Impact of bucket fill factor on dragline production rate and energy consumption

Mining Engineering , 2011, Vol. 63, No. 8, pp. 48-53

Bogunovic, D.; Kecojevic, V.

The objective of this research was to conduct field-scale experiments at an operating surface coal mine in order to determine the impact of the bucket fill factor on dragline production rate and energy consumption. Data collected from a dragline monitoring system were recorded in a specifically designed software tool and the relationship among these parameters was established. An algorithm for the determination of the "best" fill factor was developed and integrated in the software. It was determined for the analyzed dragline in the mine that energy consumption in the digging phase can be reduced by 36% and production rate can be increased by 1.4% for a bucket fill factor of about 80%, a fill distance of 19.8 m (65 ft) (i.e., 3.1 bucket lengths) and a bucket fill time of 15 sec. The method developed and applied in this study may help dragline operators to determine the fill factor that will increase production rates and reduce energy consumption in specific surface coal mines.