Date

2021-2-5

Author

Kına, Elif

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Mining is one of the machine-intensive sectors, and a vast amount of energy is consumed in many stages of mining operations. Among these operations, haulage systems hold a significant share in energy consumption. At this point, diesel fuel, a form of fossil fuel, is frequently used for haul trucks such that fuel-induced cost becomes a major contributor to the operating cost, especially in surface mining. Fuel consumption also leads to greenhouse gas emissions, in addition to its financial burden. Therefore, monitoring and evaluating fuel consumption rates become an essential topic for mining companies to keep the economic and environmental parameters under control. Various models, classified under macroscopic, mesoscopic, and microscopic approaches, have been used in the literature to characterize vehicle fuel consumption behaviors. Macroscopic and mesoscopic models generally analyze large traffic zones by using a regression-based average speed approach. On the other hand, microscopic models can estimate the instantaneous fuel consumption and emission rates, considering dynamic vehicle speed changes and interactions between vehicles and the ground. On this basis, the current research study aims to develop a discrete event simulation (DES) algorithm for evaluating fuel consumption and emission rates of haul trucks by using a microscopic modeling approach. The parameters related to vehicle, road, operation, environment, and weather were included in the model. The developed model was applied for a cement company using real operational and environmental datasets. The company has one processing plant and two limestone and clay mines, located 16 km and 7.6 km away from the processing plant. The material haulage operation from the mines to the processing plant is performed using twenty-nine trucks, and each one has a payload capacity of around 40 tonnes. It was observed that fifteen different routes with different operational intentions are available in the area. The model enables dynamic decisions on which routes should be activated for which truck in a real-time line. In this sense, monitoring and recording the fuel consumption and carbon emission rates of both individual trucks and the fleet are achieved in the model. The results show that the average fuel consumption values are 0.51 L/km and 0.46 L/km for the loaded and empty travels between the limestone mine and the crusher in the processing plant. On the other hand, loaded and empty travel values from the clay mine to the plant are observed to be 0.72 L/km and 0.42 L/km.

Subject Keywords

Fuel Consumption, Microscopic Fuel Consumption Models, Mining Trucks, Discrete Event Simulation

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/89720

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis