Performance and Field Testing of the Service Brakes of Mining Trucks In B.C.

CIM Bulletin, Vol. 70, No. 783, 1977

V. E. Dawson, Senior Inspector of Mines, Mechanical-Electrical, and R. Heistad, Mechanical Inspector, British Columbia Department of Mines and Petroleum Resources, Victoria, B.C.

Brake testing of large mining^ trucks was initiated in British Columbia in 1969 following an accident involving the failure of the service brakes of a 100-ton electric-drive truck. Some selected results of the 1976 brake test program are presented and discussed in this paper. The tests were conducted on end-dump trucks having load capacities ranging from 85 to 235 tons. All tests were made with the vehicles fully loaded operating on downhill grades varying from 8 to 10%. Stopping distances were measured from initial speeds varying between 10 and 39 mph. The results are adequate, in most cases, to determine the "ultimate" capabilities of the service brakes of varying models and sizes of haulage trucks operating in British Columbia mines.

Keywords: Open-pit mining, Equipment, Maintenance, Brakes, Trucks, British Columbia, Stopping distances, Mine safety.