The Kuzbasskaya Toplivnaya Company has modernized the air purification system on excavators
In 2023, specialists from the Vinogradovsky open-pit mine, a branch of Kuzbasskaya Toplivnaya Company, upgraded the incoming air purification system on Komatsu PC400 hydraulic excavators.
In mining conditions, air filters often become clogged with coal dust, causing the internal combustion engine to lose power. Excavator operators had to stop the equipment during their shifts to purge the air system and remove dust. At the same time, the air filters themselves in such conditions become unusable twice as often as established standards.
To solve this problem, Alexander Shelkovich, deputy chief mechanic of the Vinogradovsky open-pit mine, proposed installing additional cyclones on the excavator body to clean the incoming air.
– Previously, excavators were sent to the mechanical repair department for preventive work to replace filter elements more often than required. We decided that modernizing the incoming air purification system with the installation of additional dust collectors (cyclones) would help solve this problem, – explained Alexander Shelkovich.
To test the air purification system, GY System specialists installed additional cyclones on two Komatsu PC400 hydraulic excavators. During testing, the system showed its effectiveness: before the modernization it was necessary to change the air filter every 250 engine hours, after – every 1,500 engine hours.
– The implementation of the project made it possible to minimize linear downtime of excavators, as well as increase the service life of filters. Now such an incoming air purification system will be installed on all hydraulic excavators and drilling rigs of the open-pit mine – 30 units of equipment in total, – said Dmitry Serg, deputy director for repair and operation of equipment at the Vinogradovsky open-pit mine.
