Automatic Material and Boundary Layer Detection During the Process of Mining on a Bucket Wheel Excavator

摘要

Economically effi cient mining processes can be signifi cantly assisted by the implementation ofrnsensor technologies for the detection of materials and boundary layers between materials inside thernstratum. These sensors are meant to facilitate the machinery operator and illustrate furthermorernthe prerequisites in assisting tools towards fully automated mining equipment. Therefore, projectrn‘Sensory Identifi cation of Material Type and Detection of the Interfaces’ (SIMT) aims at thernintegration of ground penetrating radar (GPR) and geoelectric sensor technology by endowing withrnthem a bucket of a bucket wheel excavator. For this reason, a sensor bucket was developed andrntested in the Inden Mine of RWE Power AG. The feasibility of integration and deployment of suchrnsensor technology has been proven effective for the conditions of open cast mining. The main focusrnof current research lies on developing algorithms to analyse the acquired measurement data fromrnthe sensors to automatically detect layers and materials. A computer network receives the GPR andrngeoelectric measurement data as well as the positioning data of the sensor bucket. The positioningrndata mainly consists of GPS and encoder information, which is merged with the sensor data byrnusing the UTC time stamp. With the aid of consecutive processes the relevant information will bernextracted and provided to the user. The aim of SIMT is to replace material identifi cation, traditionallyrncarried out by the operator, by implementing a continuous operating interpretation system in miningrnequipment based on GPR and geoelectric sensor technology, resulting in more detailed informationrnregarding the working face during an excavation. This detailed information provides an opportunityrnfor effi cient planning and controlling of selective mining of natural deposits, such as the process ofrnlignite mining.