Wear Analysis of Conical Picks with Different Self-Rotatory Speeds

The conical pick is an essential component of roadheaders used for cutting rock. During the rock-breaking process, these picks interact with the rock, resulting in self-rotation, which enhances the wear uniformity of conical picks, thereby prolonging their service life. Since the phenomenon of self-rotation is generated passively by random contact forces with the rock surface, it is challenging to quantitatively measure the extent of self-rotatory speed. In order to investigate the correlation between the self-rotatory speed of conical picks and wear, this article establishes various self-rotatory speeds for vertical rock-breaking wear experiments involving conical picks. It analyzes the relationship between quantitative parameters, such as the equivalent stress and wear, through simulation. The results of the study indicate that the optimal self-rotatory speed of the conical pick is 16 rpm when it is rotated vertically to break the rock, resulting in minimal wear. When the equivalent stress and Mohr–Coulomb safety factor are optimized, it is essential to consider the changes in normal force and the variation in the area affected by the safety factor. This leads to an increase in wear as the cutting distance increases, indicating that a higher self-rotatory speed does not necessarily improve the wear performance of conical picks.