Faculty Publications

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://idr.nitk.ac.in/handle/123456789/18736

Publications by NITK Faculty

Browse

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Item
    Evaluation of Whole Body Vibration of Heavy Earth Moving Machinery Operators
    (Springer Nature, 2020) Jeripotula, S.K.; Mangalpady, A.; Raj, G.R.
    Operators of Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM) performing routine tasks in surface mines are highly vulnerable to whole body vibration (WBV) due to their continuous exposure to vibration. In the present study seventeen types of machinery were considered for the evaluation of the operator’s exposure to WBV. The measurements were made by placing the triaxial seat pad accelerometer on operator’s seat-surface as well as at the seat-back. Among these machinery one shovel, two front-end loaders, three drills, one grader and one water sprinkler were found to have RMS values in the severe zone as per ISO2631-1:1997 standards for seat-surface measurements. Similarly, for the seat-back measurements, one front-end loader, two drills, one grader and one water sprinkler were experienced the highest RMS value. For both seat-surface and seat-back measurements, Z-axis (i.e. vertical direction) was found to be a prominent axis for most of the machinery. © 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
  • Item
    A Systematic Review on Implementation of Internet-of-Things-Based System in Underground Mines to Monitor Environmental Parameters
    (Springer, 2024) Naik, A.S.; Kumar Reddy, S.K.; Raj, G.R.
    The automation in the mining industry by adopting Internet of Things (IoT) technology is great potential to improve safety and efficiency. The mining industry is recognized globally for its valuable resources (gold, coal, iron ore, etc.) which are obtained by mining below the surface. The productivity and safety of mine personnel are impacted by several environmental parameters in underground mines, such as toxic gases, flammable gases, elevated levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), and decreased levels of oxygen (O2) concentrations. The presence of these gases is a significant issue and needs to be dealt with suitably. There are various methods to monitor the percentage of gases and provide a suitable course of action in case of an increase in the threshold limit of gases. Each system has its limitations. Wireless monitoring systems are indispensable in underground mines. This paper presents the methodology to adopt IoT in underground mines to measure environmental parameters in underground mine areas, the structure of installation of sensors in underground mines, threshold limits of gases, and underground mine disasters which were caused by gas explosion accidents. Further, it evaluates wireless sensor networks (WSNs) techniques ZigBee and LoRa for underground mines applications. Subsequently, it proposed a real-time industrial safety system in underground mines with its working, effectiveness, and scope are discussed. © The Institution of Engineers (India) 2023.
  • Item
    Evaluation of Whole-Body Vibration (WBV) of Dozer Operators Based on Job Cycle
    (Springer, 2019) Jeripotula, S.K.; Mangalpady, A.; Raj, G.R.
    Dozer operators are frequently exposed to high levels of occupational vibration. So far, no study reported component wise evaluation of dozer cycle of operation. In the present study, WBV data were collected by placing the trial accelerometer at operator’s seat-surface and at seat-back. Frequency-weighted root mean square (RMS), vibration dose value (VDV) and crest factor were collected for each dozer for two phases’ forward motion and return motion. All the dozers under study were found to be in severe zone with respect to measured RMS, during forward motion and return motion, irrespective of type of measurements (i.e., seat-surface and seat-back). As per VDV, out of eight dozers three dozers were found to be in caution zone during forward motion and three in return motion. According to EU Directive 2002 (as per RMS), all the dozers under study have reported exposure action value above 0.5 m/s2. Further, out of eight dozers, four dozers have shown exposure limit value above 1.15 m/s2 for seat-surface measurements and three dozers for seat-back measurements. Vibration mitigation strategies should be adapted not just based on intensity of vibration but also with respect to dominant axis of vibration. Considering the severe health risk due to the translational vibration (i.e., in x-direction), the vibration risk in the forward x-direction can be reduced by using seat belt; similarly in rear x-direction it can be attenuated by placing lumber-assisted back rest. © 2019, The Institution of Engineers (India).
  • Item
    Assessment of Exposure to Whole-Body Vibration of Dozer Operators Based on Postural Variability
    (Springer, 2020) Jeripotula, S.K.; Mangalpady, A.; Raj, G.R.
    The main aim of this work is to evaluate whole-body vibration (WBV) of dozer operators based on three sitting postures (i.e., with 15° lean forward inclination posture, vertically erect posture with no inclination, and with 15° lean backward inclination posture) in Indian surface coal mines. A seat pad tri-axial accelerometer was used to collect WBV data from six dozer operators for three different sitting postures. Results showed that except for Dozer-1, 2, 4, and 5 operators during lean forward sitting posture and Dozer-4 operator during vertical erected posture, no other dozer operators have exceeded an exposure limit value (ELV) of 1.15 m/s2 in any of the considered sitting postures. Similarly, the vibration dose value (VDV) based on exposure action value (EAV) of 9.1 m/s1.75 has surpassed for all the dozers. But no dozer operator has exceeded an exposure limit value of 21 m/s1.75. The outcome of the study infers that based on “above health guidance caution zone (HGCZ)” for daily vibration exposure, i.e., A(8) measurements, for the operator sitting in lean backward postures the vibration amplification was reduced by 32.89% less compared with lean forward posture and 16.23% less when compared with vertically erected posture. Similarly, based on VDV(8), the exposure to vibration for the lean backward posture was reduced by 33.34% when compared with lean forward posture and 17.11% less when compared with vertically erected posture. Based on the above observation, it is concluded that lean back inclination with a trunk flexion of 15° is a favorable sitting posture, as it exposes the dozer operators to minimum vibration. © 2020, Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration Inc.