TY - JOUR
T1 - Operational decision support for material management in continuous mining systems
T2 - From simulation concept to practical full-scale implementations
AU - Shishvan, Masoud Soleymani
AU - Benndorf, Jörg
PY - 2017/7/1
Y1 - 2017/7/1
N2 - Material management in opencast mines is concerned with planning, organizing, and control of the flow of materials from their extraction points to destinations. It can be strongly affected by operational decisions that have to be made during the production process. To date, little research has focused on the application of simulation modeling as a powerful supportive tool for decision making in such systems. Practical experiences from implementing a simulation model of a mine for the operational support on an industrial scale are not known to the authors. This paper presents the extension of a developed stochastic simulation model by the authors from a conceptual stage (TRL4) to a new Technology Readiness Level (TRL 6) by implementing it in an industrially relevant environment. A framework for modeling, simulation, and validation of the simulation model applied to two large opencast lignite mines is presented in detail. Operational implementation issues, experiences, and challenges in practical applications are discussed. Furthermore, the strength of applying the simulation modeling as an operational decision support for material management in coal mining is demonstrated. Results of the case studies are used to describe the details of the framework, and to illustrate the strength and limitations of its application.
AB - Material management in opencast mines is concerned with planning, organizing, and control of the flow of materials from their extraction points to destinations. It can be strongly affected by operational decisions that have to be made during the production process. To date, little research has focused on the application of simulation modeling as a powerful supportive tool for decision making in such systems. Practical experiences from implementing a simulation model of a mine for the operational support on an industrial scale are not known to the authors. This paper presents the extension of a developed stochastic simulation model by the authors from a conceptual stage (TRL4) to a new Technology Readiness Level (TRL 6) by implementing it in an industrially relevant environment. A framework for modeling, simulation, and validation of the simulation model applied to two large opencast lignite mines is presented in detail. Operational implementation issues, experiences, and challenges in practical applications are discussed. Furthermore, the strength of applying the simulation modeling as an operational decision support for material management in coal mining is demonstrated. Results of the case studies are used to describe the details of the framework, and to illustrate the strength and limitations of its application.
KW - Coal mining
KW - Material management
KW - Opencast mine
KW - Operational decision support
KW - Simulation modeling
KW - OA-Fund TU Delft
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85022324183&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:a50fed59-d51c-4343-bac2-3c85c2b0d470
U2 - 10.3390/min7070116
DO - 10.3390/min7070116
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85022324183
SN - 2075-163X
VL - 7
JO - Minerals - Open Access Mining & Mineral Processing Journal
JF - Minerals - Open Access Mining & Mineral Processing Journal
IS - 7
M1 - 116
ER -