Earlier this year on February 25, Inner Mongolia North Hauler Joint Stock Co Ltd (NHL)’s domestic production and development of a 300 t mining truck project successfully passed its final acceptance, which the OEM said marks a major leap forward in China’s large-scale mining truck industry from technology introduction to independent innovation.
In July 2023, the first 300 t mining truck unit, manufactured at NHL’s factory in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, and developed together with customer CHN Energy, was domestically developed mining truck in China, was officially delivered to Zhunneng Group and put into industrial operation at the Haerwusu open pit coal mine. Since then, NHL says the model has passed rigorous testing, achieving significant energy savings and demonstrated excellent performance and high reliability.
The truck is equipped with a domestically produced engine and electric drive system. NHL say it has achieved major breakthroughs in several key technical fields such as overall vehicle design, power transmission system, design and manufacturing of large structural components such as frame and carriage, information and intelligent level of overall vehicle, lightweight design and energy conservation and environmental protection.
In recent years, NHL says it has successfully overcome many challenges in sourcing the right technologies in China such as high-power diesel engines and electric drive systems for heavy mining trucks, in conjunction with domestic enterprises. It says it has enhanced China’s comprehensive strength in key basic components, basic materials, basic processes and industrial technologies for mining trucks.
Going forward, NHL says it will continue to follow its development concept of “innovation-driven and technology-led,” including achieving greater breakthroughs in the fields of new energy mining trucks, unmanned technology and smart mine solutions etc.
Customer CHN Energy, China’s largest coal producer, has also given some additional information on the truck, which it refers to as the ZN300. It states: “Under actual working conditions, the truck has withstood a long and intense operational test. It successfully passed various strict performance evaluation indicators, and provided a solid guarantee for the safe production of open pit coal mines with efficient, stable and reliable practical performance, demonstrating strong operational capability and adaptability.”
It adds that the engine, developed domestically, delivers up to 3,000 horsepower, and also carries a purely domestic high-voltage co-rail fuel injection control system, which can accurately control fuel ejection, improve fuel utilisation, and reduce energy consumption and exhaust emissions. It is also equipped with an intelligent supervisory control system, which monitors the coolant pressure, fuel pump pressure, oil temperature and other key data through sensors, and through the CAN bus serial communication protocol bus for real-time applications that enables high-speed, reliable communication between the various electronic control units, which is connected to the entire vehicle control system.
With nearly 20 years of experience in the development of electric wheels, NHL has developed an advanced electric drive system in cooperation with CRRC. It uses a water cooling system, which can effectively reduce the system temperature and improve the operation efficiency and reliability. At the same time, it also uses AC auxiliary transmission energy saving technology to make the vehicle more energy efficient and environmentally friendly during operation.
This system also has a series of intelligent functions such as anti-skidding, ramp up, and constant speed control. When the vehicle climbs a ramp, the system can automatically adjust the power output to ensure the smooth operation of the vehicle. When going downhill, it can control the speed automatically, avoiding safety incidents caused by driving too fast.
The frame is designed with high reliability and lightweight as core goals. By adopting straight girders and a variable cross sectional design, the frame achieves weight optimisation while maintaining structural strength. High-strength alloy steel castings were chosen at the cross-beam connection to ensure impact resistance. The girders are made of high-strength alloy steel plate, which maintains rigidity while reducing weight. Digital simulation technology is used to analyse and calculate the strength and fatigue life of the frame and verify its load carrying capacity.
The manufacturing process uses robot welding technology, followed by overall machining and heat treatment to further improve the accuracy and performance of the frame. The combination of this design and manufacturing process not only enhances the durability of the frame, but also provides reliable assurance for the efficient operation of the truck.
Compared with the traditional suspension types, the oil and gas suspension only bears axial force and has a longer life. The dual-arm steering mechanism can enhance side stability, plus reduce tyre wear and vibration.
Finally, a 360-degree panoramic imaging system allows the driver to have a full understanding of the surrounding environment of the vehicle and avoid collisions. Through cameras and sensors, the driver’s fatigue status, driving behaviour etc, is monitored to promptly alert them of any issues. The truck also has an all-in-one safety protection system: active safety configurations include power distribution, drive wheels anti-slip, plus tyre temperature and tyre pressure monitoring system.
Passive safety features include a front-mounted energy-absorbing engine compartment design, a ROPS/FOPS cab (the cab installation and platform are designed to be a deformable structure to absorb energy shocks to protect the driver), and an automatic fire extinguishing system.
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