Control problems in armored face conveyors for longwall mines

This paper is a tutorial discussion of the current difficulties being experienced with the performance of armored face conveyor (AFC) drive systems as used in longwall mining. It presents the traditional approaches to the design of the drive system, and highlights the inadequacies. The final part of the paper presents a possible solution approach using variable speed drive systems, emphasizing the advantages of this approach. The paper is significant as it discusses, in one document, a number of problems related to the operation of longwall AFCs. Furthermore it presents a solution path for these problems. The details of the control strategies to solve the problems highlighted are left to a companion paper