Faculty Publications
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Item Reliability, availability and maintainability (RAM) investigation of Load Haul Dumpers (LHDs): a case study(Springer, 2022) Balaraju, B.; Raj, G.R.; Murthy, S.M.Load Haul Dumpers (LHDs) are prominent equipment employed for transportation operations in many of the underground mines. This equipment often suffers from frequent breakdowns due to a variety of technical and managerial practices resulting in increased maintenance costs and loss of production and productivity. Reliability, Availability and Maintainability (RAM) analysis deal with the optimal functioning of equipment, maintenance scheduling, controlling cost, and improvement of availability and performance. Keeping this in view, the current study focused on the estimation of the performance of the equipment using RAM investigation. The required failure and repair data of LHDs were collected from field investigations. Graphical analyses using Trend and serial correlation tests and analytical analysis using Statistic-U test were conducted to validate the Independent and Identical Distribution (IID) nature of the data sets. Based on the above tests, the Renewal Process was adopted to carry out the RAM analysis. The best-fit approximation of datasets was selected by performing the Kolmogorov–Smirnov (K–S) test. In addition to that, the reliability-based Preventive Maintenance time intervals were estimated to improve the percentage of reliability. © 2021, The Society for Reliability Engineering, Quality and Operations Management (SREQOM), India and The Division of Operation and Maintenance, Lulea University of Technology, Sweden.Item Development of a Reliable Wireless Communication System to Monitor Environmental Parameters from Various Positions of Underground Mines to the Surface using ZigBee Modules(Springer, 2024) Kumar Reddy, S.K.; Naik, A.S.; Raj, G.R.The mining industry is known for its valuable minerals, and the way to get minerals is by mining below the surface. Many industries benefitted by adopting automation which has improved workplace operational management, enhanced safety, real-time monitoring, and cost-effectiveness. On the basis of challenges in underground mines, a reliable wireless communication and monitoring system is required in underground mines to enhance safety and prevent major hazards. Underground mine environments are affected by various environmental parameters such as toxic gases, flammable and inflammable gases, and dust. The variation in the presence of harmful gases is a major issue that causes gas explosions and damages the mine infrastructure. Currently, most underground mines adopted conventional multi-gas detectors to monitor mine gases manually at regular intervals or once a day. In this paper, a real-time data communication system to monitor mining parameters based on wireless ZigBee modules is established and evaluated in two different underground mines in India. A wireless message communication establishment process between two ZigBee modules is described in detail, and an investigation of radio range tests by measuring received signal strength indication (RSSI) parameters is carried out in the first underground mine site at level 3 with consideration of 10-m intervals apart at each test for the straight tunnel case. In addition, wireless communication is established to monitor the environmental parameters of underground mine levels to the surface. Further, established wireless communication to monitor the environmental parameters of the straight and curved tunnels of a second underground mine. The experimental result represents successful wireless communication between ZigBee modules with a distance of 100 m to 120 m in straight tunnels and a reduction in signal strength and data packet loss in curved tunnels of underground mines. In addition, the results show that the developed ZigBee-based system is suitable for measuring environmental parameters in open surface and underground mines. © The Institution of Engineers (India) 2023.