Characterization of Full Bridge Strain Transducers for Haulage Equipment Payload Distribution Monitoring

Area of Science:

• Engineering
• Materials Science
• Mining Technology

Background:

• Manual measurement of shuttle car load and material distribution is labor-intensive.
• Existing methods for automated measurement are limited by environmental and installation factors.
• Strain transducers offer a potential solution for real-time load monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the performance of custom-built force-shunt strain transducers under thermo-mechanical loads.
• To quantify the influence of environmental and installation variables on measurement accuracy.
• To assess the feasibility of using these transducers for mapping coal in shuttle cars.

Main Methods:

• Two custom-built strain transducers in a force-shunt configuration were experimentally tested.
• Thermo-mechanical loads were applied to simulate shuttle car operating conditions.
• Environmental and installation variables, including mounting bolt torque and substrate properties, were analyzed.
• The impact of thermal effects on transducer baseline and measurement accuracy was quantified.

Main Results:

• Thermal effects were found to be a significant source of measurement inaccuracy and baseline drift.
• The influence of environmental variables was indirectly linked to the mechanical properties of the mounting substrate.
• Mounting bolt torque had a negligible effect on strain measurement accuracy.
• Transducers exhibited thermal dependence, failing to consistently return to baseline after initial loading cycles.

Conclusions:

• Custom-built force-shunt strain transducers can effectively map coal profile and location in shuttle cars.
• Accuracy is contingent upon managing thermal effects and implementing continuous, cyclic rebalancing.
• Further research may focus on mitigating thermal sensitivity for enhanced reliability.