As innocuous as it seems, water on haul roads – regardless of whether it comes from the sky or via a water truck – has a negative impact on the life of mining truck tires.
Of course, there are many aspects that affect the life of haul road vehicle tires…such as the quality of the sub-base, camber, temperature, super-elevation, and the condition of the running surface (haul road defects, surface roughness, and so forth).
Yet one of the biggest impediments to maximising tire life is actually water.
The reason for this is the reaction of the polymers in rubber to H2O; wet rubber is up to 10 times easier to cut than dry rubber because water acts as a lubricant and physically reduces the friction of cutting.
Why water on haul roads is such a big concern
Imagine a wet tire hitting a large pothole, sharp rock or some other debris washed onto the haul road during a massive storm.
Water can also actually hide those potholes and rocks, so truck drivers may not know they are hitting them until it’s too late and the damage has been done.
According to Caterpillar, around 80% of earthmover tires fail before they wear out, with cuts accounting for 45% of failures. Therefore, prolonging the life of expensive truck tires should be a top priority for any mining operation.
In fact, they should be seen as more than a cost – they are mission-critical to keeping a haulage fleet operational.
As well as making heavy vehicle tires more susceptible to cutting, wet haul roads also increase wheel slip, decrease traction and lead to a faster rate of tread wear; all factors that will reduce the overall life of tires.
It is commonly recognised that during the wet season that haul truck tire wear rates are far higher than in the dry season due to the adverse effect of water upon tires.
Likewise, as the following graph demonstrates, it is proven that there is a direct correlation between the amount of water sprayed onto roads by water trucks and tire damage.
Therefore, a reduction in water on haul roads will:
- Decrease tire wear rates
- Reduce the incidence of rock cuts, and
- Increase overall tire life
Reducing water on haul roads will increase the longevity of tires
Whilst the weather can not be controlled, mining operations can take proactive steps to reduce the amount of water on haul roads that will, in-turn, increase earthmover tire life:
STEP 1: Construct Mine Haul Roads Properly to Ensure Adequate Drainage
A properly constructed and well maintained mine haul road should incorporate;
- Road camber to ensure that water is shed from the surface to the edges of the road as quickly as possible, and
- Drainage to get the water away from the sides of the road and prevent it from soaking back into the sub layers of the pavement.
STEP 2: Stabilise the Surface Layer
It’s a proven fact that a stabilised and sealed surface layer will reduce the ingress of water into the sublayers of the haul road and enable water to be shed from the surface faster.
DASProduct – a specially formulated emulsion of bitumen in water – provides just this: a haul road which dries faster and there increases the life of truck tires.
A cross section of road treated with DASProduct
STEP 3: Implement a Haul Road Management System
DUST-A-SIDE HINCOL’s unique haul road management system ensures that haul roads are stabilised and sealed to reduce dust levels and notably reduce water usage required for dust suppression purposes.
In fact, when our proprietary sweeping system is adopted as part of our holistic management process, reductions in water usage of over 95% can be achieved.
Therefore, by reducing the need for water trucks on haul roads managed by DUST-A-SIDE HUNCOL, it means that haul trucks will be able to travel on drier roads and realise extended tire life through lower wear rates and reduced incidence of rock cuts.
More than just increasing haul road tire life
DUST-A-SIDE HINCOL’s haul road management system offers a host of additional benefits, such as:
- Improved safety
- Faster wet weather recovery
- Improved road quality
- Reduced road maintenance costs
- Increased productivity (up to 30% reduction in rolling resistance)
- Less water wastage (proven savings in excess of 95%)
- Operational dust reductions of 90%+
- Reduction in fuel consumption of 3%+
For more information and advice about improving tire life, please contact the expert team DUST-A-SIDE HINCOL by calling +91-22-23023250 or simply click here to get in touch.
