An intelligent system for fault diagnostics in mining equipment

采矿设备（如传送带、铲子和挖掘机）的操作和维护费用昂贵。**设备故障导致的操作延迟是导致采矿业生产损失和生产率降低的重要原因。GoldCorp Canada Ltd.提出的问题是如何提高采矿设备维护效率，降低成本。由于矿山设备的复杂性、矿山环境的恶劣以及机械运行条件的时变，对矿山设备进行可靠的故障诊断仍然是一项非常具有挑战性的任务。这个NSERC-Engage资助项目的目标是开发一个用于采矿设备状态监测和故障诊断的智能系统。相关的研究和开发(R&D)**集中在滚动轴承故障检测上，这是**机械故障检测领域的一个开放的研究课题。该项目的目的是在轴承缺陷的最早阶段识别，以防止机器运行退化，减少定期预防性维护中不必要的停机时间。通过快速识别故障部件而无需例行检查所有相关部件，可以进一步降低维修成本。具体的研发课题包括开发用于振动和温度信号无线数据采集的智能传感器网络，开发用于时变工况下轴承故障检测的新型信号处理技术，以及开发用于设备实时故障诊断的新型智能分类器。提出的智能监测技术和工具不仅可以检测矿山设备的轴承缺陷，也可以检测一般旋转机械的轴承缺陷。它还可以通过提高生产质量和系统可靠性以及降低成本，使相关的加拿大公司在全球市场上获得竞争优势。

Mining equipment (e.g., conveyors, shovels, and excavators) is expensive to operate and to maintain.**Operational delays because of equipment failures are significant causes of lost production and reduced**productivity in the mining industry. The problem raised by GoldCorp Canada Ltd. is how to improve mining**equipment maintenance efficiency and reduce costs. Reliable fault diagnosis of mining equipment remains very**challenging task due to the complexity of equipment, harsh mining environments and time-varying machinery**operating conditions. The objective of this NSERC-Engage Grant project is to develop an intelligent system for**mining equipment condition monitoring and fault diagnostics. The related research and development (R&D)**focus on fault detection in rolling element bearings, which remains an open research topic in the field of**machinery fault detection. The purpose of this project is to recognize bearing defect at its earliest stage so as to**prevent machinery operation degradation and reduce unnecessary downtime in regular preventive maintenance.**Costs can be further reduced in repairs by quickly recognizing the faulty components without routinely**examining all of the involved components. Specific R&D topics include the development of a smart sensor**network for wireless data acquisition of vibration and temperature signals, a new signal processing technique**for bearing fault detection under time-varying operating conditions, and a new intelligent classifier for**real-time equipment fault diagnosis. The proposed intelligent monitoring technology and tool can detect**bearing defects not only in mining equipment, but also in general rotating machinery. It can also benefit the**related Canadian companies to gain a competitive advantage in the global market by improving production**quality and system reliability, and reducing costs.