Temperature characteristics of fiber-optic shearer cables

During the reciprocating motion of a coal shearer, shearer cables are exposed to complex underground conditions, including high load current, repeated bending and dragging, and limited heat dissipation. These factors may lead to excessive conductor temperature and pose safety risks. However, the temperature response of embedded optical-fiber units in shearer cables under different motion states remains insufficiently clarified, especially the relationship between optical-fiber temperature and the temperatures of key cable components. To address this gap, an MCPT-1.9/3.3(3 × 120 + 1 × 70 + 4 × 10) shearer cable was taken as the engineering object, and three optical-fiber unit structures were designed and embedded to form three fiber-optic shearer cable configurations. Parametric models were developed using Rhino-Grasshopper, and COMSOL Multiphysics was used to analyze the effects of cable structure, load current, and ambient temperature under straight-line and bending motions. The results show that the maximum optical-fiber temperatures of the three structures are 57.8°C, 58.1°C, and 63.8°C under straight-line motion, increasing to 69.5°C, 70.1°C, and 77.4°C under bending motion. Optical-fiber temperature rises with increasing load current and ambient temperature. Least-squares fitting further establishes relationships between optical-fiber temperature and the temperatures of the power conductor, control conductor, polyimide buffer layer, and outer sheath. The main contribution of this study is to provide a quantitative basis for temperature monitoring and structural optimization of fiber-optic shearer cables under different operating conditions.