Method for Underground Mining Shaft Sensor Data Collection.

The motivation behind this research is the lack of an underground mining shaft data set in the literature in the form of open access. For this reason, our data set can be used for many research purposes such as shaft inspection, 3D measurements, simultaneous localization and mapping, artificial intelligence, etc. The data collection method incorporates rotated Velodyne VLP-16, Velodyne Ultra Puck VLP-32c, Livox Tele-15, IMU Xsens MTi-30 and Faro Focus 3D. The ground truth data were acquired with a geodetic survey including 15 ground control points and 6 Faro Focus 3D terrestrial laser scanner stations of a total 273,784,932 of 3D measurement points. This data set provides an end-user case study of realistic applications in mobile mapping technology. The goal of this research was to fill the gap in the underground mining data set domain. The result is the first open-access data set for an underground mining shaft (shaft depth -300 m).

Evaluation of Technical Condition and Durability of Wooden Shaft Guides with Application of Non-Destructive and Semi-Destructive Testing Methods.

This article addresses the issue of the durability of mining shaft equipment elements. Shafts as a transport route are one of the most exploited parts of a mine. Consequently, their components are exposed to high mechanical stresses, which cause the deterioration of their mechanical properties. In the case of shafts with timber components, elements such as the shaft guides are evaluated on a purely macroscopic basis and are often unnecessarily replaced. This paper presents the possibilities for the application of non-destructive methods (ultrasound and laser scanning) and semi-destructive methods (sclerometric and drill resistance tests). The experimental results suggest that it was possible to derive correlations between penetration depth and drill resistance tests with bulk density. However, these tests were not directly correlated with flexural strength. The ultrasound studies did not indicate a significant relationship with the physical or mechanical properties. In contrast, the method of comparing the variation (wear) in the tested guides using 3D laser scanning demonstrated a high accuracy; moreover, this method is independent of factors that may affect the results of penetration depth or drill resistance measurements. The application of non-destructive and semi-destructive tests for the determination of the physical and mechanical properties of timber elements of mine shafts' equipment may enable the detection of a defect earlier or extend the service life of elements, hence limiting the downtime of shaft operation related to the replacement of elements.