Abstract: Stability of the buffer device ensures the continuous solid materials feeding progress in backfilling coal mining. This paper models the buffer device according to a typical design with FEM software ABAQUS, then carries out modal analysis and frequency-response analysis under vertical excitation, and analyzes the impact response under simulated working conditions in which the material particles are represented by rigid balls. The buffer device’s resonance area under vertical excitation is near the first natural frequency 4.8 Hz, and this indicates fluctuations of flow rate should be avoided during the feeding progress. The response under simulated working condition shows that the buffer device can bear the impact load under feeding flow at a rate of 700 t/h, and the critical spots are the joints of the key parts.

Key words: fully mechanized backfilling coal mining, vertical transportation and feeding, buffer device, numerical simulation