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The NIOSH LED cap lamp uses multiple LEDs as the primary light source for better illumination distribution.
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Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) have developed an LED cap lamp that significantly improves illumination in underground mines, thereby enhancing safety by reducing injuries to miners. Providing better illumination underground improves a miner’s ability to see and avoid potential hazards in the mine (s...
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... II of the research focused on changing the distribution of light to increase visibility of the mine fl oor and of moving machinery. A single light source, along with a refl ector to direct light to a circular spot, provides the typical lighting distribu tion from an LED cap lamp (see Figure 1, Left). This spot beam creates a tunnel vision eff ect that limits peripheral visibility of moving machinery. With this in mind, NIOSH designed a cap lamp using multiple LEDs as the primary light source (see Figure 2), along with secondary totally internal refl ection optics that distribute the light to specific hazardous areas within the mine (see Figure 1, Right). The cap lamp beam distribution and intensity are software controlled, enabling the fl exibility of matching the cap lamp lighting to the worker's task via a push button selection of various lighting modes (see Figure ...
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The detection and evaluation of concealed mineral resources deep in metallic mines and in the surrounding areas remain technically difficult. In particular, due to the complex topographic and geomorphic conditions on the surface, the detection environments in these areas limit the choices of detection equipment and data collection devices. In this...
Citations
... Unlike traditional lights the intensity of LED does not fail catastrophically, rather their light power gradually decreases with time; known as lumen maintenance. The LED technology potentially enhances miner's visual capability while being underground, improves communicating signals and warnings, calls for less power, and minimizes exposure to maintenance related hazards (Reyes et al. 2011;Martell et al. 2017). ...
A novel, white light-emitting diode structure with improved thermal characteristics is designed for providing efficient light which may be used especially in the underground mining environment. It describes a new nano hafnium oxide-silica doped silicone layer as LED encapsulation material that promises enhanced efficiency by 30.1% and reduced efficiency droop of 0.491%. The enhanced power and efficiency of the LED with HfO2/SiO2 doped bi-layer are attributed to the significant minimization of overflow of electrons which is fundamentally responsible for efficiency degradation through p-GaN region. In this article encapsulant material based on nano HfO2/SiO2 not only enhances light extraction but opens a broad new range of encapsulant engineering capabilities composites. Our designed LED is generated from a monolithic composition of blue and yellow spectrum which eventually creates the white light. This minimizes the problems related to multiple numbers of LEDs, green gap and phosphor color rendering.
... Unlike traditional lights, the intensity of LED does not fail catastrophically, rather their light power gradually decreases with time; known as lumen maintenance. The LED technology potentially enhances miner's visual capability while being underground, communicating signals and warnings, calls for less power, and minimizes exposure to maintenance related hazards [6], [7]. ...
A novel, white light-emitting diode structure with improved thermal characteristics is designed for providing efficient light which may be used especially in the underground mining environment. It describes a new nano-hafnium oxide-silica based LED encapsulation material that promises enhanced package LED efficiency by 29.05% and indicates a reduction in the efficiency droop (0.491%). The enhanced power and efficiency of the LED with HfO2/SiO2-doped bi-layer are attributed to the significant minimization of overflow of electrons which is fundamentally responsible for efficiency degradation through p-GaN region. In this article encapsulant material based on nano- HfO2/SiO2 not only enhances light extraction but opens a broad new range of encapsulant engineering capabilities composites. Our designed LED is generated from a monolithic composition of blue and yellow spectrum which eventually creates the white light. This minimizes the problems related to multiple numbers of LEDs, green gap and phosphor color rendering.
So long as the natural resources are available below the ground, mining operations will continue. However, mining is not an easy task and the challenges faced by miners are enormous. One of the major problems is effective forecasting and mitigating the disasters, either caused by natural or by manmade factors. The disasters in the mines include fire, explosion, inundation, electrocution, roof collapse, ground-caving. Compared to the open cast mines, the underground mines are more vulnerable to mining accidents. Every year hundreds of miners die due to various mining accidents including leakage of poisonous gases, explosion of combustible natural gases such as methane, or malfunctioning of mining equipment. Disaster management is a multi-disciplinary task in which, involvement of policy makers is important. Nevertheless, on-site mining operations need careful monitoring, proper ergonomic considerations in workplace design, and a quick medical response system. The important objective of mine management is to prepare all the stakeholders for the worst-case scenario. Accidents are inevitable; however, they can be minimized, the damage can be controlled, and injuries could be prevented. During emergencies, a quick response can be assured by periodically conducting mock drills, awareness seminars and training, and quick availability of medical aid. Moreover, proper communication of workers in the hazard-prone areas and self-rescue techniques for miners would be immensely helpful to ensure safe mining. The real-time location-based analysis, GIS mapping, dust monitoring, remote sensing advanced techniques have a significant advantage in the prevention of mining disasters. Certain guidelines have been prepared by the policy makers which are useful to minimize disaster. The research and development activities are being conducted to provide better technology-oriented instruments in mining for a smoother and safe mine environment with low-risk operations.KeywordsMiningDisasterControlPrevention strategiesGIS mappingRemote sensing
