Performance evaluation of Automatic Extraction System. Volume II. Performance evaluation of the AES. Final technical report

Technical Report · Tue Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1980

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5118625· OSTI ID:5118625

Frantz, R. L.; King, R. H.; Bartsch, D. L.

The National Mine Service Company's Automatic Extraction System (AES) was the first hardware development of Automatic Remote Controlled Continuous Miner (ARCCM) researchers. The AES was designed to be a continuous mining system that combined the cutting and loading functions with complete roof control, auxiliary ventilation, and environmental controls. The AES machine used the well developed framework of a Marietta 3080 Drum Miner to combine many face functions into one machine. It weighed 75 tons and was 38.3 ft long. The AES cut an entry 15 ft wide, using a 3-ft dia drum mounted with carbide-tipped bits. It retracted to 13.3 ft for clearance when tramming and was capable of cutting an entry 10 ft high. The cutting drum was tapered on the ends so that the corners of the entry were rounded to increase roof support. The drum, turning at a rate of 57 rpm, produced a bit tip speed of 535 fpm. The gathering head used four ribbed-discs to load coal onto the armored chain conveyor. The advantages of the disc-type head were reduced noise and smoother flow of the coal onto the conveyor causing less spillage. Temporary roof support was accomplished with overhead metal beams mounted on ten hydraulic cylinders. Permanent support was afforded by four roof-bolting units mounted at 4-ft intervals across the machine. Located about 19 ft from the front of the AES, the units were used to install a row of 5-ft resin roof bolts with each 4 ft of advance.

• Research Organization: Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park (USA). Dept. of Mineral Engineering
• DOE Contract Number: AC01-77ET12207
• OSTI ID: 5118625
• Report Number(s): FE-9144-1(Vol.2)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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