Heavy Earth Moving Machinary

HEAVY EARTH MOVING MACHINARY
Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM)
The dramatic output in the volume of the bulk material during the past few
decades has generated an increase need of Heavy Earth Moving Machinery
(HEMM) in the field like mining project, irrigation project, ports, big cities etc
throughout the world.
Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM) comprise of machines which cut and
extract earth, blast rocks sand and other loose materials and then transfer them to
a predetermined position and finally discharge the materials on dumping points
through dumpers, belt conveyors, etc.
Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM) are the combinations of various

mechanisms designed to perform the special type of work as mentioned above.
The mechanisms are

•A prime mover (diesel engines or electrical motors),
•A power transmission system including clutches, gear boxes, chain sprockets,
etc.,
•Control systems, and
•Mechanical linkages.
Despite their variety they can be classified as follows:
BUCKET WHEEL EXCAVATORS
BY
Dr. P. S. Paul
Dept. of Mining Engineering
Indian School of Mines University, Dhanbad
Introduction
Bucket Wheel Excavator (BWE)
Bucket wheel excavator is a multi bucket continuous excavator. Continuous digging

with this machine is done with evenly spaced bucket on the periphery of the
rotating wheel. Once the material is dug by the bucket, it flows in a continuous
stream via a transfer to the conveyor system which in turn transport it to the
discharge point. The wheels are adjustable in r.p.m and mount 6 to 18 bucket of
equal size.
the bucket wheel excavator were first developed to handle only the easy
digging materials such as brown coal in germany, but with the advancement in the
electric drives, metallurgy of bucket and teeth and introduction of high speed steel
cord belts the BWE’s are finding its applications to dig medium to medium hard
digging materials such as hard pottery clays, oil shales, etc.
General Construction of BWE
Classification
The BWE’s can be classified into different type based on certain criteria:
Type of buckets:
1. Cell type
2. Cell-less type → more popular
Propel mechanism:
1. Crusher – 3 point support – most popular
2. Walking pad type
3. Rail mounted
Type of cutting boom

1. Crowding type
2. Non-crowding type – most popular
Principle of Operation
A bucket wheel excavator generally comprises a bucket wheel which can be rotated
to bring successive buckets into engagement with the ground structure to be
excavated so that excavated material is torn from that structure, raised to a higher
level and dumped from the bucket. The buckets can be provided with teeth or the
like to cut into the material. At least one bucket-wheel belt is provided to carry away
the material dumped from the buckets and, to guide this material onto the bucket-
wheel conveyor belt, a bucket-wheel chute can be provided.
The bucket-wheel conveyor belt, in turn, can dump the excavated material from the
chute into a receiving chute for a dumping conveyor belt which displaces the
excavated material still further to an end of the dumping conveyor belt which can
overhang a dump truck or other heavy motorized vehicle for carrying away the
excavated material. The dumping conveyor belt can also have a drum over which the
belt passes and at which the excavated material is discharged into the truck
positioned therebelow.
Application
Bucket wheel excavator finds it application when:
• The formation are soft to medium hard.

• The formation are free of geological disturbances.
• The formations of free of boulders.
• The formation are such that it will not clog the wheel, transfer point, belts etc
because of stickiness or pressure of buried vegetations or such other things.
• Selective mining of inter bedded ore and waste is necessary.
• Continuous working is possible.
• Reserve is large and amenable to high rate of extraction.
Working/ Cutting/ Digging

Using BWE, mining is either done by Lateral block method or full block method of
excavating.
Cutting Geometry
In Lateral Block method, the machine travels parallel to the highwall with the
crawlers offset. Long deep benches or terraces are cut along the highwall, starting
at the top. The angle of swing into the highwall in the from 10 to 90 degree to the
direction of the travel. This generally requires a machine equipped with a long
boom.
In Full Block Method, the wheel travels parallel to the highwall, removing a block
width which is a function of the wheel cutting radius and the swing arc. Optimum
block width is normally achieved with a swing angle of 800 degree to the highwall
and 45o to 50o on the discharge side.
Terrace Cut Dropping Cut
The Standard Bucket Wheel Excavator for Truck Loading
Different Types of Buckets and their Comparison
Cell Type Bucket:

Here each bucket is provided with individual cell chutes, lined with wear plates. The chute
receives material from the bucket and discharges it on to an inclined plate and ultimately to the
conveyor belt.
Cell-Less Type Bucket:

There is no individual chute here. The material is discharged on to a common hopper, which is
not an integral part of the bucket.
Different Types of Buckets and their Comparison
Their Comparison
In cell type bucket, discharge capacity is less as material acceptance is more and discharging
time from each bucket is less. Hence the cutting speed are limited.
Whereas in cell-less type bucket, the material is allowed to discharge into the ring chute, which
ultimately discharges on to a fixed chute. This design permits greater cutting and bucket speed.
Volume Extraction in Terrace Cut
The terrace height should be as high as possible. This usually taken as follows:
0.33 ≤ h ≤ 0.7D
Where h = terrace height
= 0.5D (usually)
D is wheel diameter
According to above figure,

bo = width of cut at slew angle α = 0° bα = width of cut at slew angle other than “0”
to = depth of cut at slew angle α = 0° Tα = depth of cut at slew angle other than “0”
This cut area is sickle shaped and is given by htα i.e. hto cos α [tα = to cos α ]
Cut volume = hto cos α X slewing speed (Vs) = Vshto cos α

Theoretical Capacity of BWE
Case I
Let I = Inner volume of single bucket in litre

S = Number of buckets discharged
Sf = Swell factor
Z = Number of buckets in a wheel
N = r.p.m
Therefore theoretical capacity
(Qth) = I x 10-3 x S x 60 m3/h(loose measure)

Qth = 6.I.S.10-2/ Sf m3/h (solid or bank measure)
Number of bucket discharge per minute (S) = NxZ
Therefore, Qth = 6.I.N.Z/ Sf x 10-2 m3/h (bank measure)

Case II
Again let,
Vs = Slewing speed (m/min)

h = cutting height
α = depth of cut in m (average)
Therefore
Qth = 60 Vs.h.d m3/h (bank measure)
Qth = 60 Vs.h.d x Sf m3/h (loose measure)
QA = Service factor x Qth x Actual machine working hour per
year (m3/year)
Service factor depends on working condition and operational efficiency,

it varies from 0.5 to 0.7
whereas, Sf = 1 + % Swell
Advantages of BWE
Some of the advantage that BWE’s have other types of excavators are:
 More stable pit slopes for both high wall and spoil heap.
 Wider working space.
 More maneuvering room when working with a shovel and truck tandem
operation.
 Greater amounts of developed reserves exposed by operating on wide
benches.
 Back filled spoil piles are more even in size and contour with other excavators.
 Close control in selective mining of inter bedded ore and waste.
 Ability to deliver material either above or below the working level.
 High and/or deep cuts can be handled depending on machine design.
 Comparatively smooth and level working benches.
 Cost per ton or per cm3 is generally lowest.
Load fluctuation is minimum due to uniform operation.
Disadvantages of BWE
Conditions that can rule out the use of wheel excavators include:
Uniformly hard materials which fragment poorly with blasting.

A high percentage of large, upsized boulders which are too big for the buckets
are produced during excavation.
The presence of buried vegetation which would clog the wheel, ladders, belts
and transformers.
Inter bedded hard, dense rock which slows the production unduly and increase
the maintenance cost.
Relatively high initial cost.

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HEAVY EARTH MOVING MACHINARY

Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM)

Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM) are the combinations of various

The mechanisms are

Bucket Wheel Excavator (BWE)

Bucket wheel excavator is a multi bucket continuous excavator. Continuous digging

Bucket Wheel Excavator (BWE)

Type of cutting boom

Bucket Wheel Excavator (BWE)

Bucket wheel excavator finds it application when:

• The formation are soft to medium hard.

Working/ Cutting/ Digging

Cell Type Bucket:

Cell-Less Type Bucket:

According to above figure,

Cut volume = hto cos α X slewing speed (Vs) = Vshto cos α

Bucket Wheel Excavator (BWE)

Let I = Inner volume of single bucket in litre

Therefore theoretical capacity

(Qth) = I x 10-3 x S x 60 m3/h(loose measure)

Number of bucket discharge per minute (S) = NxZ

Therefore, Qth = 6.I.N.Z/ Sf x 10-2 m3/h (bank measure)

Vs = Slewing speed (m/min)

Service factor depends on working condition and operational efficiency,

Bucket Wheel Excavator (BWE)

Uniformly hard materials which fragment poorly with blasting.

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