Energy consumption prediction of gang saws from rock properties in carbonate rocks cutting process

Performance measurements of gang saws were conducted on 12 different carbonate rocks in marble factories located in Iran. Ampere consumption and rock properties such as uniaxial compressive strength, Young modulus, Mohs hardness and Schimazek's F-abrasiveness factor were evaluated using linear and nonlinear regression analysis. The result of linear regression indicated that there is a strong correlation (R2 = 0.85) between ampere consumption and uniaxial compressive strength compared to other parameters. The developed nonlinear models were verified by statistical tests and the best predicted model was selected. It was concluded that the ampere consumption of carbonate rocks using gang saws can reliably be estimated with a coefficient of correlation above 0.9 using the developed model. It is very useful to evaluate the energy consumption and predict the energy cost for a new rock type by only the mechanical properties testing.