Numerical and Experimental Research on Optimal Pick Layout Design of the Bolter Miner Cutting Head

Bolter miner is a new type of mining machine with cutting and anchoring functions, whose cutting performance directly affects the efficiency and cost of mineral excavation. Pick layout on the cutting head is the important factors affecting its performance. To investigate the influence of pick layout of cutting head on cutting performance, dynamic rotary cutting coal-rock process of multiple picks is simulated by establishing numerical models, where rock fragmentation and cutting load were estimated. Laboratory rotary cutting tests with different cutting depth were conducted to validate the simulation model. The influence of cutting space and phase angle on cutting performance was studied. The results indicated that as the cutting depth increases, the cutting force increases quadratically. The optimal s/d is 2.7-3.3, and the cutting space and phase angle of the cutting head are optimized at 70 mm and 45 degrees, respectively. This paper proposed an effective numerical and experimental method for studying interaction between multiple picks and coal-rock and selecting the best pick layout parameters.