Evaluation of Whole Body Vibrations in Mine Haul Trucks with the Use of Truck Body Motions
Dr Wei VictorLiu (Assistant Professor - University of Alberta), Dr Tim GrainJoseph (Associate Professor - University of Alberta)
Research related to Whole Body Vibrations (WBV) within the mining industry has emphasized adverse effects of human interactions with handheld and operator-mounted mechanical equipment with haul trucks indicating major concerns when measured against existing standards; ISO2631-1(1997), ISO2631-5(2004). This study focuses on analyzing truck motion parameters against axes of vibration in order to develop a WBV measurement system integrated to onboard data monitoring systems. Variations in roll, pitch and Left Front (LF) strut motions from an onboard dataset were analyzed against x, y and z axes vibrations simultaneously recorded using a tri-axial accelerometer. Datasets were analyzed at 60 minute and 20 minute segments using Root Mean Square (RMS) method to calculate both acceleration and truck motion parameter equivalents. Pitch motion indicated poor linear correlation (0.23) versus x-axis vibrations while y and z axes shows significant correlation of 0.72 and 0.85 respectively against roll and LF motions, indicating possible development a proactive system applicable for mine haul trucks to continuously measure WBV levels without disrupting the routine tasks and reducing the accumulation of greater capital costs. Further field data is being collected to verify results and analyzed using cumulative methods to assess sensitivity towards intermittent nature of vibration exposures.
