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This paper presents ongoing research towards a low-cost/low-power wirelessly enabled distributed sensing system that can be placed throughout underground coal mines to potentially measure the total incombustible content (TIC) of the deposited dust. Underground coal mining operations produce finely divided coal dust, called float dust, which deposits throughout the mine. This combustible material can be feedstock for coal dust explosions. In the U.S., Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) standard 23789 dictates that a TIC of 80% or above has to be maintained in coal mine return airways. However, current best practices for collection TIC measurements involve manual sampling and laboratory procedures. In this work, we describe work towards developing a new wireless sensor network (WSN) consisting of low-cost/low-power sensor modules that use a variety of optical and microfabricated sensors to continuously monitor the TIC of the accumulated dust. The information is then transmitted off-board through a reliable ad-hoc wireless network. Called Sensors for Automated Control of Coal Dust (SACCD), this system can potentially, for example, be used to automate the control of rock-dusting equipment to maintain TIC at acceptable levels.

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