high and leads to abrasive wear. gearboxes withdrawn from exploitation in 2017

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show that failures are the most likely to occur on 5. FAULT TREE
oil seals (40.1%), whether cuff seals or a thin layer
of sealant, as well as on bearings (38.8%), Fig.6. If One of the most suitable methods for analyzing
oil leakage is minimal or does not require greater the most likely causes of gearbox failure is the
amounts for topping, the gearbox will operate Fault Tree Analysis, which is shown in Fig.7. The
under such conditions until the failure of another unwanted, top event, defined as "gearbox
element that would require total shutdown. As a malfunction" may be complete or partial. If the
result of incomplete sealing, water, dust, and other gearbox loses its function, the malfunction is
undesirable particles penetrate the inside of the complete. On the other hand, if the gearbox works
gearbox. but its performance is significantly impaired, then
Bearing failures are most often manifested by the malfunction is partial.
gaps due to abrasive wear, oxidation corrosion,
Generally speaking, general complex events
mounting defects, shaft misalignment, gear failure,
representing malfunctioning and resulting from the
and to a lesser extent bearing element fractures.
analyzed gearbox element failures include:
All this results in a rise in temperature, vibration
and noise.  increased noise;
In addition to bearings, a number of failures  oil foaming;
occurred on gears: bevel (4.2%), cylindrical (1.3%)  increased oil viscosity;
and worm (1%), as well as on shafts: inlet toothed  oil leakage;
(3.5%), central toothed (0.3%) and stepped with  high temperature;
groove (0.3%), Fig.6. Almost all of these gears,
except one cylindrical, failed at the inlet of the All general complex events are further
gearbox, as expected. The highest rpm is at the developed to the causes that lead to their
inlet, usually 1000, 1500 min-1. There are the occurrence. It should be emphasized that a
highest temperatures and the greatest shocks at number of causes in the fault tree are common to
startup as well. Gear failures are most commonly all complex events.
manifested by pitting, spalling, tooth fractures and The causes of noise increase are usually related
permanent deformations. All this results in an
to gearbox element failure, primarily bearings and
increase in vibration and noise.
gears, or to lubrication with regard to insufficient
The third group of elements consists of failures
amount of oil, application of inadequate oil, or oil
of coupling rubber inserts (5.3%), screws (1.7%)
mounted on covers, Fig.6. The consequences of of insufficient viscosity. However, noise does not
failure of these elements are far less. have to be due solely to exploitation conditions.
The number of failures occurring during one The cause may also be a faulty mounting in the
year could be minimized through more regular form of poor toothing or mounting bearing with a
inspections, preventive and corrective activities. larger clearance than permitted.

Fig.6. Percentage of occurrence of various types of failures on the tested gearboxes

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The cause of oil leakage is usually damaged The causes of gearbox temperature rise are
sealing. Possible types of seal failures are given in generally related to insufficient oil content. Also,
Chapter 2.4. rising temperatures may be due to increased
The cause of oil foaming is high oil level. In such friction. The causes of increased friction are
a situation, oil is swirled and air enters the oil. Also, inadequate oil, overloads, excessive rpm, and high
water, as well as some types of additives, in oil can impact loads.
cause foaming at elevated temperatures. A developed fault tree should not be
Causes of oil viscosity increase include considered complete. In the present case, it may
contamination of oil with higher viscosity oil, be complemented by other events with less
oxidation of oil due to high-temperature likelihood of occurrence. Grouping of original
operation, and contamination with foreign events, as well as defining complex events, can be
materials, e.g. water, dust, wear products. done in another way as well.

Fig.7. Fault tree of analyzed gearboxes

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6. PREVENTIVE AND CORRECTIVE MEASURES unprofessional maintenance of both the

lubrication system and the entire gearbox.
A large number of failures, which lead to Other factors that cause gearbox elements to
gearbox malfunction unit, can be affected by fail are related to the element materials
corrective and preventive measures. Based on themselves. Corrective measures can be achieved
the analysis conducted, it was concluded that all by applying a material with a more durable
three lubrication regimes are present: boundary, dynamic strength, or, for example, by applying a
mixed and hydrostatic. Corrective measures can material with increased wear resistance of the
be implemented in the form of using lubrication gear contact surfaces, in order to reduce material
systems which would completely or at least fatigue failure.
partially eliminate the boundary lubrication Second, heat processing can be crucial. It is
regime. known that the service life of gears is extended if
Second, lubrication with unfiltered oil should the flanks and roots are tempered as a whole and
be completely avoided. Unfiltered oil contains if the depth of the surface-tempered layer is
metal scraps created by contact surface wear. great, so some corrective measures can be taken
Such oil is directed by nozzles into the contact in this area as well.
zone, between the rolling elements and the ring,
as well as in the gear coupling. The consequences 7. CONCLUSION
are destruction of the contact surface in the form
of dents, notches, grooves and scratches, as This paper presents an analysis of gearbox
described in previous sections. Corrective failure on Drmno open pit mine based on field
measures can be achieved using finer filters with analysis as well as available literature.
a mesh of 60-150 μm, provided that the mesh The current strategy used in the mining
density corresponds to the viscosity of the industry is not effective due to a large number of
applied oil. unexpected failures. The consequences of such a
For gear lubrication, corrective measures can policy are costly, and repairs can take several
be achieved using fan-shaped nozzles instead of days.
round ones, since this would cover a much larger The results obtained from the analysis show
tooth surface. that there were 94 failures during the whole of
Replacing gearbox oils is mostly done during 2017, of which: (40.1%) on oil seals, (38.8%) on
the planned overhaul, unless the gearbox fails in bearings, (4.2%) on bevel gears, (1 , 3%) on
the meantime. Protection against high pressures cylindrical gears, (1%) on worm gears, (3.5%) on
and impact loads, resistance to oxidation, toothed inlet shafts, (0.3%) on central toothed
resistance to corrosion, ability to extract water
shafts, (0.3%) on stepped shafts with groove,
and other abilities are achieved by additives, and
(5.3%) on coupling rubber inserts and (1.7%) on
oil stability changes with exploitation hours. The
cover screws.
estimated operating hours of used oils (Famredol
On the basis of the resulting malfunctions, a
ultra 220, Kompaund ASP-220, Meropa 220, etc.)
fault tree was formed which gives the possibility
are 4000-6000 h. Toothed gears that drive the
conveyor drum are about 4000 h, while, for to determine the most serious malfunctions and
example, toothed gears that drive a caterpillar the causes that lead to them.
transport mechanism are less than 1000 h. Some improvements that do not require a lot
Corrective measures can be achieved by applying of money but significantly improve the reliability
higher quality oils in gearboxes that work for of gearboxes can be achieved by mandatory oil
more than 6000 h. filtration and finer sieves, use of fan-shaped
Corrective measures can also be taken in the nozzles for gear lubrication, mandatory oil
application of frequency-controlled motors on all change, and use of higher exploitation hour oils
gearboxes. With motors like this, shocks at start- for gearboxes which are mostly exploited, use of
up would be avoided, as the electric motor would electric motors with frequency regulators, in the
gradually increase the torque. Also, mandatory construction of new and reconstruction of
use of sensors, for both temperature and existing systems, as this allows to reduce the
vibrations, would automatically shut down shock at startup, use of sensors to monitor the
gearboxes that have malfunctioned. basic parameters, continuous education of staff
Part of the improvement can be achieved by and pointing out the consequences of improper
eliminating the human factor in the form of handling.

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