Coal Mine Safety Monitoring and Alerting System

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395 -0056
Volume: 04 Issue: 03 | Mar -2017 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072
© 2017, IRJET | Impact Factor value: 5.181 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal | Page 2146
Coal Mine Safety Monitoring and Alerting System
S. R. Deokar1, J. S. Wakode2
1M. E Student, Department of ECE, MIT, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India
2Assistant Professor, Department of ECE, MIT, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India
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Abstract – Today, safety of miners is a major challenge.
Miner’s health and life is vulnerable to several critical issues,
which includes not only the working environment, but also
the after effect of it. To increase the productivity and reduce
the cost of mining along with consideration of the safety of
workers, an innovative approach is required. Coal mine
safety monitoring system based on wireless sensornetwork
can timely and accurately reflect dynamic situationofstaffin
the underground regions to ground computer system and
mobile unit. The air pollution from coal mines is mainly due
to emissions of particulate matter and gases includesulphur
dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide(NO2),carbonmonoxide(CO)
etc. To monitor the concentration level of harmful gases,
semiconductor gas sensors are used. Due to any reason
miner’s falls down and lose consciousness also proper
treatment is not provided them at that time, so number of
miners are died. To overcome this problem the system
provide emergency alert to the supervisor if person fall
down by any reason. Some workers are not aware for safety
and they are not wear helmet. A Limit switch was then used
to successfully determine whether a miner has removed his
helmet or not. This system also provides an early warning,
which will be helpful to all miners present inside themine to
save their life before any casualty occurs. The system uses
Zigbee technology and GSM fortransmissionofdata.Thereis
alert switch at receiver and transmitter side for emergency
purpose.
Key Words: Zigbee, GSM, WSN, Miner Safety, Alert
Switch.
1. INTRODUCTION
The safety issues of coal mines have gradually turned into a
major concern for the society and nation. Since 1900, over
100,000 workers have been killed in coal mines in the U.S.
(Alford, 1980) and many more have been injured and
disabled [1]. Underground coal minersareexposedtoa wide
range of hazards including gas explosions,shiftingrock,falls,
and machinery and mobile equipment accidents [1]. Coal as
an important source of energy in industrial production, it
plays a pivotal role in the national economy. So the miner
safety is very important factor to be considered. Presently
miner have only helmet for purpose of protecting the head.
In this project to develop a smart helmet for monitor the
concentration level of harmful gases and hazardous event of
coal mines and transmit the data to the base station using
Zigbee. To monitor the concentration level of harmful gases
present in coal mine like SO2, NO2, CO etc. the
semiconductor gas sensor are used. We are also considering
the health condition of person using fall detector
accelerometer. The removal of miner helmet is also a
important factor under consideration. The limit switch is
used to detect the miner’s wear the helmet or not. All data is
transmitted from helmet to base station using Zigbee. The
data at receiver side is transmitted on the web using GSM.
Alerting miners in a mine can be a difficult process bearing
in mind the everyday working conditions that are
encountered in a mine. Underground mines are very dark
places and therefore the miners use safety helmets with
attachable mining lights. The equipment used in
underground mines can create a lot of noise and vibrations,
which are compounded by the cramped conditions in the
underground tunnels.Theproblemassociated withthenoise
is that warning a miner with a speaker, alarm, vibration unit
and LED system when a fellow miner is experiencing a
hazardous event would most probably be in vain as the
miner would not hear the alarm. It was therefore decided to
implement a system that will warn the miner by flashing the
mining light a few times. Using this warning method has the
added benefit of using the mining helmet light of the miner
who is experiencing the hazardous event. Flashing the light
constantly simultaneously show who is experiencing the
problem as well as indicate the location of the miner. Also
headphone and speaker are used to send the emergency
message signal.
2. LITERATURE SURVEY
Yongping Wu and GuoFengimplement coal minemonitoring
using the Bluetooth wireless transmission system. As a
standard of unified global short-range wireless
communication, Bluetooth technology is to establish a
common low-power, low-cost wireless air interface and
controlling software opening system. This paper describes
the development background, technical features and the
structure of the protocol stack of Bluetooth technology, and
proposed the solutions of the Bluetooth host controller
interface (HCI) wireless communication for the complexity
of its development [2].
At the same time, the system uses CAN bus technology
maturely, has realizedthecombinationofwiredandwireless
data transmission system. The main difficulty of this system
is that the Bluetooth is short distance wireless technology

and use of cabling is difficult. When a natural calamity or a
roof fall occurred, the cabling is damage. So the reliability
and long life of conventional communication system is poor.
Due to the harsh environment inside the mine, the
installation and maintenance of the wired communication is
very difficult.
Zhenzhen Sun proposed DCS Coal Mine Monitoring System
Based on RS485 Bus, RS485 bus structure supports multi-
point and two-way communication. So, this type of
monitoring system can be developed using common 8-bit
microcontrollers. It has the advantages of simple circuit
structure and low costs. However, due to the adoption of
master-slave structure network, it is difficult to guarantee
the reliability of the network structure. Furthermore, the
data transmission distance is limited with a poor real-time
performance [3-4].
Jingjiang Song, Yingli Zhu proposed automatic monitoring
system for coal mine safety based on wireless sensor
network. This system design monitoring forcoal minesafety
constructed by MSP430F andnRF2401.Thesensorgroupsof
the system intensively monitor temperature, humidity and
other parameters in the underground mine, parameters
measured are sent to wirelesscommunication module bythe
micro-controller. The collected information is sent to long-
distance monitoring center by cable [5]. The problem of this
implementation is that hardware is placed inside the coal
mines, when a natural calamity or a roof fall occurred, the
system is damage. So the reliability and long life of
conventional communication system is poor. Due to the
harsh environment inside the mine, the installation and
maintenance of the system is very difficult. The another
problem is that the working condition of coal mine is very
noisy and if the distance of miner and system is long, miner
not get proper message.
Y ogendra S Dohare and Tanmoy Maity design surveillance
and safety system for underground coal minesbasedonLow
Power WSN. In this system a low power, cost-effective, and
Zigbee protocol basedwirelesssensornetwork thatprovides
an intelligent surveillance and safety system for
underground coal mines. The system consists of wireless
connection of several nodes. This network can be easily
placed in underground mines and it provides an effectively
surveillance and safety system for undergroundcoal miners.
Especially, it provides the real-time data communication
between miners and surface control room through highly
secure, reliable wireless sensor nodes [6]. This system is
placed in mine so problem is created when miner are not in
range of the system. This system only monitor
environmental condition of underground mine but not
monitor the health condition of miner.
Valdo Henriques and Reza Malekian developed Mine Safety
System Using Wireless Sensor Network. This system
describe the design and construction ofa minesafetysystem
prototype using a wireless sensor network with the
objective of building a safety system to monitor the ambient
characteristics of the mining environment. The hardware
consisted of electronic circuitry where a microcontroller is
the principal processing unit. A graphical user interface is
also implemented [7]. While the wireless communication
implemented in this design shows success with
urban/indoor communication, in order to enhance the
system even further, multiple identical sensor nodes could
be introduced. This would turn the master/slave (2 node
star) topology into a mesh network.Byusingtheproprietary
technology from the manufacturer of the Zigbee module
known as DigiMesh a smart mesh network can be
configured. This would allow for a sensor node to be out of
range with the collection node, but as long as that sensor
node can communicate to another sensor node, the data can
be passed along from the end sensor node to the collection
node through intermediary sensor nodes. This would
increase the communication range inside the mine.
Pranjal Hazarika presents implementation of safety helmet
for coal mine workers. This helmet is equipped with
methane and carbon monoxidegassensor.Thissensorsense
the gas and the data is transmitted to the control room
wirelessly, through a wireless module called Zigbee
connected with the helmet. When the methane or carbon-
monoxide gas concentration is beyond the critical level,
controller in the control room triggers an alarm and keeps
the plant and the workers safe by preventing an upcoming
accident [8]. This system does not detecting fall down of the
person and whether the miner’s wear the helmet or not.
Tanmoy Maity and Partha Sarathi Das implement a wireless
surveillance and safety system for mine workers based on
Zigbee. This system addresses a cost-effective, flexible
solution of underground mine workers’ safety. A module of
MEMS based sensors areusedforunderground environment
monitoring and automating progression of measurement
data through digital wireless communication technique is
proposed with high accuracy, smooth control andreliability.
A microcontroller is used for collecting data and making
decision, based on which the mine worker is informed
through alarm as well as voice system. The voice system
with both microphone and speaker transforms into digital
signal and effectively communicate wirelessly with the
ground control center computer. ZigBee, based on IEEE
802.15.4 standard is used for this short distance
transmission between the hardware fitted with the mine
worker and the ground control center [9]. Zigbee is a short
distance wireless communication network so it is not
possible to intimate to responsible authorities who are at
long distance.
3. PROPOSED SYSTEM
The key to controlling coal mine accidents the prediction of
outburst by implementing sensors andmicrocontrollersand
to generate an alarm system before critical atmospheric

level. A continuous monitoring is necessary which again
requires some effectiveandaccuratesensingsystem.Several
technique are adopted to sense the presence of these
poisonous gas, among them use of semiconductor type gas
sensor is very much effective. These sensorscanbemounted
in the coal mine area but some time these create some
problems in mining too. Accidental damage of the sensor
device often took place. Another technique is the use of
robot. These robots are effective but cost of robot is very
high. However, there is another way of getting effective and
low cost solution of sensor implantation; it is on the safety
helmet of the coal mine workers. A smart safety helmet
having sensor array to sense data and a wireless modem to
transmit it.
The helmet is the only safety gear miners tend to keep on,
this is where the new safety equipment wasaddedonto.This
module does all the processing and alsocontrolsthewireless
communicationbetweenseparatehelmets.Thewholesystem
was analyzed throughout thedesign process in ordertokeep
the power consumption to a minimum as the system is
running on battery power.Differentsensorswereconsidered
for eachseparatecomponent inordertokeepthepowerlevel
as low as possible. The system consists of six components,
helmet remove sensor, person fall detection sensor, air
quality sensor, data processing unit, wireless transmission
and alerting unit.
Fig-1: Block diagram of transmitter side of smart helmet
This system has a sensor module consisting of some sensors
that measures real-time underground hazardous condition
like harmful gas concentration, helmet removal and person
fall detection. The semiconductor type sensor MQ7, MQ136
and MICS-2714 monitor the real-time concentration level of
carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide
respectively and send real time data to the base station.
When threshold values of gases exceed the flashing light of
helmet is ON. If miner fall down and lose consciousness, fall
detector made of MEMS- Accelerometer (ADXL 335) are
used to detect the angle of helmet to groundand senddata to
the controller. Controller receive the accelerometer output
and to take necessary decision. If angle exceedtheparticular
limit controller alert to the supervisor. The limit switch is
use to determine presence or absence of object or whether
miner’s remove their helmet or not.
All sensor output is amplifying using amplifier before
transmission of controller. The AVR microcontroller have
inbuilt ADC and fast transmission speed. In system also
provide emergency alert switch on helmet. If miner press
emergency switch for any emergency the emergency
message transmit through Zigbee to base station.
Fig-2: Block diagram of Receiver side of base station
All real time data are received from helmet to the base
station through Zigbee and display on PC. Zigbee is a short
distance wireless communication network so it is not
possible to intimate to responsible authorities who are at
long distance. Meanwhile GSM based wireless sensor
network are investigated due to theirremote environmental
monitoring capabilities. By using GSM based technology we
can make the system based on IOT.
This system provide an alert button so that miners can
directly convey the emergency message to the control room
and also control room convey the alert message to the
miners.
3.1 Gas Sensor
There are three types of gas sensor biometric sensor,
electrochemical sensor and Metal Oxide Semiconductor
sensor. Biometric sensor use gels, which change the colour
after absorbing certain amount of gas. Advantages of
biometric sensor are low cost, low current. The main
disadvantages of biometric sensor are it has highfalsealarm
rate and long recovery after alarm.
AVR
Micro-
controller
Power Supply Reset Circuit
SO2 Sensor
NO2 Sensor
CO Sensor
Limit Switch
Oscillator Circuit
Flashing Light
Alert Switch
Headphone
Memory Card
Zigbee Module
Accelerometer
AVR
Micro-
Controller
Power
Supply
Oscillator
Circuit
Reset
Circuit
Computer
Zigbee
Module
Alert
Switch
GSM

Electrochemical sensor consists of chemical reactance
(electrolytes or gel) and two terminals. Anode is for
oxidization and cathode is for reduction. The advantages of
electrochemical gas sensor are reliability and few field
detection. But it is high sensitive to theammonia cleanerand
costly.
The metal oxide semiconductor sensor work, when tin
dioxide reaches its operating temperature, it is capable of
changing its resistance in the presence of gas. Advantages of
long life span and quick response choose the metal oxide
semiconductor gas sensor.
3.2 Fall Detection Accelerometer
The ADXL335 is a low power, thin, small, complete 3-axis
accelerometer with signal conditioned voltage outputs.
Product processes acceleration with a minimum full-scale
range of ±3 g. They can measure the static acceleration of
gravity in tilt-sensing device, aswell asdynamic acceleration
resulting from vibration, shock, or motion.
3.3 Helmet Removal Sensor
There are two types of Helmet removal sensorlikeIRSensor
and limit switch. The IR Sensor send infra-red light through
IR-LEDs, which is then reflected by any object in front of the
sensor, to use another IR-LED, to detect the IR light that was
emitted from another led of the exact same type. But the
infra-red light is harmful for human and large amount of
false alarm are generate. So use of limit switch is better.
Wireless enabled limit switches can be used for position
sensing and presence or absence detection for an endless
number of applications. The Limitles Series is especially
beneficial for remote monitoring applications where wiring
or wire maintenance is not physically possible or
economically feasible. When object come intocontactwitha
actuator, the device operates the contacts to make or break
an electrical connection
3.4 Wireless Transmission Device
There are mainly three typesofwirelesstransmissiondevice
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Zigbee. Wi-Fi needed cabling
throughout the mine to the router, which can be damage
because of roof fall and some other accident. Bluetooth was
not creating larger mesh network so long distance
communication is not possible.
Zigbee wireless system is chosen because it is low power,
low cost, low maintenance monitoring and control system.
Its signals are able to penetrate walls and work very well in
mines. Its ability to form mesh structure it provide long
distance communication.
To intimate to responsible authorities who are at long
distance. Meanwhile GSMbasedwirelesssensor network are
investigated due to their remote environmental monitoring
capabilities. By using GSM based technology we can make
the system based on IOT.
4. CONCLUSION
A real time monitoring system is developed to provide
clearer and more point to point perspective of the
underground mine. This systemisdisplayingtheparameters
on the monitoring unit; it will be helpful to all miners
present inside the mine to save their life before any casualty
occurs. Alarm triggers when sensor values crosses the
threshold level. This system also stores all the data in the
computer for future inspection.
REFERENCES
[1] Gautam Gowrishankankaran and Charles He, “
Productivity, safety and regulation in underground coal
mining: Evidence from diasters and fatalities,” Arizon
education, March 2017.
[2] Yongping Wu and Guo Feng, “The study on coal mine
monitoring using the Bluetooth wireless transmission
system” , 2014 IEEE Workshop on Electronics,
Computer and Applications, pp. 1016-1018, 2014.
[3] Xiaolong Feng, Jiansheng Qian, Zhenzhen Sun, Xing
Wang, "Wireless Mobile Monitoring System for Tram
Rail Transport in Underground Coal Mine Based on
WMN," cason, pp.452-455, 2010 International
Conference on Computational Aspects of Social
Networks, 2010.
[4] Yi-ming Tian, You-rui Huang, Yi-qing Huang,"Intelligent
Information Processing of WSN Based on Vague Sets
Theory and Applied in Control of Coal Mine
Monitoring,"cccm, vol. 2, pp.649-652, 2008 ISECS
International Colloquium on Computing,
Communication, Control, and Management, 2008.
[5] Jingjiang Song ,YingliZhuandFuzhouDongK,“automatic
monitoring system for coal mine safety based on
wireless sensor network”, IEEE Radio Science and
Wireless Technology Conference, pp.933-936, 2011.
[6] Yogendra S DohareandTanmoyMaity,“surveillanceand
safety system for underground coal minesbasedonLow
Power WSN”, IEEE, pp.116-119, 2014.
[7] Valdo Henriques and Reza Malekian, “ Mine safety
system using wireless sensor network”, IEEE, pp. 1-12,
2016.
[8] Pranjal Hazarika, “implementation of safety helmet for
coal mine workers”, 1st IEEE International Conference
on Power Electronics Intelligent Control and Energy
Systems, pp. 1-3, 2016.
[9] Tanmoy Maity and Partha Sarathi, “A wireless
surveillance and safety system for mine workers based
on Zigbee”, 1st Int’l Conf. on Recent Advances in
Information Technology RAIT-2012

Coal Mine Safety Monitoring and Alerting System

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Coal Mine Safety Monitoring and Alerting System