Diagnostics of bucket wheel excavator discharge boom dynamic performance and its reconstruction

The paper focuses on an investigation into the possible causes of the bad dynamic performance of bucket wheel excavator C7OOS (BWE) discharge boom in the Kolubara opencast mine, Serbia. A discharge boom load carrying structure model was produced and its static and dynamic calculations were made by the finite element method (FEM). The model was then validated by the experimental method - vibration analysis. The set goals were achieved by the FEM result analysis, which were further confirmed in the experiment. The causes for discharge boom weak performance were established. The main operation problems were found in the inadequate design of the discharge boom tie(s) and the subsequent installation of a steering cabin. Possible discharge boom reconstructions were considered with a view to improving its operation performance. The selection of the reconstruction approach was limited by the technical and financial resources available to the machine users. After the completed reconstruction, the discharge boom improved operation performance was demonstrated in practice