JSC Scientific Innovation Engineering Center Radius RUSSIA, KRASNOYARSK CITY Work safety in mining industry and the efficient work of mines directly depends on the facilities of the underground communication systems used. Many mines are equipped only with a telephone and it is the only communication facility for a miner if he needs to contact the surface. Such a limited facility makes it difficult to organize and to control technological process, especially in the underground environment. Miners are located far from each other inside the mine, though the telephones and communication base stations are located only in the loading and unloading points, in distribution chambers, near the grooves and in special emergency places, all these places are far from working faces. It takes time to call a miner and in many cases it is even impossible to do it. In this situation mining companies start to invest into modernization of out-of-date communication systems, and the most important thing to take into consideration is miner s work safety. High accident rate and on-the-job injury rate has made a job of a miner one of the most hazardous and therefore not popular jobs. Nowadays mining companies managers are seeking for a new multifunctional safety system, which can meet not only the safety requirements, but the requirements of process engineering. JSC Scientific Innovation Engineering Center Radius has been developing communication systems for underground works since 1980. At present our company successfully produces the underground wireless troughthe-earth communication system Radius-2, which includes the functions of emergency warning, personal call, tracking and search of the trapped miners inside the mine. Our company is developing a new system Radius-3, which allows to transmit the information from the underground refuges, rescue chambers and emergency sites to the surface directly through the earth without using of underground cables, wireless base stations, repeaters or other underground equipment. 1 из 9
I. INTRODUCTION OF RADIUS-2 SYSTEM (serial production) Radius-2 system is intended to fulfill the safety requirements for coal and metal mines. Radius-2 is based on the technology of wireless through-the-earth communication, so it provides the guaranteed warning of all the mining personnel, rapid search and rescue of the victims after the accident. There are two wireless technologies integrated in one system (TTE and RFID), which provide the following functions: warning, alerting, administration, calling, tracking, searching and rescuing. RADIUS-2 SYSTEM S STRUCTURE 2 из 9
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Radius-2 system consists of the ground and underground equipment. 1. Ground equipment has a general purpose explosion protection level. Ground equipment includes: Transmitter Control and match unit Antenna feeder server Dispatcher s workplace, engineer s workplace and lamp room 2. Underground equipment has PO explosion proof level. Underground equipment includes. New generation of miner s cap lamp with embedded emergency signals\ personal call receiver, RFID tag and SOS signals transmitter. RFID tag readers Handheld searching device for the rescuer Fiber-optic communication line RADIUS-2 SYSTEM MAIN FUNCTIONS 1. Warning and alerting Ground control center analyze the signals, received from different in-mine sensors in real-time mode. If there is a possible risk of an accident, a dispatcher warns all the underground workers or a group of them (regardless of their location) using Radius- 2 system control board. Signal passes through the earth to the receivers embedded into the cap lamps. Then the signal is transformed to the light, sound or voice signal to warn the miner about the hazard. 2. Administration Simultaneously with the warning, a dispatcher can guide the underground workers to take safety measures as required according to the plan of emergency actions and to 4 из 9
prevent the accident or minimize the damage. Also he can manage the evacuation and rescuing of the workers. 3. Personal call Miners are spread along the mine, but telephones and base stations are located in special places, usually far from the working areas. Using Radius-2 system control panel you can call the miner to reach the telephone to talk with a dispatcher. This function improves the organization process and efficiency of management. 4. Tracking The tracking system is a subsystem of Radius-2. There is a RFID tag embedded into the miner s cap lamp together with a receiver. To record the working time there are tag readers at the cap lamp s pick up point. When a worker takes a cap lamp, the identification code is read from the tag and this data is recorded to the database automatically. To follow the location of miners readers are installed in underground working areas and are connected with fiber-optic communication line. Using radio-frequency software components, the system can automatically identify and control the location of miners, their working area and follow the miners in real-time mode. In normal conditions the system can improve the efficiency of mining administration, and in case of emergency can provide necessary information to the rescue team about the location of the miners, so they can be rescued as fast as possible. 5. Search and rescue. I case of emergency if a miner was trapped behind the blockage personal devices are switched to the SOS signals transmitting mode. Dispatcher switches on the trapped miner s SOS transmitter from the Radius-2 control board. Rescuers use their handheld searching devices to search for the trapped miner. These searching devices are tuned to the relevant searching frequency and can detect the miner s location through the earth with the thickness of blockage up to 40 meters. Searching system provides the fine search, so the miner can be rescued as fast as possible. This can be crucial for life saving in case of emergency. 5 из 9
RADIUS-2 SYSTEM TECHNICAL DATA п/п 1. Name of the device Values The transmitter (transmits signal through the earth) 1.1. Output power 1,25; 2,5; 5,0; 10; 15 kilowatt 1.2. Supply voltage 220, 380V (50Hz) 1.3. The depth of the Above 1000 m warning/personal call signal transmission through the earth 1.4. Signal transmission coverage Above 10 km along the mine field 1.5. Number of call targets Not less than 1024 ( is determined by the client) 1.6. Types of the call - all call (all of the miners are called at the same time) - group call (the group of miners is called at the same time) - personal call (only one miner is called) 1.7. Frequency Superlow frequencies 1.8. Working temperature range +10ºС - +40ºС 1.9. Dimensions 19 inch box 1.10. Software Radius software 1.11. Antenna feeder Single-wire electrical line, grounded at the ends: Can be located along the axes of the mine field or can be configured as a loop and installed at the perimeter of warning area 2. Rescuer s searching device 2.1. Supply voltage 6 V 6 из 9
2.2. Power consumption 0,2 W 2.3. Working temperature range +2ºС - +50ºС 2.4. Detecting distance through the 40 m blockage 2.5. Detecting distance in open 80 m underground working areas 2.6. Search accuracy 1 m 2.7. Frequency Low frequency 2.8. Dimensions 250х130х55 mm 2.9. Weight 1 kg 2.10. Explosion proof mark PO ExiaI 2.11. Exposure protection IP 54 3. Tag readers 3.1. Software Radius software 3.2. Active tags reading distance 40 m 3.3. Passive tags reading distance 0,4-0,7 m 3.4. Mine power network supply 127V, 36V voltage 3.5. Frequency High frequency 3.6. Output level 10 Дб 4. The receiver (warning, tracking, search) 4.1. Type of the warning signal - Miner s cap lamp code blinking - Voice messages about the situation in the mine (including methane warning) -Sound signal 4.2. Working voltage 3,6V 4.3. Power consumption Max 39 milliwatt 4.4. Explosion proof mark ExibI U 4.5. Frequency Superlow, low and high 4.6. The depth of SOS signal 40 m transmission through the earth 4.7. Dimensions 88х34х14 mm 4.8. Weight 42 g 7 из 9
1. Through the earth transmission - no wires - no repeaters or retransmitters - only one transmitter needed INNOVATIONS OF THE «RADIUS 2» SYSTEM - entire coverage of the whole mine field - transmission to any depth - transmission to the portable devices - reliability and safety of the system - easy operation - high efficiency - system can work before, during and after the accident - Miner s cap lamp with voice messages - voice warnings - Search of the trapped miners - SOS signals transmitter embedded into the miner s cap lamp SOS transmitter Value: characteristics: Weight 7 g Dimensions 56х9 mm Power consumption 10 mа Frequency Searching frequencies meet the international and Russian standards - tiny dimensions of the SOS transmitter - low power consumption - SOS transmission up to 40 m through the earth 8 из 9
II. RADIUS-3 SYSTEM (IN DEVELOPMENT) All over the world the best specialists try to develop through the earth communication system which can provide two-way communication and signal transmission from the underground mine to the ground control center in case of emergency or after the accident (fire, collapse, breakage of the power line, telephone and other types of wireless communication). In 2011 JSC Scientific Innovation Engineering Center Radius started to develop the underground two-way wireless emergency communication system Radius-3. At present we have successfully finished the research, produced the prototype unit and tested it in a mine. The test has shown the ability of this system to transmit the signal up to 700 meters through the earth. This system provides reliable communication channel for miners, which cannot be destroyed during the accident. The underground transmitter s dimensions are so small, that it can be easily installed in the limited space of the underground mine (in rescue chambers, refuges, emergency communication points). 9 из 9