Analysis of the nonlinear dynamic response of guide rails for a suspended buffer

Guide rails’ nonlinear dynamic response to the collision process between gangues and the suspended buffer is the basis for its intensity examination and fatigue prediction. This paper established a numerical model for simulating the dynamic response of buffer’s guide rails using Pro/E and Femap based on an analysis of the basic structural components of the suspended buffer. The effects of the gangues diameter and feeding rate on the guide rails’ dynamic response were investigated, which were mainly revealed by a tension in guide rails. Simulation results showed that the tension in guide rails rapidly increased to a peak value after the suspended buffer was impacted by gangues, followed by a periodic vibration. The peak tension, maximum and minimum tensions within the periodic vibration were exponential functions of the gangues diameter. And they depended linearly on the feeding rate. The vibration frequency of the tension in guide rails was an exponential function of the gangues diameter but did not depend on the feeding rate. Based on the backfilling workface parameters used in D.Ping coal miner’s 15601 working panel, the feeding rate of 500 t/h was selected. The diameter of the crushed gangues was selected to be 50 mm based on the strength of guide rails. Their expected service life is 54.2 years. Finally, an industrial test was performed in D.Ping coal miner’s 15601 working panel and the guide rails operated steadily. The measured vibration parameters of the tension in guide rails agree well with that of numerical predictions, which verified the reliability of the numerical model to some extent.