Wireless sensors for automated control of total incombustible content (TIC) of dust deposited in underground coal mines

Abstract

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.

Simulation of Truck Haulage Operations in an Underground Mine Using Big Data from an ICT-Based Mine Safety Management System

“…In a mine safety management system, a wireless network environment is built within an underground mine [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. The system tracks equipment and worker locations in real time and monitors the mine operational environment [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. Commercial mine safety management systems include Mine Site Technologies' IMPACT [27], Strata's STRATACONNECT™ [28], Becker Mining Systems' MineView ® [29], and ORBCOMM's Real-time Location System [30].…”

Study on aerodynamic performance of mine air duct horizontal axis wind turbine based on breeze power generation

“…With the rapid development of wireless communication and sensor technology, wireless sensor networks are widely used in the field of coal mines to meet the needs of intelligent coal mines 1‐4 . However, unlike other areas, the mine working face is an environment that develops dynamically with the mining progress, and the wireless nodes can only run on batteries.…”

“…With the rapid development of wireless communication and sensor technology, wireless sensor networks are widely used in the field of coal mines to meet the needs of intelligent coal mines. [1][2][3][4] However, unlike other areas, the mine working face is an environment that develops dynamically with the mining progress, and the wireless nodes can only run on batteries. Once the nodes are arranged, due to the poor environment, the sensor cannot replace the battery, which leads to the short life of wireless network and reduces the practicability of the wireless sensor network in the coal mine.…”

Wireless Sensing for Monitoring of Coal Gangue Mixing Based on PT Symmetry

“…Wireless sensors as the functional devices, which can be used for non-contact continuous operation in harsh or closed environments where wired connections are not possible, because they do not require internal power sources [6], [7]. For coal mining industry, most wireless sensors are used to monitor underground environmental parameters [8], such as mine gases [9], [10], temperature [11] and dust [12]. There is almost no monitoring of the mixing ratio of coal gangue during the top coal caving process.…”