Numerical simulation on coal loading process of shearer drum based on discrete element method

The drum is the working mechanism of the coal shearer, and the coal loading performance of the drum is very important for the efficient and safe production of coal mine. In order to study the coal loading performance of the shearer drum, a discrete element model of coupling the drum and coal wall was established by combining the results of the coal property determination and the discrete element method. The movement of coal particles and the mass distribution in different areas were obtained, and the coal particle velocity and coal loading rate were analyzed under the conditions of different helix angles, rotation speeds, traction speeds and cutting depths. The results show that with the increase of helix angle, the coal loading first increases and then decreases; with the increase of cutting depth and traction speed, the coal loading rate decreases; the increase of rotation speed can improve the coal loading performance of drum to a certain extent. The research results show that the discrete element numerical simulation can accurately reflect the coal loading process of the shearer drum, which provides a more convenient, fast and low-cost method for the structural design of shearer drum and the improvement of coal loading performance.