Mechanical Behavior

Evaluation of the Chassis of

Mining Equipment
PRESENTATION TOPICS

Company Overview;

Problem Description;

Methodology;

Goals;

Conclusion and next steps.

ISQ Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade

Founded 30 +
Headquarters
In 1965 affiliated companies
in Portugal
ISQ Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade

Founded Headquarters in Operates in the Brazilian and South

In 1999 Minas Gerais American markets
ISQ Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade

Founded in 1999, with its headquarters in Rio de Janeiro Rj, ISQ Brasil initiated its
activities in the Offshore market.

In 2004 established its headquarters in Nova Lima MG, expanding its activities in the
mining, steel, petrochemical, pulp and paper industry.

ISQ Brasil offers integrated solutions in the areas of integrity, remaining life assessment,
advanced non-destructive testing, inspection of components in both construction and
shipping phase, technical support in the areas of quality, environment, safety and healthcare.
ISQ Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade

PULP AND PAPER MINING STEEL

ENERGY OIL & GAS PROCESS INDUSTRY

ISQ Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade

TECHNICAL INSPECTION ENGINEERING EVALUATION & TESTING

& CONSULTING

P&D+I REGULATORY SERVICES

 Mechanical Behavior Evaluation of the Chassis
of Mining Equipment
Introduction
During the extraction and processing of iron ore several equipment are employed, being of
great importance the reliability and availability of the machineries;

Factors such as high operating rates and large workloads directly affect the durability of
mine equipment with great economic loss in the occurrence of failures;

The chassis corresponds to the structure that supports all subsystems of the equipment,
being therefore a component of great importance for identification of its useful life.
 Mechanical Behavior Evaluation of the Chassis
of Mining Equipment
Introduction
The problems arising from fatigue occur after the application of a high number of cycles. A
fatigue failure usually consists of three steps: beginning of crack, stable crack growth and
unstable growth of crack.

Fatigue Failure

Start of the crack

Stable crack growth

Unstable crack growth

 Mechanical Behavior Evaluation of the Chassis
of Mining Equipment

Description of the Problems

Obtaining accurate loading cycles;

Stress values at critical locations;

Elaboration of reinforcements to increase the useful life of the equipment.

Mechanical Behavior Evaluation of the Chassis
of Mining Equipment

Objective

Elaborate a methodology that can be used to:

Obtain the cycles of loading applied to the equipment;

Identify the cause of cracking;

Propose improvements to increase equipment life.

 Mechanical Behavior Evaluation of the Chassis
of Mining Equipment

Methodology

During the analysis to obtain the load cycles, the following challenges are faced:

The precise identification of the loading cycles applied to the equipment is one of the great

challenges faced;

In most cases the real load cycle is unknown, resulting in conservative analysis that do

not represent the current situation of the equipment.

 Mechanical Behavior Evaluation of the Chassis
of Mining Equipment

Methodology
The analysis of the load cycles can be performed with the application of experimental stress

analysis combined with results of computational models:

The experimental stress analysis can be applied to obtain the real load cycles;

Application of coefficients to correlate stresses at critical locations with the monitored

points in experimental stress analysis;

Elaboration of routines to obtain the fatigue life of the equipment for the real operating

condition.
 Mechanical Behavior Evaluation of the Chassis
of Mining Equipment

Methodology
Experimental stress analysis using strain gauges is an example of a technique widely used

in chassis evaluations of mine equipment;

The strain gage is one of the most reliable tools for performing an experimental stress

analysis. bridge mounting compensation of

temperature effects
Instrumentation cable - reduction of
external interferences in measurements
Active gage

Dummy gage
Mechanical Behavior Evaluation of the Chassis
of Mining Equipment

Methodology
Application of coefficients to correlate stresses at critical locations with measurement

points:

Additional points that

can be evaluated

Measuring points
Mechanical Behavior Evaluation of the Chassis
of Mining Equipment

Methodology
The finite element method can be used to obtain the correlations between the

measured stresses and the stresses at the critical most critical locations:

Additional points that

can be evaluated

Measuring points
Mechanical Behavior Evaluation of the Chassis
of Mining Equipment

Methodology
The finite element method can be used to obtain the correlations between the

measured stresses and the stresses at the critical most critical locations:

Points to be assessed

Measuring
points
Mechanical Behavior Evaluation of the Chassis
of Mining Equipment

Methodology
Obtaining the real load cycle applied to the equipment:

Stress [Mpa]

Time [s]
Strain gage location

Identification of different cumulative damages during each Load Cycle

Mechanical Behavior Evaluation of the Chassis
of Mining Equipment

Methodology
Elaboration of routines that allows a better evaluation of the fatigue life of the equipment:
With the results of the experimental analysis and the correlations obtained using the
computational model, algorithms can be elaborated to obtain the fatigue life of the
chassis, considering the current operating condition of the equipment.

Cycle Counting

+
Calculation of
cumulative damage

Fatigue Life
Evaluation
 Mechanical Behavior Evaluation of the Chassis
of Mining Equipment
Methodology
Flowchart for fatigue life evaluation:

Experimental stress analysis to Application of the methodology for

obtain the real Load Cycles cumulative damage evaluation

Application of methodology for

counting cycles
Fatigue life of the chassis for the
current operation condition

Obtaining the number of cycles for

each amplitude spectrum
Mechanical Behavior Evaluation of the Chassis
of Mining Equipment

Results
After the study was carried out based on the results of the finite element model and the

experimental stress analysis:

Fatigue life evaluation for the real operating condition;

Identification of the parts of the cycle with higher cumulative damage;

Identification of the points for the elaboration of reinforcements.

Mechanical Behavior Evaluation of the Chassis
of Mining Equipment

Results
Identification of the parts of the cycle with higher cumulative damage:

Stress [Mpa]

Strain Gage
installation

Time [s]
Mechanical Behavior Evaluation of the Chassis
of Mining Equipment

Results
Identification of the points that require reinforcements;

Use the finite element model to elaborate the reinforcements.

Mechanical Behavior Evaluation of the Chassis
of Mining Equipment

Results

Iterative method to design the reinforcements:

Initial Model

Structural Analysis

Reinforcements Design Reinforcements modifications

Stress results analysis

Final Model
Mechanical Behavior Evaluation of the Chassis
of Mining Equipment

Conclusions

The results of the computational analysis are very important for the identification of the

most critical points of the component;

The computational model can be used to obtain the correlations between the most

critical points and the points where the experimental stress analysis were carried out;
 Mechanical Behavior Evaluation of the Chassis
of Mining Equipment

Conclusions

The experimental stress analysis is a tool that can be used to obtain the real Load Cycles
applied to the equipment;

With the experimental results and the computational results, the fatigue life of the
equipment for the current operation condition can be evaluated;

Reinforcements can be elaborated to increase the fatigue life using the finite element
model.