User Guide

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Introduction

The ‘TKPH' test is a plugin for the VBOX Test Suite software designed for VBOX Mining users.

This Application Guide will guide you through key inputs to achieve results in the TKPH Plugin. The plugin will output a report displaying operating site TKPH of the vehicle to be compared against rated TKPH of the tyres.

Ribbon Bar

The ribbon bar at the top of the window has a selection of large buttons, which fall under 4 main sections:

Home
Test Setup
Chart
Map

Help

Pressing this 'Help' button will automatically open an internet browsing window and load the relevant section of the Racelogic Support Centre. This page will only be displayed if there is a valid internet connection.

Home

Add Test

For your first test, click on the ‘Add’ button in the ribbon bar.

This will list the tests available under 'Categories'. Select the 'Mining' category, click 'New Test' and click 'OK'.

It may also be useful to add a certain test to your favourites by clicking on the star and ensuring that it is coloured in. This will ensure that the mining icon will be present in the ribbon bar.

New Test

When the Mining icon is present under the 'Home' tab in the ribbon bar, you can open a new or saved test by clicking on the icon and selecting from the dropdown.

To save a settings .vbts file to your documents, click on 'Save' near 'Options'. This settings file will save load/dump locations for easy loading onto any .vbo file.

Options - Units

To ensure you are calculating TKPH or TMPH depending on your region, open 'Options' under the 'Home' tab in the ribbon bar.

Here, you can choose between metric units (km/h, km, ºC, etc.) and imperial units (mph, mi, ºF, etc.).

If you select km/h, TKPH will be calculated and metric tons will be applied as payload units.
If you select mph, TMPH will be calculated and short tons will be applied as payload units.

Throughout the plugin, metric tonnes will be represented as 'tonnes' and short tons will be represented as 'tons'.

Test Setup

To save a settings file to be listed under the Mining dropdown menu, click on 'Save Settings' near 'Options'. This settings file will save load/dump locations for easy loading onto any .vbo file.

When you open a new test, you will be prompted to enter Test Configuration information. This can also be accessed by clicking the 'Configure' button under the 'Test Setup' tab in the ribbon bar.

Test Configuration

Selecting the 'Configure' button will display a pop up window where the user can define the parameters of the test. To save a test configuration file (.vbts) to be stored in your files, click on 'Save Settings' near the 'Configure' button.

Use the up and down buttons to the right of the parameters to Expand and Collapse the parameter headings.

Moving Average

Average Over (h)

This setting configures the time period, n hours, as a subset of the full VBOX data set over which the TKPH Moving Average is calculated.

This setting will affect the calculation of the Moving avg. Front TKPH and Moving avg. Rear TKPH, which can be selected as parameters on the Chart.

This setting will also affect the calculation of the Avg and Avg (Mich) trendlines on the Front TKPH by Local Date and Time chart, which is displayed on the Report.

This value is often taken as a 4 hour moving average, or a 6 hour moving average is sometimes applied for 63” tyres.

Shift Start Times

Day Shift Start / Night Shift Start

This setting configures the two shifts, to which the user can assign two ambient temperature values.

The default value for Day Shift Start is 7am and the default value for Night Shift Start is 7pm. The start times do not necessarily need to be the start of day shift or night shift, as this is an identifier to represent a change in temperature.

Shift Ambient Temperature Defaults

Day Shift Max / Night Shift Max

This setting configures the default value of the Ambient Temperature to apply to the two daily time periods labelled as Day Shift and Night Shift.

This setting will affect the calculations of Bridgestone and Michelin corrections, which refer to ambient temperature. These results can be seen on the Front TKPH by Local Date and Time chart, which is displayed on the Report. Ambient Temperature refers to the maximum temperature in the shade. If there is existing temperature information stored on the VBO file as Session Data, then these values will not be used.

The default value for Day Shift Max and Night Shift Max is 38 degrees Celsius. This will result in no ambient temperature corrections being made as the TKPH ratings for tyres are rated at 38 degrees Celsius. An overall maximum temperature in the shade can be applied by setting this temperature value to both fields. Alternatively, two levels of resolution for Ambient Temperature can be achieved with both field entries.

Report Analysis

Michelin Corrections

This setting configures if Michelin Corrections, as per the tyre manufacturer earthmover data book, are displayed on the Report.

This setting only affects the Front TKPH by Local Date and Time chart, which will include lines to represent a Moving Average with Michelin Corrections applied and Cycle TKPH with Michelin Corrections applied if Cycle is ticked.

This allows users to display or hide lines on the Front TKPH by Local Date and Time chart, which can be useful to adjust the Report to easily focus on particular areas.

Cycle

This setting configures if Cycle TKPH is displayed on the Report.

This setting only affects the Front TKPH by Local Date and Time chart, which will include lines to represent Cycle TKPH if checked.

This allows users to display or hide lines on the Front TKPH by Local Date and Time chart, which can be useful to focus on particular areas of the Report.

Table of Cycles

This setting only affects the last page of the Report, which will generate a Table of Cycles if checked.

This allows users to check Michelin Corrections on a cycle-by-cycle basis.

Advanced

Minimum load time (s)

This setting configures the duration of time over which the vehicle must be considered stationary in a load area for a load event to take place.

This affects each valid run (i.e. cycle) to signal a change in load status. Therefore, this affects all calculations of operating site TKPH, as well as the Vehicle Weight Channel introduced in the Chart.

It is expected that a load event will take a longer time to take place than a dump event, therefore an appropriate default value has been assigned for this duration. Once GPS speed drops under 0.8 km/h in the load area, the vehicle is considered stationary and when the Minimum load time elapses whilst the vehicle remains stationary (or below Maximum load speed), this will constitute a load event.

Although a sufficiently high value may ensure the real load event is captured (and not a brief stop before departing the load area for example), the higher the value the more susceptible it would be to incorrectly detect cycles. If cycles are not being detected as expected, this value can be reduced to ensure the stationary period will be considered as a change in load status. However, with a low value, actual loading time may not be captured accurately.

Minimum dump time (s)

This setting configures the duration of time over which the vehicle must be considered stationary in a dump area for a dump event to take place.

It is expected that a dump event will take less time to take place than a load event, therefore a default value of 0.5 seconds has been assigned for this duration. Once GPS speed drops under 0.8 km/h in the dump area, the vehicle is considered stationary and when the Minimum dump time elapses whilst the vehicle remains stationary (or below Maximum dump speed), this will constitute a dump event.

Maximum load speed (km/h)

This setting configures a limit so, in a load area, any speed value below this limit is still considered as the vehicle remaining stationary.

This allows users to mitigate noisy data which may cause erratic speed values when the vehicle is actually stationary. This setting only applies after the vehicle initially becomes stationary (i.e. speed < 0.8 km/h), and will not work if the vehicle does not come to a complete stop in the load area.

Maximum dump speed (km/h)

This setting configures a limit so, in a dump area, any speed value below this limit is still considered as the vehicle remaining stationary.

Moving average interval (s)

This setting configures the duration, in seconds, of the interval where TKPH is calculated for each interval to build a Moving Average value out of regular sized intervals.

This setting affects the Moving Average calculation, and therefore has an impact on any instance of the TKPH Moving Average.

“n second TKPH” values are used to build the TKPH Moving Average. A “n second TKPH” value is calculated like Cycle TKPH, but the length of the cycle is n seconds and the load status is checked at the start of the n second interval. When load and dump areas are not defined, the moving average will assume a 50%/50% split of time spent loaded and time spent unloaded for the moving average TKPH calculation.

Log Calculations to CSV

This setting configures if cycle calculations, which include Bridgestone and Michelin corrections, are generated as a Comma Separated Value (.csv) file for the user.

If checked, this will generate files to be located in C:\ProgramData\Racelogic\VBOXTestSuite\Mining.

If checked, this will take longer to generate results, so this functionality is recommended only for investigating particular results and not for general use.

Session Data

By pressing the 'Edit Data' button in the ‘Test Setup' ribbon bar, a new window will be displayed whereby the user can enter vehicle information to be stored against the .vbo file. There is functionality to Import and Export Session Data to load the same information to other .vbo files, such a vehicle, temperature and tyre information.

Vehicle

This section of Session Data allows you to enter vehicle information to be stored against the .vbo file, which will help to identify the vehicle when generating reports.

Below is the layout of the Report header:

Vehicle ID – This is a descriptive text field which will be displayed as part of the heading on the Report.
Vehicle Type – Defines the TKPH calculation based on vehicle type, and is mostly commonly set as Haul Truck.
Vehicle Specification – This is a descriptive text field, which will be displayed as part of the heading on the Report.
Fleet – This is a descriptive text field, which will be displayed as part of the heading on the Report.
Time Zone – Here you can select the time zone of the region in which the data was gathered, so the Report and Results can display local time.

Weight

This section of Session Data allows you to define weight information to be stored against the .vbo file, which allows the plugin to calculate TKPH based on weight values for that particular vehicle.

This information can be imported by selecting the Import button and navigating to the relevant .vbses file in your files. A Vehicle Specification Library containing .vbses files for common mining vehicles is available on the VBOX Mining Solutions website.

Empty Vehicle Weight (tonnes)

Enter the value for empty vehicle weight, available in the manufacturer's vehicle specification. The units for this value depends on the units set in Options: tonnes refers to metric tonnes and tons refers to short tons.

Empty Weight Distribution

Enter the values for empty weight distribution, available in the manufacturer's vehicle specification. Ensure the two percentage values add to 100%.

Payload (tonnes)

Enter the value for payload, available in the manufacturer's vehicle specification. The units for this value depends on the units set in Options: tonnes refers to metric tonnes and tons refers to short tons.

Loaded Weight Distribution

Enter the values for loaded weight distribution, available in the manufacturer's vehicle specification. Ensure the two percentage values add to 100%.

Number of Wheels

Select the number of wheels on the front and rear axles to determine average tyre load from the information as entered above. The effective weight distribution should be simplified to two axles should the vehicle have more than two axles.

Ambient Temperature

This section of Session Data allows you to overwrite default temperature data as entered in Test Configuration. This allows the plugin to set Ambient Temperature to predefined shift times and apply tyre manufacturer temperature corrections accordingly.

Day Shift (°C)

Enter the Ambient Temperature value during the day shift period as predefined in Test Configuration. The units for this value depends on the units set in Options: °C or °F.

Night Shift (°C)

Enter the Ambient Temperature value during the night shift period as predefined in Test Configuration. The units for this value depends on the units set in Options: °C or °F.

Tyre Data

This section of Session Data allows you to save tyre information from tyre manufacturer data books and select certain tyres for analysis. This allows the plugin to apply tyre manufacturer TKPH corrections and display relevant information on the Report.

The software comes preloaded with common tyre specifications. There is also functionality to Add , Edit and Copy tyre specifications to expand on your database.

Add Tyre

To compare site TKPH of the vehicle against selected tyre specification, ensure that the following is entered as a minimum:

Tyre Size – Enter tyre size as per the standard tyre size naming convention (i.e. 46/90R57, 40.00R57, 40.00-57). Below you will see the respective section width, aspect ratio, tyre construction type and rim size being detected based upon the tyre size convention.
Manufacturer – For tyre manufacturers that apply corrections (i.e. Bridgestone, Michelin, Yokohama), ensure that the manufacturer is chosen from the dropdown so the plugin can identify the tyre brand and apply corrections accordingly.
TKPH, Tread Pattern, Compound / Spec – Enter this information as listed in the tyre manufacturer data books, available by clicking on the following links: Bridgestone, Goodyear, Michelin, Yokohama. TKPH must be a numeric value. According to 'Options', TKPH will be entered if km/h is set and TMPH will be entered if mph is set.

Chart

Y-Axis

In 'Chart', you will see several mining-specific parameters when you click on Y-Axis. Note that the X-axis is displayed as elapsed time, whereas calculations are based on UTC time so the exact shape may not be reflected in the Report, which produces results against an X-axis of local time.

Cycle TKPH represents the TKPH value calculated for that cycle, from load point to the following dump point to the following load point. Front and Rear Cycle TKPH values can be represented on the Chart.

Moving avg. represents the rolling average of TKPH based on the interval set in Test Configuration (default set to 4 hour moving average). If no load/dump locations are defined, it will be assumed that half of the time is spent loaded and half of the time is spent unloaded. Front and Rear moving avg. values can be represented on the Chart.

Map

Add Region

On the Map, you can define load/dump locations by selecting 'Add Region'. This allows the software to detect whether a vehicle is loaded or unloaded based on regular movements.

Ensure that the region is placed correctly so as not to miss any areas in which load status may have changed. For instance, make sure all dump locations are captured as dump regions and all load points are captured as load regions. To reduce the chance of error, avoid load/dump regions at traffic hold points, such as intersections.

You can also rename load/dump locations as the relevant circuit will be represented in Results and the Report as “Load”-“Dump”-“Load”.

Creating a Report

VBOX Test Suite allows the user to create a report whereby the user can easily compare and display the results from their TKPH analysis.

You are able to generate a report by clicking the 'Report' button under the 'Test Setup' ribbon bar.

The user can then choose to print or save this report in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel or pdf formats. A sample of this report can be seen below:-

TKPH by Local Date and Time

This Report Chart displays operating vehicle TKPH to be compared against rated tyre TKPH. This Report Chart is completed for front TKPH only.

Displayed TKPH (i.e. Cycle, Moving Average, Manufacturer Corrections) can be adjusted in Test Configuration.
Displayed tyres can be adjusted in Session Data.

Cycle TKPH Frequency

This Report Chart displays the frequency of Cycle TKPH values to visualise the bulk of Cycle TKPH values and compare between circuits.

Summary by Circuit

This Report Table summarises key information for each circuit and the entire dataset. This is most useful to compare operations between multiple circuits.

Summary by Inputs

This Report Table summarises user input to help verify information used for the analysis.