Failure of Boom in Self Propelled Surface Drilling Machine

Abstract

Operating requirements of machines used in surface mining are very severe. They are often
subjected to percussive loads radically different from machines operating on the surface. The boom of these
machine supports the rotation head and feed mechanism for drilling hole in earth surface. It has been observed
that the boom fails during operation due to fracture and as a consequence several components of other
assemblies undergo plastic deformation. The main objective behind boom design is that it should sustain the
weight of drill assembly which is approximately 3 ton. The paper presents failure analysis and analytical results
of boom using computer simulation. Finite element method analysis of the boom showed stress concentrations
exceeding the allowable level done and the need to redesign it considering load fluctuations caused by
operating environment. The results showed that maximum stress is induced at the observed fracture location.
Redesigning the boom with increased cross section and improved material property overcomes the boom failure
problem.