Using non-smooth multi-domain dynamics to improve the safety on haul roads in surface mining

Abstract

The paper presents a preliminary numerical study aimed to improve the safety on haul roads in surface mining. The interaction and collision between granular berms and ultra-class haul trucks are investigated by using non-smooth multi-domain dynamics. The haul truck is modelled as a rigid multibody system and the granular berm as a distribution of rigid particles using the discrete element method. A non-smooth dynamics approach is applied to enable stable and time-efficient simulation of the full system with strong coupling. The numerical model is first calibrated using full-scale data from experimental tests and then applied to investigate the collision between the haul truck and granular berms of different geometry under various approach conditions.