DYNAVIS®-formulated hydraulic fluids from Evonik the company says have proven their outstanding properties in everyday service under the exceptionally adverse climatic conditions of Russia’s largest coal-mining region, the Kuznetsk Basin, or “Kuzbass”, in south-central Siberia. “Simply changing to a DYNAVIS-formulated hydraulic fluid opened up new cost efficiency opportunities compared to a standard reference product. Productivity gains of 7.9% plus a 3.8% reduction in fuel consumption in comparison to the work done puts one of Russia’s leading lubricant manufacturer’s new high-performance fluid well ahead of the competition, and propels mine operators into an exciting new era of operating economics – with higher profits at lower costs.”
Temperatures in the open-cast coal mine in the Kuzbass vary between extremes of -48°C in winter and +38° C in summer. Both the machines and the hydraulic fluids used are required to withstand the demanding thermal stress without interruption. Another factor is the extreme level of dust exposure encountered in these types of mines. Specialists from Evonik installed sensors to measure the production efficiency of one of the mine’s toughest workers: a Hitachi EX1200 tracked excavator with an engine output of 440kW/609 hp and a bucket capacity of 6.5 m³. Under these harsh service conditions, the new high-performance fluid was able to demonstrate to its full extent the advantages over a conventional product. “DYNAVIS fluids have been specially designed to assure lower viscosity at low start-up temperatures – starting from cold, for instance – while also resisting recirculation, keeping heat build-up in check, maintaining pump efficiency and achieving reductions in energy consumption when running at operating temperature. These parameters play an essential role in cost-efficient operation in the punishing conditions of open-cast coal mining.”
Changes in excavator performance were observed even during the first few days of testing, most notably a significant reduction in fuel consumption and an increase in productivity when compared to the workload done. One excavator operating with conventional fluid moved a total of 5,886 m³ of material in a single shift, with a fuel consumption of 1,200 litres. The excavator equipped with DYNAVIS formulated fluid moved 5,832 m³ during a shorter period of time, consuming 1,100 litres of fuel. “This may serve as an extreme example, but average figures also disclosed an enormous potential for savings: the excavator using the conventional hydraulic fluid achieved a mean consumption of 100 litres of diesel per operating hour, whereas the machine equipped with the DYNAVIS-formulated fluid consumed 3.8% less per hour. When applied to the whole fleet of excavators working every day in the Kuzbass, these figures indicate potential daily fuel savings of over 20,000 litres of diesel.”
“Faster loading cycles also boost productivity, because significantly more coal can be moved in the same amount of time. The tests demonstrated a rise in handling rate from 564 m³ to 622 m³ per hour, equivalent to an approx 10% increase in productivity – and a big leap forward in efficiency for mine operators. Simply changing to a hydraulic fluid powered with DYNAVIS technology enables practically any hydraulically powered machine to achieve fast and valuable gains in productivity, fuel efficiency and handling rate.”
A DYNAVIS-formulated HVLP 32 with a VI of 183 was tested against a conventional monograde with a VI of 105. Both fluids were tested for eleven shifts during a one-week period. The engineers assessed these 12-hour shifts on the criteria of total volume of material handled, fuel consumption, fuel efficiency, work efficiency and productivity; daily status updates were collected on the machines during operation. Specialists from Evonik then installed a sensor system on the machine. All data regarding the condition of the machine and the fluids during operation were collected daily. Both fluid temperature and pressure plots were recorded. A sophisticated mobile diagnosis unit was also deployed to ascertain the physicochemical parameters of samples of the fluids used.
HVLP 32 and 46 hydraulic fluids have been developed by the lubricant manufacturer using Evonik’s DYNAVIS technology with the set target of improving equipment performance, boosting fuel efficiency, and ultimately reducing the mining company’s total cost of ownership. Thanks to their high shear stability, high-viscosity index fluids ensure a wider operating temperature range for the equipment, provide improved protection for the hydraulic system and extend fluid changing intervals. Productivity rates were increased by up to 7.9% on average during this performance demonstration and fuel efficiency was improved by 3.8%.