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While increased mechanization and automation make considerable contributions to mine productivity, unexpected equipment failures and imperfect planned or routine maintenance prohibit the maximum possible utilization of sophisticated mining equipment and require significant amount of extra capital investment. Traditional preventive/planned maintenance is usually scheduled at a fixed interval based on maintenance personnel's experience and it can result in decreasing reliability. This paper deals with reliability analysis and prediction for mining machinery. A software tool called GenRel is discussed with its theoretical background, applied algorithms and its current improvements. In GenRel, it is assumed that failures of mining equipment caused by an array of factors (e.g. age of equipment, operating environment) follow the biological evolution theory. GenRel then simulates the failure occurrences during a time period of interest based on Genetic Algorithms (GAs) combined with a number of statistical procedures. The paper also discusses a case study of two mine hoists. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether or not GenRel can be applied for reliability analysis of mine hoists in real life.

Statistical testing methods are applied to examine the similarity between the predicted data set with the real-life data set in the same time period. The data employed in this case study is compiled from two mine hoists from the Sudbury area in Ontario, Canada. Potential applications of the reliability assessment results yielded from GenRel include reliability-centered maintenance planning and production simulation.

The case studies shown in this paper demonstrate successful applications of a GAs-based software, GenRel, to analyze and predict dynamic reliability characteristics of two hoist systems. Two separate case studies in Mine A and Mine B at a time interval of three months both present acceptable prediction results at a given level of confidence, 5 percent.

Potential applications of the reliability assessment results yielded from GenRel include reliability-centered maintenance planning and production simulation.

Compared to conventional mathematical models, GAs offer several key advantages. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there has not been a wide application of GAs in hoist reliability assessment and prediction. In addition, the authors bring discrete distribution functions to the software tool (GenRel) for the first time and significantly improve computing efficiency. The results of the case studies demonstrate successful application of GenRel in assessing and predicting hoist reliability, and this may lead to better preventative maintenance management in the industry.

The objective of this paper is to determine fretting parameters of hoisting rope according to the hoisting parameters in coalmine and to explore the effect of contact load on fretting-fatigue behavior of steel wires.

Based on the mechanical model of hoisting rope in coalmine, the dynamic tension simulation of hoisting rope was performed. Static equations of hoisting rope under tension and torsion and theories of contact mechanics were applied to obtain fretting parameters. Fretting-fatigue tests of steel wires at different contact loads were conducted using a fretting-fatigue test rig. The fretting regime, normalized tangential force and fretting-fatigue life were studied. The morphologies of fretting contact scars and fracture surfaces were observed by scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy to examine wear and failure mechanisms.

Dynamic tension changes from 0 to 30,900 N. In outer strand layer, contact loads between steel wires in certain wire layers are 60.5 and 38.3 N compared with 378 and 102.7 N between wire layers; relative displacements between wires are 62.5 and 113.2 μm, respectively. Mixed fretting regimes develop in all cases. Increasing contact load decreases the stabilized relative slip and normalized tangential force, reduces the fretting fatigue life, induces accelerated adhesive wear and fatigue wear and results in rougher fracture surface topographies. In all cases, fretting zone induces crack initiation; crack propagation and rupture zones present brittle cleavage and longitudinal splitting, respectively.

This paper presents the systemic study on determination of fretting parameters of hoisting rope according to the hoisting parameters in coalmine and the fretting-fatigue behavior of its internal steel wires. The results of fretting-fatigue tests show that the increase of contact load decreases the stabilized relative slip in mixed fretting regime and normalized tangential force, reduces the fretting fatigue life, induces accelerated adhesive wear and fatigue wear and results in rougher fracture surface topographies.

The authors warrant that the paper is original submission and is not being submitted to any other journal. And the research does not involve confidentiality, copyright infringement, leaks and other issues, all the responsibilities that the authors will take.

The purpose of this paper was to create conditions for the correct decision concerning an exchange of the used rope for a new one. A cognitive goal was to indicate the causes of its wear and determining its mechanism reliability and durability.

The magnetic, organoleptic and strength standard tests of lifting triangle-strand ropes of a mining hoist were carried out. This way the current state of the tested rope was defined.

On the basis of an analysis of the results of the performed tests: magnetic, organoleptic and fatigue tests, it can be said that the magnetic one is accurate enough only to indicate the place of the rope’s biggest weakening, though the degree of weakening is not defined precisely – with significant excess. The accurate rope’s destruction degree is indicated by the strength tests.

The results of described investigations can improve safety of the mining rope mechanisms operation, even for an increased resource.

The elementary wear processes, which are the basic reason for the destruction of the rope, are indicated. Rope destruction is caused mainly by tribological factors: abrasion, corrosion and fatigue wear. Magnetic tests are accurate enough only to indicate the place of the rope’s biggest weakening (qualitative index). Most precisely, the rope’s destruction degree (quantitative index) can be found by the strength tests.

This paper aims to analyze the friction heat conduction and entransy of two friction linings in the high‐speed slide accident of a mine friction hoist.

Firstly, the dynamic thermophysical properties were analyzed and their fitting equations were also obtained. Additionally, the dynamic heat partition ratio was obtained according to the dynamic thermophysical properties. Then, a simple method was developed to solve the temperature rise of friction lining. Finally, based on the theoretical model of temperature rise, the entransy of friction lining with respect to T and t were gained.

The error of temperature rise between simulation result and experiment result is less than 7 per cent, which proves that the theoretical model is correct. The entransy decreases with the temperature below 40°C and it increases after 40°C. The entransy of lining K is a little higher than that of lining G within 19 s, but the entransy of lining G is much higher than lining K after 19 s and the entransy difference gets great gradually. It is indicated that the lining K has good heat‐resistant property which is of great benefit to the tribological property of friction lining.

The authors' study provides a fundamental basis for developing a new friction lining with good heat‐resistant property, and it also brings forward a new quantitative method to evaluate the heat‐transfer capability of friction materials.

A simple method was introduced to calculate the temperature rise of friction lining with the consideration of dynamic thermophysical properties and dynamic heat partition ratio. And the entransy of friction lining was obtained to evaluate the heat‐transfer capability of friction linings quantitatively.

Discusses the distress of mine rope‐wires, under the diverse states of stresses and strains of physical, chemical and mechanical origin. Mine rope‐wires undergo complicated cycles of stresses and strains inside the depth of coal and metal mines. This assumes special significance during summer inside the deeper mines. Summarizes recent studies in this field and compares their results.

The purpose of this paper is to find the influence of the initial braking velocity and braking frequency on the tribological performance of the non‐asbestos brake shoe used in mine hoisters during some continuous emergency brakings.

The tribological performance experiments of the WSM‐3 non‐asbestos brake shoe braking on the 16 Mn steel are investigated on the X‐DM friction tester, by simulating continuous emergency brakings of a mine hoister ten times. Three kinds of tribological indexes: friction coefficient, its stability coefficient, and wearing rate are considered to score the tribological performance of the brake shoe.

When the initial braking velocity increases, the mean friction coefficient of the brake shoe decreases at first, then rises, and falls again finally. But when the braking frequency exceeds seven times, the falling process of the friction coefficient at low‐velocity period does not appear again. Second, when the initial braking velocity is no higher than 10 m/s, the mean friction coefficient rises with the braking frequency increasing. But when the velocity exceeds 10 m/s, the mean friction coefficient rises with the braking frequency increasing at first, then falls. Third, when the initial braking velocity is no higher than 12.5 m/s, the friction coefficient of the brake shoe has quite a favorable stability with the coefficient is no bigger than 75 percent. But when the velocity exceeds 12.5 m/s, the stability of the friction coefficient is diminishing obviously. Fourth, the wearing rate of the brake shoe increases quickly, during the process that the velocity rising from 10 to 12.5 m/s, but increases much more slowly after that period.

The paper investigates the tribological performance of the WSM‐3 non‐asbestos brake shoe during some continuous emergency brakings and finds that, when the initial braking velocity is no higher than 12.5 m/s and the braking frequency is no more than seven times, the WSM‐3 non‐asbestos brake shoe has quite a high friction coefficient, a good friction stability, and a low‐wearing rate, which indicate that it is very appropriate for using in the disk brake of mine hoisters in China.

The purpose of this paper is to describe some tribological experiments which were executed to find the influence of braking pressure on tribological performance of non‐asbestos brake shoe used in mine hoister during its emergency braking.

The WSM‐3 non‐asbestos brake shoe, which has been widely used in mine hoister, was selected as experimental material. Some tribological experiments of the brake shoe sliding on 16Mn steel were investigated on the X‐DM friction tester by simulating of emergency braking conditions of mine hoister. Three kinds of tribological indexes: friction coefficient, stability coefficient of friction coefficient, and wear rate were considered to score the tribological performance and the morphology of worn surfaces were observed through the S‐3000N scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to explore the tribological mechanisms.

It was found first, that the instant friction coefficient is not constant during emergency braking. After a short climbing period, it rises gradually to steady value. Second, with the increasing of braking pressure, the mean friction coefficient rises first then falls, while its stability coefficient falls gradually. The wear rate rises continuously with the braking pressure increasing. Also, the rising velocity of wear rate at high pressure is higher than it is at low pressure. Third, the instant surface temperature rises first then falls during braking and the mean surface temperature rises continuously with the braking pressure increasing.

It is found that the increasing of braking pressure within a certain range is helpful for achieving a high friction coefficient and a steady wear rate. But too high pressure will cause contrarily the falling of frictional performance and serious of wear performance. So it is not reliable to rise the braking pressure without limited during emergency braking.

The purpose of this study is to establish a new temperature set for characterizing the frictional temperature rise (FTR) of disc brakes. The FTR produced by braking is an important factor which directly affects the tribological properties of disc brakes. Presently, most existing researches characterize the FTR only by several static parameters such as average temperature or maximum temperature, which cannot reflect accurately the dynamic characteristics of temperature variation in the process of braking. In this paper, a new temperature parameter set was extracted and the influences of braking conditions on these parameters were investigated by experiments.

First, several simulated braking experiments of disc brakes were conducted to reveal the dynamic variation rules and mechanisms of the FTR in braking. Second, the characteristic parameter subset of the FTR was extracted with five significant parameters, namely, initial temperature, average temperature, end temperature, maximum temperature and the ratio of maximum temperature time. Furthermore, the fitting parameter subset of the FTR was constructed based on the temperature rise curve. Finally, the influence and mechanisms of initial braking velocity and braking pressure on the new temperature parameter set were investigated through braking experiments.

This paper extracted a new temperature parameter set including a characteristic parameter subset and a fitting parameter subset and revealed the influences of braking conditions on it by experiments.

The results showed that the new temperature parameter set extracted in this paper can characterize the dynamic characteristics of disc brake’s FTR variations more objectively and comprehensively. The research results will provide a theoretical basis for extracting the fault feature of friction properties.

The nexus where law, social movements, and organizations meet demands further explication. This research adds to our understandings of these dynamics by examining the case of the central Appalachian anti-strip mining movement. After developing a social network technique to analyze over thirty years of newspapers, we find a period of reduced movement activity following the passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. Conversely, we observe a reinvigoration of the movement following the passage of the Clean Air Amendments of 1990 and the perverse incentives they created for mountaintop removal mining. Finally, we see that joint participation in lawsuits is a primary tie that binds these groups together.

This paper aims to develop of magnetic field controlled friction braking technology, a novel brake friction material with magnetic was designed and prepared in this paper.

The permalloy, a soft magnetic material, was selected as an additive to design and prepare the magnetic brake material. The friction, wear performance and permeability of each brake pads were investigated by experiments. By choosing the performance of friction coefficient fluctuation, friction coefficient deviation and mean wear rate as optimization parameters, the formulation of the magnetic friction material was optimized based on Fuzzy theory by using analytic hierarchy process methods and SPSS software.

The results showed that the developed soft magnetic friction material has not only superior friction coefficient, permeability and inferior wear rate but also good physical and mechanical properties.

Permalloy powder was added to the formulation of friction material to achieve a new functional friction material with high magnetic permeability. It is believed that this research will be of great theoretical and practical significance to develop both new brake materials and active control technology of the braking process in the future.