Communication of Sensor Data in Underground Mining Environments: An Evaluation of Wireless Signal Quality over Distance

Abstract

The technologies of the fourth industrial revolution have the potential to make zero harm possible for the first time in the history of mining. In the journey toward zero harm, rock stress monitoring systems are important for the risk management process. Although communication systems for underground mining have improved significantly over the past two decades, it remains difficult to achieve reliable-all-the-time wireless communication in ultra-deep level underground mines. The aim of this study is to explore and test a smart phone network for communicating sensor data from the underground production environment to the surface. In this paper, the evaluation and performance over distance of a wireless communication system is performed in underground mining environments. The wireless system transmits the data collected from a sensor installed in a narrow reef stope, horizontal tunnel, and vertical shaft area of a mock underground mine. The evaluation was performed using the received signal strength of a mobile receiver over distance. The path loss coefficients of the underground mining environment were then derived for the measurement areas. The results show that a communication speed of 80 Mbps was achieved in a 60 m range, thus, indicating the potential for the support of applications requiring higher data rates.