{"id":2672,"date":"2024-05-08T18:33:55","date_gmt":"2024-05-09T00:33:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vmsenergy.com\/?p=2672"},"modified":"2025-08-07T13:50:18","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T19:50:18","slug":"variadores-industria-minera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vmsenergy.com\/en\/variadores-industria-minera\/","title":{"rendered":"VARIABLE FREQUENCY DRIVES (VFDS) IN THE MINING INDUSTRY"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Their versatility, reliability and ability to adapt to various types of loads have made variable-frequency drives a fundamental part of the industry in general \u2013 achieving great importance within projects with high demand operations such as those of the <u>mining industry<\/u><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2673 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/vmsenergy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/MINERO-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"496\" height=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mining Industry Processes:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Grinding<\/li>\n<li>Milling<\/li>\n<li>Industrial conveyor belt<\/li>\n<li>Among others<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Machinery\/Equipment:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ball mills<\/li>\n<li>SAG mills<\/li>\n<li>High-pressure grinding rolls<\/li>\n<li>Conveyors belt<\/li>\n<li>Pumps<\/li>\n<li>Fans<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Typical Power Range: 200 \u2013 2000 kW \/ Typical Use of Drives in Low Voltage (LV)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Areas within the Mining Process and Their Typical Powers:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Excavation<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bucket wheel excavator: High starting torque and high overload<\/li>\n<li>Power range: 50-150 kW (small) \/ 300 \u2013 2000 kW (medium\/large)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Typical Use of Drives in LV<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Primary Grinding<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Material processing stage: High starting torque and high overload<\/p>\n<p><strong>Main Processing and Refining<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ball mills, semi-autogenous mills (SAG), high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGR), Ring Motor Drives (RMD), and Gearless Mill Drives (GMD).<\/p>\n<p>Ball mills\/SAG mills with up to 8,000 kW per motor, typically gear-driven (\u2018high speed\u2019) using asynchronous motors with 6-8 poles and nominal speeds of 1,000 \u2013 1,800 rpm.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>HPGR with nominal power 1,500 \u2013 3,000 kW.<\/li>\n<li>RMD with up to 000 kW as single pinion and up to 18,000 kW as double pinion<\/li>\n<li>GMD with typical power exceeding 5,000 kW, using special low-speed ring motors.<\/li>\n<li>High overloads during start-up.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"translation-block\"><strong>Typical Use of Drives in Medium Voltage (MV) Material Handling and Transport:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Conveyor belts for \u201chorizontal transportation\u201d (open pit mines)<\/li>\n<li>Upward conveyors<\/li>\n<li>Downward conveyors<\/li>\n<li>Typical power range: 500 \u2013 3000 kW Required braking capacity<\/li>\n<li>Multiple drive concept can be advantageous Master\/follower control<\/li>\n<li>Hoists for vertical transport (underground mines) Typical power range: 500 \u2013 5000 kW<\/li>\n<li>Wide speed range 10% \u2013 100% High starting torque and high overload<\/li>\n<li>Required braking capacity<\/li>\n<li>Slurry pumps, cyclone feed pumps<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>CHALLENGES:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Mining applications present specific challenges for operating systems.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Harsh Environment<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Environmental conditions are often severe. The most relevant factors are dust, extreme ambient temperatures, and the presence of vibrations and impacts. These conditions primarily affect motors, but VFDs may also be partially exposed. Therefore, a robust design and adequate maintenance are desired. Liquid-cooled units may be more suitable due to enhanced ingress protection (IP rating) and easier integration into a container (where applicable).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sudden Load Changes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Load torque is not always smooth. In addition to short-duration overloads, abrupt load changes occur, especially in conveyors, crushers, and certain types of mills. These affect mechanical components and are transmitted to the electric motor. In addition, the control system must handle such dynamic torque requirements effectively.<\/p>\n<p><strong>High Starting Torque<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Many mining and mineral industry applications involve constant torque characteristics. Moreover, additional overloads occur at low speeds during startup. The torque required to turn the mill depends on the angle relative to the steady-state. Maximum torque can be reached at approximately 60\u00b0 to 70\u00b0 of inclination. Handling peak overload can challenge VFD sizing, as some VFDs have reduced current capacity at low output frequencies. Operating with high torque at low speed also poses challenges for the control system, particularly due to the motor's highly nonlinear behavior.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2674 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/vmsenergy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/MINERO-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"582\" height=\"391\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>High Altitude Installations<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Some mines are situated at high altitudes, often exceeding 4,000 meters above sea level. Therefore, the impact of altitude on system design and VFD sizing must be considered. High altitude reduces air density, affecting air cooling efficiency. This generally impacts all drive system components (e.g., increased BIL level for transformers). Moreover, high altitude affects the air's dielectric insulation property, potentially reducing the system voltage.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Weak Grid<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Most mines are located in remote or extreme locations, resulting in a frequently weak power grid (i.e., low short-circuit capacity). This affects the propulsion system in at least two ways. Firstly, the VFD topology must be grid-compatible, leading to low harmonic distortion. Secondly, a weak grid tends to have greater voltage variation (fluctuation), noticeable during larger load changes. Additionally, a weak grid is another compelling reason to use VFD-driven motors instead of direct-on-line starting methods.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Conclusion:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>VFDs help reduce energy consumption, promoting sustainability in mining. They provide soft start capability, making them grid-friendly compared to direct starting methods. VFD-driven motors offer superior control, especially in dynamic situations such as sudden load changes, supporting plant automation and enhancing mining profitability. <u>mines are<\/u> <u>more profitable<\/u>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2675 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/vmsenergy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/MINERO-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"520\" height=\"347\" \/><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Use of VFDs in the Mining Industry.<\/p><\/blockquote>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The frequency converter is one of the most notable developments in power electronics. Variable frequency drives allow the speed of AC motors to be controlled efficiently and accurately, providing optimal operation for a wide range of applications.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3010,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vmsenergy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vmsenergy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vmsenergy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vmsenergy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vmsenergy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2672"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/vmsenergy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2672\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3907,"href":"https:\/\/vmsenergy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2672\/revisions\/3907"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vmsenergy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vmsenergy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vmsenergy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vmsenergy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}