A high-performance drive for the rotary coal breaker application

This paper considers recent advances made within the field of electric drives and how this new technology might be best applied within the mining industry. A case study is presented showing simulated results of the performance of the electric drives in a coal preparation plant. The various starting methodologies (resistance starting, fluid coupling, V/f = const, and vector control) are compared within this application. The merits of each method are then discussed with regard to the specific application and other more generic applications within the mining industry. Application of a rotor flux orientation control drive is substantiated, and its superior performance under start and stall conditions to that of the currently implemented system is confirmed by theoretical analysis and simulations. Experimental results for a scale model of the candidate system are presented, which agree with the main conclusions of this paper. Index Terms--Induction motor drives, mining industry applications, rotary coal breaker (RCB).