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New underground soft-rock mining simulation enters coal industry

5th July 2013

By: Sashnee Moodley

Senior Deputy Editor Polity and Multimedia

  

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Specialist simulator manufacturer ThoroughTec Simulation has introduced its range of Cybermine high-fidelity underground soft-rock mining simulation training onto the coal industry for a realistic training experience, with the benefits of improved safety, increased productivity and increased site profitability.

ThoroughTec Global business development executive VP and director Gregory Lew says that mining giant BHP Billiton has placed an order for a simulator from the range, which is used to train mine equipment operators in all aspects of machine functionality and operation, including emergency scenarios and mine-specific operating procedures.

The new range of simulators is based on ThoroughTec’s fourth-generation Cybermine mining simulator systems, which were launched in 2011.

Lew explains that trainees are placed in an accurate replica machine cab, fitted with the necessary controls. The simulating machine projects a realistic mine site on the screens that surround the inside of the machine cab. The operator can learn the mine site’s operating procedures by steering and directing the vehicle in the various tasks it has to perform in an actual mine.

“The equipment simulators create the high-fidelity sensation of driving an actual vehicle in an actual mine using visual, audi- tory and tactile feedback. Instructors can configure training scenarios for specific training objectives – not just generic scenarios, but those specifically faced at the mine site.

“Operators can be exposed to every scenario they could possibly encounter at the mine site, including potentially dangerous emergency situations in a controlled, safe environment,” he states.

The Cybermine soft-rock range includes typical underground coal mining machines, including a continuous miner, a shuttle car, a bolter, a loader and utility vehicles.

Lew adds that underground coal mining simulation will add new training methods and applications to ThoroughTec’s core military-engineering competence.

Users can use existing Cybermine simulator bases with the new cabs and they can switch between underground, surface and, now, also underground soft-rock simulator cabs.

The benefits of integrated simulation training programmes are that mines’ environmental impact, fuel consumption and harmful emissions are reduced, as trainee operators spend less time operating actual machines.

Training costs are also reduced, while the life span of mining equipment is increased.

Simulator Components
The Cybermine mining simulator systems comprise two major components – the base unit and the interchangeable vehicle cab.

The base unit comprises a motion platform capable of either three degrees of freedom (DOF) movement for underground vehicles or six DOF movement for surface vehicles, onto which the interchangeable vehicle cab is fitted.

High-definition projectors realistically display the mine world and the vehicle in operation in a field of view of either 270º or 360º.

For long-term maintenance and life-cycle upgrades, the simulator design uses commercial off-the-shelf (Cots) equipment. The computing segment is constructed from Cots-based computer equipment specifically designed for containerised transport and operation.

The instructor or supervisor can create, initiate, control, monitor, record and evaluate training exercises in an instructor operator station (IOS), which is located at a section of the base.

The IOS uses a standard computer and two wide-screen monitors for full exercise planning, control and feedback. It can also be used as an office area, as it provides connection points at the instructor desk for external local area network, laptop power and telephones.

The containerised base unit is housed in a standard 6 m shipping container and the interior has been designed to provide the most space available and can be used as a mini classroom to accommodate a large number of trainees who can benefit from each training session.

A fixed-facility configuration of the base unit, which caters for a classroom-style environment, is also available. In this case, the base unit is not housed in a container, but is designed to be deployed in an existing or purpose-built building.

ThoroughTec’s research and development executive VP John Waltham says the underground soft-rock project was a challenge in terms of complexity and scale.

“Firstly, in developing the virtual arena and the artificially intelligent electric vehicles that operate in it, we had to model the electric cables that power them. They had to roll and unroll correctly, fall realistically and not be in the way of other vehicles.

“The ventilation system used in underground soft-rock mining was another element of this project that took some time to solve, but the standout challenge was the accurate modelling of the breakout of rock as the continuous miner, a hugely complex machine, cut away at the rock face. I can’t reveal exactly how we accomplished this, but what we achieved is an incredibly realistic replication of the continuous mining process,” he explains.

The Cybermine underground soft-rock mine-world features configurable ventilation systems that have been realistically modelled. Methane detection systems on the vehicles have also been accurately replicated, taking into account the original-equipment manufacturer specifications for the levels at which the alarms are activated on each vehicle.

“Similarly, the pneumatic subsystems used in underground soft-rock mining vehicles for fire prevention have been modelled for realistic operator feedback. A mine visualiser allows a trainee to ‘walk around’ the mine world and observe the mine operation as a whole, including vehicles in operation. The trainee can visually zoom out of the mine site to gain a better understanding of the overall operation of the mine,” Lew says.

Cybermine software also auto- matically identifies operational violations such as speeding, simu- ltaneous braking and accelera- tion as well as incorrect gear selection, to which the instructor can react by guiding the student through corrective action to eliminate these violations and save the mine the costs of unnecessary maintenance bills and prevent hazardous situations.

“The Cybermine range of simulators has been extremely successful in realising productivity gains and safety improvements in the hard-rock underground mining environment and in surface coal mining operations, so it was a rational progression for us to apply these proven training technologies and techniques to the underground soft-rock environment,” says Waltham.

Lew says ThoroughTec’s goal is for Cybermine simulators to have a significant positive impact on the safety and productivity of mining operations and he hopes that these benefits will be extended to underground soft-rock mining operations, making them safer and more profitable, and reducing the negative environmental impact of mining training.

Edited by Megan van Wyngaardt
Creamer Media Contributing Editor Online

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