See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/357504283

Design and Selection of Hydraulic Components for the Rotary Head System of
Blasthole Drill Machine

Chapter · January 2022

DOI: 10.1007/978-981-16-2794-1_42

CITATIONS READS

0 82

2 authors:

Alok Vardhan Ajay Pratap Singh

Ajay Kumar Garg Engineering College Ghaziabad Larsen and Toubro
25 PUBLICATIONS 47 CITATIONS 62 PUBLICATIONS 218 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Alok Vardhan on 28 December 2023.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Design and Selection of Hydraulic
Components for the Rotary Head System
of Blasthole Drill Machine

Alok Vardhan and Ajay Pratap Singh

Abstract Blasthole drilling is one of the drilling methods used in surface mining
activities. By this method, a hole is produced into surface of rock called as ‘Blast
hole’ and the machine used for producing that hole is called blasthole drill machine.
In blasthole drill machine, rotation of rotary head, feed mechanism, levelling and drill
pipe addition all depend on hydraulic systems. In this paper, an attempt has been made
to find out the methodology for design and selection of hydraulic components for
the rotary head system of blasthole drill machine used in open cast coal mines. The
proposed methodology may be helpful for the designers to propose the guidelines
for design and development of the hydraulic system of a HEMM.

Keywords Blasthole drilling · Blasthole drill machine · Open cast coal mines ·
Heavy earth moving machinery (HEMM)

1 Introduction

Blasthole drilling is one of the primary drilling techniques employed in surface

mining operations. By this technique, a hole is drilled into the rock surface, packed
with explosive material and detonated. Such a hole made by the machine is known
as the “blast hole” and the machine used for drilling is called blasthole drill machine.
Hydraulic system plays a vital and significant role in blasthole drill machines.
Whether the machine’s move, rotation of rotary head, feed mechanism, levelling,
drill pipe addition all depend on hydraulic systems [1–3].
In blasthole drill machine, the rotation of drill bit is done with help of an open-
circuit high-torque low-speed primary controlled hydraulic drive system. A hydraulic
drive configuration is provided for that. This drive consists of a variable displace-
ment pump and two identical hydraulic motors with a gear reducer unit [4]. Figure 1
shows a layout representing them, where the swash plate angle of the pump is varied

A. Vardhan (B) · A. P. Singh

Department of Mechanical Engineering, AKGEC, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 469
K. Govindan et al. (eds.), Advances in Mechanical and Materials Technology,
Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2794-1_42
470 A. Vardhan and A. P. Singh

Fig. 1 Hydraulic drive for rotary head system of blasthole drill machine

to control the speed of hydraulic motors. Aim of this article is to find out the method-
ology for design and selection of hydraulic components for the rotary head system
of blasthole drill machine used in open cast coal mines. Such a study has not yet
been performed.
Design and Selection of Hydraulic Components … 471

2 Physical System

The suggested hydraulic drive for the blasthole drill machine rotary head system is
shown in Fig. 1.
Referring to Fig. 1, proposed hydraulic drive consists of a variable displacement
axial piston pump (3) driven by the prime mover (1) which operates at the rotatory
speed of 2000 rpm. The pump supplies the pressurized fluid to the two identical
fixed displacement hydraulic motors (7) through the directional control valve (6).
The hydraulic tank (2) provides the oil supply for the entire system. A pressure relief
valve (4) is used to set the maximum pressure in the hydraulic system. A flow control
valve (5) is used to provide a required flow to the hydraulic motors.

3 Required Torque at Drill Head for Drilling Blast Hole

In this regard, field observations and research have developed various empirical
formulas for calculating the required torque at drill head for drilling blast hole.
According to Nelmark’s empirical formula [3], the required torque at drill head
for drilling blast hole is

T = 5252 × K × D 2.5 × W 1.5 (1)

where T (ftlb), K, D (inches) and W (thousands of lbs/inch bit diameter) are the
required torque at drill head, rock properties constant, blast hole diameter and weight
on the bit, respectively.
The value of K is between 14 × 10–5 and 4 × 10–5 and depends mainly on the
drillability of the rock. For the softer rocks, higher values are to be used, and for
harder rocks, lower values are to be used. Whereas, the value of W is obtained by
dividing maximum bit load with diameter of hole [3].
Based on the mention data in Table 1, the calculation for the torque requirement
at drill head for drilling blast hole of size 6.25 inch is made and is given in Table 2.
According to Fedorov’s empirical formula [3], the required torque at drill head
for drilling blast hole is

Table 1 Operating parameters for blasthole drilling [3, 4]

Rock Uniaxial Rock Blast hole Weight on the Drill speed, N
description compressive properties diameter, D bit, W (lbs) (rpm)
strength of the constant, K (inches)
rock (MPa)
Soft 34–69 13 × 10–5 6.25 19,000 75–100
Medium 69–103 8× 10–5 6.25 25,000 50–75
Hard 103–207 6 × 10–5 6.25 30,000 40–50
472 A. Vardhan and A. P. Singh

Table 2 Required torque at the drill head for drilling blast hole according to Nelmark’s formula
Rock description Blast hole K value W value Torque (lbft) Torque (Nm)
diameter, D (thousand of lbs
(inches) per inch of bit
diameter)
Soft 6.25 13 × 10–5 3.04 353.41 479.16
Medium 6.25 8 × 10–5 4 328.25 445.05
Hard 6.25 6 × 10–5 4.8 323.62 438.77

P = α × γ × L × D 2 × N 1.7 + 0.7854 × N0 × D 2 + 8 × 10−7 W × N (2)

where P (kW), D (cm), N (rpm), γ (kg/m3 ), L (m), No (kW/cm2 ) and W (N) are
the rotary power for drilling, hole diameter, drill speed, flushing medium density,
hole depth, the power used in cutting the lower cross-sectional area of blast hole and
weight on the drill bit, respectively.
Inclination of mast is depending on α. Its value can be established using Fig. 2.
Factor N o has a value of 0.1 to 0.15 kW/cm2 depending on hardness formation. Little
value is applied to soft structures, and high value is applied to rigid formations [3].
From above empirical equation discussed in (2), the rotational power for drilling can
be calculated, and the torque can be determined for a particular rotational speed.
The required torque at the drill head for L = 53 m, α = 4.7 × 10–8 , No = 0.135,
γ = 1.2252 and D = 6.25 inch is calculated and given in Table 3.
By comparing the torque required when drilling for the different types of rock
shown in Tables 2 and 3, it can be observed that Fedorov’s empirical method provides

Fig. 2 Value of α for the

different angle of inclination
of the mast
Design and Selection of Hydraulic Components … 473

Table 3 Required torque at the drill head for drilling blast hole according to Fedorov’s formula
Rock Blast hole diameter Bit load Drill Rotary Torque Torque
description inches cm lbs Newton rotary power (lbft) (Nm)
speed for
(rpm) drilling
(kW)
Soft 6.25 15.875 19,000 84,516 100 35.41 2493.29 3380.45
Medium 6.25 15.875 25,000 111,206 60 32.87 3856.90 5229.25
Hard 6.25 15.875 30,000 133,447 40 31.40 5526.37 7492.75

the highest required torque when compared to Nelmark’s empirical formula. Because,
Nelmark’s empirical formula does not consider many important factors, i.e. hole
inclination, hole depth and flushing medium density. Therefore, it is suggested that
the required torque values calculated by Fedorov’s empirical method can be used for
the genuine design [3].

4 Selection of Hydraulic Components

The hydraulic system mainly consists of a hydraulic pump driven by the prime mover,
directional control valve, flow control valve, hydraulic motors and the gear reducer
unit. The selection criteria of such components play vital role in the design and
development of the system. As an example, in order to design the hydraulic system
used in the rotary head of drill machine for hole diameter of 6.25 inch which can be
used for wide variation of rock strength (34–207 MPa), the following assumptions
are made:
• Maximum rotary speed of the drill string (Nd) is = 100 rpm
• Maximum working pressure for the system (Pm) is = 205 bar
• System has used two identical low-speed high-torque hydraulic motors.
• System has a gear reducer unit of 7:1 gear ratio and having efficiency of 95% [5].

4.1 Selection of Hydraulic Motors

From Table 3, the maximum required torque at drill head for drilling blast hole is

T = 7492.75 Nm

Assuming 10% factor of safety for safe design of the system [3], the maximum
required torque at drill head for drilling blast hole is

Td = 7492.75 × 1.10 Nm
474 A. Vardhan and A. P. Singh

Td = 8242.03 Nm

The required torque (T d ) to drive the drill string is provided by the two identical
motors along with the gear reducer unit of 7:1 gear ratio having 95% efficiency [5].
Therefore, the load torque on each hydraulic motor (T m ) is (Fig. 3)

Td
Tm = (3)
2 × G R × ηg

where
Td required torque at drill head for drilling blast hole.
GR gear ratio of gear reducer unit.
ηg efficiency of gear reducer unit.
From Eq. (3),

Tm = 619.70 Nm

The maximum speed of the drill string (N d ) is

Nd = 100 rpm

Therefore, the maximum rotary speed of each hydraulic motor (N m ) is

Nm = Nd × G R (4)

From Eq. (4),

Nm = 700 rpm

Fig. 3 Load torque and speed distribution

Design and Selection of Hydraulic Components … 475

Mechanical efficiency (ηmm ) for hydraulic motor is

2π Tm
ηmm = (5)
Pm Dm

where

Dm displacement of the hydraulic motor.

Pm pressure drop across the hydraulic motor.
ηm m mechanical efficiency for hydraulic motor (assume, ηmm = 0.85).

From Eq. (5), it is found that

Dm = 223.45 cc/rev

We can select standard hydraulic motor available in the market, i.e. 225 cc/rev.
The specifications of the selected hydraulic motor suitable for the rotary head of drill
machine are obtained from its product catalogue [6].

4.2 Selection of Pump

The size of hydraulic pump considered for rotary head system of the drill machine
is obtained from required flow to drive hydraulic motors.
The flow required to drive both the hydraulic motors as its maximum speed
(700 rpm) is

Qp = 2 × Qm (6)

Volumetric efficiency for hydraulic motor (ηmv ) is

Dm N m
η mv = (7)
Qm

where
Qm flow required to each hydraulic motor.
Nm maximum speed for hydraulic motor.
η mv volumetric efficiency for hydraulic motor (assume, ηmv = 0.95).

From Eq. (7),

Q m = 165.79 lpm

Considering both the hydraulic motors, from Eq. (6), total flow required is
476 A. Vardhan and A. P. Singh

Q p = 331.58 lpm

Assuming the flow-losses occur in the valves and accessories of the hydraulic
system due to leakage is 10% [7], then the maximum required flow is:

Q p = 331.58 × 1.10 lpm

Q p = 364.74 lpm

The displacement of the pump to be selected for the drill machine is obtained by

Qp
ηpv = (8)
Dp N

where
Dp displacement of the pump.
N prime mover speed (2000 rpm).
ηpv volumetric efficiency of the pump (assume, ηpv = 0.95).

From Eq. (8), the displacement of the pump is

DP = 191.97 cc/rev

Thus, the hydraulic pump suitable for the rotary head system of drill machine
should have the following relevant properties:
• Considering 15 bar pressure loss across the control valves and the connecting
hoses [7], the maximum required operating pressure for the pump (Pp ) is = 205
+ 15 = 220 bar
• Maximum required displacement of the pump is = 191.97 cc/rev
• Maximum required speed = 2000 rpm
Therefore, we can select standard pump available in the market, i.e. 193 cc/rev.
The specifications of the selected pump suitable for the rotary head of drill machine
are obtained from its product catalogue [8]. This pump provides actual flow rate of
386 lpm at 2000 rpm speed.
The required torque for driving the pump (T p ) is obtained by the following
equation:

Dp Pp
ηpm = (9)
2π Tp

where

Pp pressure across the pump.

Design and Selection of Hydraulic Components … 477

ηpm mechanical efficiency of the pump (assume, ηpm = 0.85).

From Eq. (9),

Tp = 795.03 Nm

4.3 Selection of Directional Control Valve (DCV)

For the flow rate of 386 lpm and the system pressure of 220 bar, we can select
standard 4/3 way lever-operated spring-returned directional control valve of size
NG25 available in the market. The detailed specifications of the selected directional
control valve are obtained from its product catalogue [9]. The pressure drops in this
valve for different spool positions corresponding to flow rate are given in Fig. 4. For
the flow rate of 386 lpm and the system pressure of 220 bar, we can select standard 4/3
way lever-operated spring-returned directional control valve of size NG25 available
in the market. The detailed specifications of the selected directional control valve are
obtained from its product catalogue [9]. The pressure drops in this valve for different
spool positions corresponding to flow rate are given in Fig. 4.

4.4 Selection of Flow Control Valve (FCV)

For the flow rate of 386 lpm and the system pressure of 220 bar, we can select standard
flow control valve of size NG30 available in the market. The detailed specifications
of the selected flow control valve are obtained from its product catalogue [10]. The
pressure drop in this valve corresponding to flow rate is given in Fig. 5.

4.5 Selection of Pressure Relief Valve (PRV)

The pressure relief valve is set at the pressure 10% higher than system’s working
pressure [7]. Thus, required setting pressure of pressure relief valve is 242 bar. For
the flow rate of 386 lpm and the required pressure, we can select standard pressure
relief valve of size NG25 available in the market. The detailed specifications of the
selected pressure relief valve are obtained from its product catalogue [11]. The setting
pressure of the standard pressure relief valve is 250 bar (254.93 kg/cm2 ).
478 A. Vardhan and A. P. Singh

Fig. 4 Characteristics curve for the directional control valve

4.6 Selection of Prime Mover

Required power to drive the pump is

Prv Q p
kW = (10)
612ηpo

where
Prv setting pressure of the relief valve in kg/cm2 .
Qp pump flow in lpm.
ηpo overall efficiency of pump (ηpo = 0.95 × 0.85 = 0.81).
From Eq. (10),

254.93 × 386
kW =
612 × 0.81
Design and Selection of Hydraulic Components … 479

Fig. 5 Characteristics curve for the flow control valve

kW = 198.51 kW = 266.10 HP.

We can select standard prime mover available in the market, i.e. 280 HP. The
detailed specifications of the selected prime mover are obtained from its product
catalogue [12], and the characteristics curve for the prime mover is given in Fig. 6.
This prime mover provides 1000 Nm torque at 2000 rpm speed.

5 Conclusion

In this paper, an attempt has been made to find out the methodology for design
and selection of hydraulic components for the rotary head system of blasthole drill
machine used in open cast coal mines. Depending on the maximum flow rate in
480 A. Vardhan and A. P. Singh

Fig. 6 Characteristics curve for the prime mover

the hydraulic system and the system pressure, the other components like directional
control valve (DCV), flow control valve (FCV) and the pressure relief valve (PRV)
are selected. The proposed methodology used for the design and selection of the
hydraulic components may be helpful for the designers to propose the guidelines for
the development of the hydraulic system of a HEMM.

Acknowledgements The authors express their sincere gratitude to Dr. R. K. Aggarwal, Director
General, Dr. Devendra Singh, Head of Mechanical Engineering Department and Professor Ashiva
Shah, Head of CORE, AKGEC, Ghaziabad, for all kinds of help and support.

References

1. Jimeno EL, Jimino CL, Carcedo A (1995) Drilling and blasting of rocks. CRC Press
2. Misra GB (1979) Surface mining. Dhanbad Publishers
3. Gokhale BV (2010) Rotary drilling and blasting in large surface mines. CRC Press
 Design and Selection of Hydraulic Components … 481

4. Operation and maintenance manual of C-650 drill. Revathi Equipment Limited Coimbatore,
India
5. Product catalogue of standard gear unit modular system CSB140. New Allenberry Works, India
6. Product catalogue of the radial piston motor for wheel drives MCR-F, RE 15198/12.2013.
Bosch Rexroth India Ltd.
7. Pinches MJ, Ashby JG (1989) Power hydraulics. Prentice Hall
8. Product catalogue of the axial piston variable pump RE 92500/10.09. Bosch Rexroth India Ltd.
9. Product catalogue of the directional control valve RE 24751/2016-06. Bosch Rexroth India
Ltd.
10. Product catalogue of the throttle and throttle check valve RE 27219/01.09. Bosch Rexroth India
Ltd.
11. Product catalogue of the pressure relief valve, direct operated RE 25402/2016-07. Bosch
Rexroth India Ltd.
12. Product catalogue of the prime mover QSC 4087067, Rev 6/06. Cummins Engine Company
Ltd UK

View publication stats