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Hydraulic Stations for Mining
Mining Hydraulics: High Availability of large Volume Flows
KAMAT longwall pump stations: Very reliable, high flow systems for fast, accurate and safe longwall operation.
Longwalls are getting faster, longer, and deeper. Both longer and deeper longwalls are faced with large increases in ground pressure. Engineers counter this with larger cylinder diameters, and higher hydraulic pressures.Production demands that the cutting machines (shearers or ploughs) get faster, shield cycle times get shorter, and more shields must move simultaneously. Longwalls get more capital intensive, faster and, over time there become fewer for a given coal production target. Pump stations, therefore have to deliver higher pressure, higher flow and be more reliable.
For the most productive longwalls, the rate at which shields can be moved, and the conveyor advanced, are on the critical path to high production. Both of these are strongly dependent on the pump station’s performance. Our high pressure systems for mining provide the required pressure and flow of longwall fluid reliably, and with high availability. These system designs have evolved based on our decades of experience worldwide especially in USA, Australia, China and Russia. We led the way with fewer, but bigger pumps, and frequency controlled variable speed motors. Our plunger pumps can operate at between 10% and 100% speed allowing for much smoother operation than conventional unloader valved systems. Smoother operation, with less pressure shocks, leads to less wear and hence longer lifetime of hoses and fittings.
Our 3 x 500 kW pump systems have been running since 2012, powering 7 meter high longwalls, without any pump failures. Our 800 kW pumps are now capable of delivering up to 3500 bar, where this is required. A classic mining system has 3 high pressure pumps for longwall fluid. Our frequency controlled pumps, with their 90% bandwidth, allow us to control an entire pump station with only 1 frequency controlled master pump. This design dramatically reduces the station’s complexity, improves reliability and reduces the required investment. Our longwall pump stations are in use in everything from central stations to power multiple longwalls, to state of the art systems for individual 7 meter high longwalls producing 100.000 tonnes per day.