MAMMOTH MACHINE The world’s largest mining two-axle is currently being field-tested as one of the biggest machines of its class
Belarus-based multinational engineering company Belarusian Autoworks’ (BelAZ’s) BelAZ-75710, the world’s largest mining two-axle all-wheel-drive dump truck – with a weight-carrying capacity of 450 t – has proved worthy of an entry in the Guinness Book of Records.
The new vehicle, which rolled out of the BelAZ plant late last year, is currently being field-tested as the biggest machine of its class, with a record-breaking capacity.
To suit the needs of the gigantic haul truck, Germany-based multinational engineering company Siemens developed a unique alternating current (ac) traction drive system, the MMT500.
The system comprises four 1 200 kW electric motors, two traction generators, three blowers, a brake resistor unit and a control cabinet with two Elfa inverters.
As opposed to its predecessors, the new dumper features eight wheels, each designed for about 100 t of load. Therefore, Siemens traction division experts chose to develop a reliable and powerful all-wheel drive train with four electrical machines.
The dump truck’s all-wheel gear has also opened up new possibilities in terms of distributing tractive effort to both axles.
Further, in the event of failure occurring on one of the driving gears, an emergency mode can be activated, enabling the dumper to get to the service station without having to be towed.
The traction motors for the electric gear were manufactured at Siemens’ facilities in Nuremberg. The project was completed in a comparatively short term – the development process, from ordering to commissioning, took less than two years.
Siemens, which has been developing drive systems for mining dumpers for many years, currently supplies BelAZ with ac traction electric drives for 240 t and 360 t dump trucks.
The BelAZ-75710 is the first vehicle in its class of super-high-load trucks, with a weight-carrying capacity of 450 t. It is over 20 m long, nearly 10 m wide and 8 m high.
With a turning diameter of about 20 m, the new dump truck has embodied the latest technological solutions, ensuring its high efficiency, reliability, manoeuvrability and smooth running, as well as the driver’s comfort and safety.
The vehicle’s maximum speed is 64 km/h. The BelAZ-75710 is in high demand in Russia’s Kuznetsk basin (Kuzbass), in south-western Siberia – one of the largest coal mining areas in the world – as well as in certain coal-strip mines in Chile and North America. The first BelAZ-75710 dump truck is due to be delivered to an opencast mine in the Kuzbass region.