Special Feature Mobile Machines in the O+P Fluidtechnik

www.oup-fluidtechnik.de  O+P Fluidtechnik 2022/07-08  TUBES Customised tubes are used not only in hydraulics, but also in other applications – for example for the coolant supply of batteries in electric vehicles. The Bortana EV is an electric vehicle that is used in an underground mine in Australia. Complicated tube shapes were required for cooling its batteries. COOLANT SUPPLY FOR BATTERI ES ELECTRIC DRIVING UNDERGROUND H igh ground clearance, a sealed chassis, galvanised body panels and a strong bullbar – the Australian Bortana EV is ideally prepared for use in extreme conditions. But it has an unusual drive system: It does not start up with great noise and a plume of exhaust fumes, but whisper-quiet. That is because it has an electric drive, which was developed specially for use underground. The trigger for the development of this vehicle was the fact that even extremely robust offroad vehicles achieve an average service life of just around one and a half years when used in a mining environment – as a result of the aggressive combina- tion of corrosion, heat, moisture and high mechanical impact. RETHINKING UNDERGROUND VEHICLES This fact prompted the Australian mining company Safescape, which supplies safety products for mining operations, to com- pletely rethink the concept of „light vehicles for underground mining“. The focus was not only on increasing the service life, but also on a new drive solution, because internal combustion engines have turned out to be particularly critical in these ap- plications. Beau McKenna, Marketing Manager at Safescape: „The great number of moving parts susceptible to corrosion in a diesel engine are the cause for many vehicle failures under- ground. We also wanted to eliminate the particle emissions and heat generation from the internal combustion engine in order to make the working conditions for personnel under- ground safer.“ The alternative is obvious and is used in millions of road ve- hicles already: „An electric motor is the ideal drive. It has only few moving parts, requires little maintenance, generates little heat and no emissions and range is not an issue because the vehicle is only used within the mine. In addition to this, the THE BATTERY MAKES UP THE GREATEST PART OF THE VALUE OF THE VEHICLE