Analysis of the Industrial Cutting Process of Natural Building Stones: Evaluation of Electric Power Consumption

Abstract

The consumption of electricity during the cutting processes of natural building stones by using block cutters is investigated in this study. To achieve this goal, a power analyzer was installed on the line that transfers electrical power to the vertical saw of the block cutters that are used in natural building stone-processing plants in 11 regions nationwide in Turkey, and the electrical power-consumption readings were taken during the natural stone-cutting processes accordingly. Electrical power-consumption data were recorded at the natural building stone-processing plants under 69 different cutting conditions on 24 different limestone marbles for a range of feed rates and cutting depths during and prior to the cutting process as a result of the measurements taken. It was determined that the power-consumption readings taken exhibited variations in three different regions based on the recorded data. Consequently, a model curve was proposed that explains the electrical power consumption during the cutting process of limestone marbles by using block cutters as a result of the analysis of the data obtained. Furthermore, a novel approach was proposed for the calculation of specific cutting energy during the natural building stone-cutting processes based on the model curve.