FUEL CONSUMPTION AND ENGINE LOAD FACTORS OF EQUIPMENT IN QUARRYING OF CRUSHED STONE

Load factors, defined as portion of utilized engine power, are used in estimation of the diesel mining equipment fuel consumption. Every type of equipment is involved in the specific work operation, common in quarrying of crushed stone. Furthermore, load factors are specific for the equipment type and their application/operating conditions. Based on the mining company’s empirical data on fuel consumption, load factors of the main equipment in quarrying of crushed stone are determined in this paper. This includes bulldozer, backhoe excavators, wheel loaders, trucks, blasthole drill, mobile crushing and screening plants, and mobile belt conveyor. With an assumption of similar operating conditions, those factors can be considered as characteristic for small quarries of crushed stone, but also for mining on other surface pits, depending on the specific equipment application. The obtained load factors are compared to the available data from other sources in order to verify the results and establish the appropriate procedure for assessment of unknown load factors in different operating conditions.