Vincent L. Kikanga is a PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Pretoria. His research, “The Development of a Digital Twin of Mining Shaft Hoisting Systems,” investigates the dynamic interaction between mining conveyances and shaft-guide systems.
Motivation and objectives
Mine hoisting systems transport people, equipment and ore through vertical shafts. The conveyances are guided by rails that can deteriorate, become misaligned or respond flexibly. Static or simplified analyses may not fully capture transient interactions between a moving conveyance and its guides. Vincent’s research aims to develop a dynamic simulation framework that represents these interactions and can contribute to future digital-twin capability for shaft systems.
The work investigates how guide misalignment and structural flexibility influence system dynamics, including vibration and contact-force responses under realistic operating conditions. This modelling foundation could support shaft infrastructure assessment, maintenance planning and future condition monitoring.
Modelling approach and progress
The research combines analytical modelling, numerical simulation and structural-dynamics principles. Initial work used MATLAB, Simulink and Simscape to model a conveyance as a rigid body interacting with shaft guides through roller suspensions and contact elements. The simulation framework evaluates quantities such as conveyance acceleration, roller forces and vibration metrics under guide-misalignment conditions.
Several guide representations have been investigated, including rigid guides, effective stiffness and continuous finite-element models. The work has identified practical challenges in representing continuous roller contact on flexible guide structures, including contact implementation, computational complexity and the use of measured guide profiles. A rigid-guide model has been implemented and used as a baseline to investigate misalignment effects.
The simulations also indicate that dynamic responses depend on the spatial shape of guide irregularities, not only their maximum deviation. Profiles with the same peak deviation can produce different vibration responses when their irregularities are distributed differently. This makes accurate guide-geometry characterisation important when assessing conveyance dynamics.
Next steps
The next phase will investigate Vehicle-Bridge Interaction methods, in which the conveyance is analogous to a vehicle, guide rollers to tyres and the shaft guide structure to a bridge. The goal is to develop a coupled model that represents skip-guide interaction while retaining physical realism and computational efficiency. A 1:10-scale laboratory test rig is also planned to measure vibration responses, contact forces and the effects of guide irregularities under controlled conditions. These measurements will support model validation and the longer-term development of a digital twin for mining shaft hoisting systems.
The current research remains simulation-based. Experimental and field validation will be needed to establish its applicability across different shaft configurations and operating environments.