Drive technology for giant truck
The BelAZ 75710 weighs in at over 800 tons with payload – as much as a fully laden Airbus A380. Measuring 20 m in length, 10 m in width and 8 m in height, this “giant” from Belarus is the world’s biggest truck, and has recently been deployed in a Siberian mine in the Kuzbass region. BelAZ uses integrated drive technology from Siemens to get this heavyweight up and running (Fig. 1).
Siemens faced a unique challenge in implementing this project: Not only did BelAZ want to build the world’s biggest truck, the brief also included the ability to carry a 25 % higher payload than the world’s biggest dump truck to date. At the same time, it was looking to significantly reduce the costs per ton of transported material and enhance availability with a view to achieving maximum operating efficiency. These specifications prompted Siemens to fit the all-wheel drive with 4 robust traction motors of the kind already in successful use in the 240 ton truck class. Power is supplied by 2 generators, each of which is driven by a 16-cylinder diesel engine with an output of around 1800 kilowatts. As each of the BelAZ 75710’s 8 wheels is designed to withstand around 100 tons in weight, the giant is capable of transporting a payload of up to 460 tons in addition to its curb weight of 350 tons – and all at an amazing top speed of 64 kilometers per hour (Fig. 2).
The giant truck uses efficient, high availability drives based on the Integrated Drive Systems (IDS) concept. All the components of the electric drive were supplied by Siemens, ensuring that they are perfectly matched. As in all Siemens truck drive systems, the robust, highly reliable SiBAS (Siemens Train Automation System) HW and SW platform was chosen for drive control, although the application software had to be redeveloped for this type of truck (allwheel drive). The ingeniously engineered drive concept allows the world’s biggest truck to be operated with the utmost reliability, safety and efficiency. In combination with dynamic power distribution between the truck’s two axles, for instance, the all-wheel drive allows reliable acceleration and safe driving in even the most difficult terrain such as slippery or muddy ground.
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