In certain mining areas, bauxite ore exhibits high and uneven hardness, causing frequent overloads in the cutting heads of bauxite mining equipment and challenging the dynamic performance and reliability of its gear transmission system. To investigate the influence of macro-geometric parameters, a dynamic model was built using MASTA software (version 13.0.1). This study systematically analyzed the effects of pressure angle, face width, and bottom clearance coefficient on gear meshing characteristics, service life, and vibration noise under various loads. A preferred set of parameters was determined and validated through vibration and noise tests. The results show that increasing the pressure angle and face width improves gear meshing and fatigue life, while the bottom clearance coefficient has an optimal value of 0.4. Increasing the bottom clearance coefficient exacerbates vibration and noise, with other parameters causing fluctuations under different conditions. The optimal parameters of 23° pressure angle, 75 mm face width, and 0.4 bottom clearance coefficient effectively reduce vibration and noise, providing a theoretical and practical basis for improving the cutting transmission system.
The loading rate of coal is significantly influenced by the number of vanes on shearer drums. However, in actual production, 1400 mm diameter drums feature two-vane and three-vane designs, while 2240 mm diameter ones have three-vane and four-vane designs, with the vane number corresponding to the optimal coal-loading rate remaining unclear. To reveal the correlation between vane number and coal-loading rate for such drums, parameters were calibrated through multiple physical tests in this study. Supported by field data, simulation analyses were conducted via the discrete element method to investigate the effect of the vane number on the drum coal-loading rate under different moisture contents and traction speeds. The results indicated that particle adhesion initially increases and then decreases with the moisture content, with the peak characteristics influenced by the particle size. Particle movement during drum coal mining is jointly governed by multiple factors. For 1400 mm drums, two or three vanes should be selected depending on moisture fluctuations and coal transportation requirements, whereas for 2240 mm drums, three or four vanes are recommended based on the balance between coal-cutting volume, conveying capacity, and traction speed.
High-carbon martensitic steels for bearing components are conventionally low-temperature tempered for stress relief, yet the influence of tempering temperature on compressive and fatigue wear resistance remains unclear, directly affecting the service life of bearing races and rollers. In this study, a high-carbon martensitic steel was tempered at 170 °C, 200 °C, and 230 °C. The microstructural evolution, compressive properties, and contact fatigue wear resistance were systematically investigated, along with the corresponding strengthening and wear mechanisms. After spheroidizing annealing and quenching, the microstructure consists of high-carbon martensite and retained austenite, with a high density of dislocations and fine twins. Tempering decomposes retained austenite into tempered martensite and promotes fine carbide precipitation, processes that become more pronounced at higher temperatures. Consequently, hardness decreases from 810 HV in the as-quenched state to 690 HV after 230 °C tempering, while compressive failure strain increases from 10.5% to 24.1%. More importantly, under cyclic contact stress, the 230 °C-tempered specimen exhibits approximately 33% lower wear mass loss than the 170 °C-tempered counterpart, despite its lower hardness. This unexpected improvement is attributed to the formation of a distinct plastic deformation zone in the near-surface region, which absorbs greater strain energy and delays fatigue spallation. The well-tempered martensitic matrix accommodates more long-range dislocation slip, enabling a transition from fatigue spallation to a more ductile failure mode. These findings provide new insights into the role of low-temperature tempering in balancing strength, ductility, and wear resistance, and offer practical guidance for optimizing heat treatment protocols to enhance the contact fatigue performance of bearing steels.