Positioning Accuracy of the Shearer Based on a Strapdown Inertial Navigation System in Underground Coal Mining

Abstract

Automation and intelligent coal mining comprise the most important fields in coal mining technology research. The key to automation and intelligent coal mining is the automated mining of the working face, and accurate positioning of the shearer is one of the most important technologies in the automated mining process. However, significant defects in non-inertial navigation system (INS)-based methods have led to low positioning accuracy. In this paper, we propose a new shearer positioning technology to further improve the positioning accuracy of the shearer and monitor the shearer position in real time. The shearer positioning system proposed is based on the strapdown inertial navigation system (SINS). We conducted shearer positioning experiments with gyroscopes, accelerometers, and other inertial navigation instruments. The experimental results are thoroughly studied on the basis of error compensation techniques such as inertial instrument zero bias compensation and Kalman filter compensation. Compared with traditional shearer positioning technology, the experimental results show that the shearer positioning system based on SINS can achieve more accurate positioning of the shearer and can accurately reflect the running characteristics of the shearer working the mining face.

Application of an Automated Top Coal Caving Control System: The Case of Wangjialing Coal Mine

“…The inertial navigation system, which ensures seamless operation and provides realtime precise positioning, is crucial in the shearer and serves as the fundamental basis for determining the need to implement hydraulic support actions in automated coal caving control [15]. The mutual positional relationship between the shearer and hydraulic support is determined through real-time positioning.…”

“…Estimating the duration of top coal caving requires one to accurately measure the actual thickness of the top coal in the pre-coal-caving phase [13,14]. Additionally, the real-time perception of the shearer's operating posture and position is crucial in determining whether the coal cave opening of the hydraulic support is opened [15,16]. The primary issue during top coal caving lies in accurately monitoring and analyzing the flow field of coal gangue while also predicting the optimal timing for closing the coal cave opening [17,18].…”

Experimental study on shearer traction vibration considering attitude disturbances

“…With the aid of motion constraints and the magnetometer, Yan et al [ 21 ] improved the stability and robustness of the shearer navigation system, and the navigation accuracy was improved by more than 70%. To improve the accuracy of the shearer positioning, Wu et al [ 22 ] analyzed the shearer vibration and proposed an error correction method of the inertial navigation system, which effectively suppressed the impact of the vibration on the shearer positioning accuracy. By integrating the inertial guidance technology and fiber optic sensing technology, Feng et al [ 23 ] constructed a spatial position relationship model between the hydraulic support, scraper and shearer, achieving a collaborative perception of the attitude among the three equipment.…”

A Segmented Cross-Correlation Algorithm for Dynamic North Finding Using Fiber Optic Gyroscopes

“…Directional information is crucial for establishing coordinate systems in engineering and indicating relative positions in geographic space. North finding, a technique employed to detect and calculate azimuth [ 1 , 2 ], plays a pivotal role in this context. Various methods exist for north-finding [ 3 , 4 , 5 ], with the inertial north-finding approach being the most widely utilized.…”