Robotic Mining and Optic Fibre in Petroleum Engineering

1
Robotic Mining and Optic Fibre in Petroleum
Engineering
2
Robotic Mining
3
With advance in technology in the mining
industry, most modern mines are becoming more
mechanised. In 1996, Mining Automation Program
(MAP), a joint venture research project between
Inco Limited, Tamrock OY, Dyno Explosives Group
and CANMET was formed. The idea behind this
program was to mechanise the mining equipment and
systems to see whether the mining of an orebody
can be accomplished without human interaction.
In particular, the area of interest consists of
- Underground telecommunications, -
Positioning Navigation, - Process
engineering, monitoring control systems -
Mining equipment.
4
Underground Telecommunication

• Advance in communication technology is what made
  robotic mining program
• possible. Creation of this communication system
  came from some straightforward
• concepts, as follows
• Entire radio spectrum is available to underground
  mining because the rock in the mine shields
  surface radio communication systems from any
  interference.
• Manufacturing concepts can apply to mining if a
  high capacity radio-based network existed.
• The needs of future underground mining would be
  to provide control systems that allow remote
  operation of mining equipment and systems.
  Remote operation requires operators to have their
  senses available. These senses are (hearing,
  smelling, touching, and tasting.)
• Conceptually, the communication system is simple.
  The main part of the system
• is a CATV (Computer Aided TV) cable system for
  the transmission of high-speed
• voice, data and video. Linked to this are
  microDAT (Distributed Antenna
• Translators). MicroDat allow the radio
  transmission of voice, data and video.

5
Position and Navigation

• Unlike the automotive industry, which is
  investigating global positioning systems (GPS) as
  a navigational aid in new vehicles, the mining
  industry cannot use GPS because it is not
  practical to use satellite signals below earths
  surface.
• Investigation is underway for the potential use
  of gyroscopes and magnetic electronic compasses
  to locate the position of underground vehicles.
  By developing the process control systems with
  the new positioning software, a central computer
  will be able to control many functions in the
  automated mining operation.
• Some of the issues to be resolved in this field
  are
• Can a positioning system to do the job be
  obtained or developed that will work in an
  underground mine?
• Is the positioning system able to work in the
  mine environment?
• What accuracy is required of this type of
  positioning system for use in underground
  mining?
• When a positioning system is found/developed
  how will we need to use it to enable robotic
  mining
• One product that has a high potential for the
  future use is a system under development by
  Honeywell and the former United States Bureau of
  Mines. Although expensive, this system may prove
  to be reliable and accurate for underground
  mining purposes.

6
Process Engineering, Monitoring Control Systems

• Process engineering, monitoring and control
  systems are what keep the robotic mine together.
  The interweaving of engineering, monitoring and
  control information is commonplace in
  manufacturing. Although the function of each is
  distinctly separate, yet they need to be highly
  interactive.
• Tamrock, Inco and Dyno have been working
  independently on the software. Establishment had
  been made for the technical directions of the
  project. The core systems interactively
  communicate with strategic tools and strategic
  systems.
• The mine specific systems will interact with
  business systems.
•  
• The core system that all mining software needs to
  interact with includes data repository, mapping
  and 3D modelling systems, machine control systems
  and mine network managment. The core systems
  will communicate with strategic systems and
  strategic tools via configuration management.
  Strategic systems and tools include surveying
  robotic sensing, ore estimation and blasting
  design. In turn the strategic tools and systems
  will interact through translators to business
  systems such as financial accounting and
  inventory managment.

7
Mining equipment

• LHD Automation
• LHD (Load Haul Dump) automation application
  provides Remote Teleoperation. Remote
  teleoperation is a branch in Telemining.
  Telemining is the use of current state-of-the-art
  technology, including underground communications,
  positioning, process engineering, monitoring and
  control systems, to operate mining equipment and
  system. It greatly increases safety of
  underground mining and improves productivity and
  working conditions.
• In Remote teleoperation, a remote operator runs
  multiple machines-LHDs or trucks, in a safe,
  confined and comfortable space of a cabin that
  could be located on the surface of an underground
  mine. From the control station, the operator can
  control the load, haul and dump action of an LHD
  or truck. In the control station the operator is
  provided with hand and foot controls, to operate
  the LHD. They are also provided with real-time
  TV screen and audio, to see and hear what is
  going on down the mine.
• A specially designed control system for the LHD
  is the Autonomous Guidance. This system allows
  the autonomous operation of the LHD or truck, by
  executing the operators tramming instructions.
  The machine then trams to and from the dump/load
  sites automatically, allowing the operator to
  control the loading or dumping of another LHD or
  truck.
•  

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The benefits which remote teleoperation offers
are        One operator can operate multiple
LHDs or trucks.        Decreased personnal
travel time to/from excavation levels       
Improved quality of work for miners.       
Increases safety since the control station can be
located above ground.        Reduces operating
errors.  Remote DrillingRemote drill provides
live video of one or more existing drills with
pan/tilt/zoom/focus of the picture through camera
controls provided for the remote operator.From
the control station at or near the surface, an
operator can observe the drilling actions of one
or more existing, electrically controlled drills.
The Camera control pod on Remote drill
application can be operated by the operator to
pan/tilt/zoom and focus with a flick of a switch.
Once drilling of one drill is completed, the
operator can turn his/her attention to another
drill.A specially designed control system allows
for remote control and operation of multiple
cameras, which enable the operation of the drills
by a remote operator. Using the combined speed
and bandwidth of broadband cabling and the
Multiple Access Video (MAV) control system, the
operator can operate the drill at maximum safety
and efficiency.
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Conclusion

• Robotic mining technology and techniques offer
  many positive benefits and some unique
  engineering challenges. Current mining
  techniques are typically determined by the nature
  of the rock mass and the ability to remove ore at
  rates that allow a mine to be profitable.
  Introducing robotic mining techniques that speed
  up this process puts new emphasis on the need to
  have more sophisticated tools to measure the
  impact of faster removal rates both in terms of
  risk and reward. When considering deep mining,
  robotic mining techniques offer the potential to
  reduce opening size, facilitate the move to more
  selective techniques and continue to reduce costs
  so the operations can remain profitable.
• The technique being developed over the next five
  years in MAP will change the way mining is done.
  In essence the mining industry is moving to the
  verge of Virtual Mining.

10
References

•  
• Automated Mining Systems, 1999 Online, accessed
  9/4/02. URL
• http//www.robominer.com
• Baiden G.R, Strom R Preston C, 2000 Mining
  Automation Program, 2000 Online, accessed
  5/4/02. URL http//www.incoltd.com/about/telemi
  ning/baiden.html.

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Optical Fibre in
Petroleum Engineering
12
With the growth in telecommunications, cable TV
and the Internet, optical fibre has become a part
of everyday life. However, the use of optical
fibre in the petroleum industry has been
restricted to applications supporting technology
that cannot operate with standard electrical
communication (Wright 2000, p. 1)A recent
study (Wright 2000) has shown that, presently,
the offshore industry uses subsea fibre optic
systems to provide communication where high
levels of electrical noise disturbance prevents
the use of copper-based communication. It is
also use for access to optical sensors for both
subsea and downhole, for communication with
sensor systems providing continuous real-time
data.
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CommunicationIn the past, electrical for subsea
control and data acquisition has been limited to
about 1,200 bit/sec.Today, optical fibre is a
proven technology for transoceanic communication
it can provide the offshore oil industry with
gigabit communication bandwidth. 2.5
Gigabyte/second is an equivalent of 32,000
telephone at one time (George 1999, p.1).
Optical fibres will provide offshore oil
production platforms with the infrastructure for
high volume, high-speed voice data, and video
capabilities. It will offer offshore platforms
services such as video conferencing, high speed
internet access and virtual private networks.
 When optical fibre replaces copper umbilical
the building and installation cost is reduced
significantly. This is due to a large reduction
in umbilical cross-section. Construction saving
arises from the reduction in cross section in the
umbilical core that comes from removal of
multiple copper communication wires and their
replacement by one or two fibre elements. This
saving is further reduced due to the reduction of
armouring needed for the smaller core.Reduced
installation costs come from the decreased cross
section and weight per unit length of the
umbilical, and therefore the maximum length that
can be installed in one piece.
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Subsea productionDevelopment of subsea
production technologies such as multiphase
pumping, have for the first time made possible to
take high power machinery subsea. The electrical
noise disturbance around these machineries
creates conditions that are not practical for
conventional electrical communication to operate.
However, with the fibre optics this problem is
solved.  The next step for fibre optic
technology is to move downhole (Wright 2000). In
this environment, it could be use to measure
effects such as        Position and movements
(Fibre gyroscopes)        Acoustics (Fibre
hydrophones)        Chemicals and
reactions        Electrical supply
characteristics Fibre optics will be used to
provide high bandwidth, electrical noise immune,
environmentally stable communication with
multiplexed sophisticated subsea and downhole
equipment. The fibre will be connected to a
range of optical sensor heads, enabling them to
measure temperature, pressure, flow, and
vibration (Wright 2000, p.4).Fibre optics is
already in use to measure temperature gradient in
land-based wells. This technology can be use to
monitor continuous pipeline temperature from the
well to the platform and hence it can provide
early warning of waxing or hydrate formation or
monitoring of pipeline temperature change during
a shut-in.
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Environmental applicationsOptic fibres offer
greater advantages over electrical conductors for
durability in the subsea and downhole
environments. In case of water leakage through a
copper conductor, there would be an immediately
failure in communication. However, an optical
fibre system would not experience any immediate
changes in performance but failure may occur over
a very long period of time.Due to its very high
temperature resistance characteristics, an optic
fibre has no problems being in downhole
environment. The glass fibre will survive
temperatures above 1,000?C and when protected by
polymide coating it will survive temperatures up
to and around 1,600?C. For permanent downhole
installation, the fibre is placed inside a
specially welded tube fill with buffer
gel. According to (Wright 2000), the offshore
oil industry has the perception that optical
fibre is costly and fragile. The current price
of a single mode fibre is 5 cents/feet, compared
with 30 cents/ft for 18AWG twisted shielded pair
copper cable (Wright 2000, p.5). With
continuous expansion of fibre optics being
manufacture for this industry worldwide, in
future it will be the cheaper option on a
line-for-line basis.
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At first optical fibre would appear to be
fragile, however, under tension, it is as strong
as steel.Laboratory aging studies have shown
that long term exposure of optical fibre to water
does not alter its optical characteristics.One
effect that can result in a decrease of optical
fibre performance is the leak of hydrogen into
the optical fibre. Hydrogen ions are present at
low partial pressure in subsea environment and
around corrosion sources (Wright 2000).The fibre
will readily absorb the hydrogen and this result
in an attenuation of 0.2dB/km.When hermetically
welded steel or copper tube, filled with a buffer
gel are used there is usually no risk of hydrogen
ingress. Carbon coated fibre has been proven to
be very effective against hydrogen ingress. The
coating process involves direct application of
500-angstrom carbon onto the glass fibre.
Although affective against hydrogen ingression,
it has worse fracture characteristics and fatigue
properties, especially so under strain.In almost
all applications, hermetically welded steel or
copper tube, filled with a buffer gel is adequate
to provide 25-years lifetimes for installed
fibres systems.
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Conclusion

• In future, optical fibre will be a vital
  technology in many aspects of advanced subsea
  installation. This will initially be evident
  anywhere high-power machinery is placed subsea,
  as these installations will continue to be
  dependent upon the noise immune communication
  properties of optical fibre. As subsea system
  complexity continues to increase, the need to
  provide real-time control and data acquisition
  will drive the communications bandwidth up to the
  point where copper is no longer a suitable
  communication medium. Optical fibre already
  offers a step change in bandwidth capacity for
  the communication within this industry. This
  performance increase means that the cable design
  no longer has any impact what so ever, on the
  performance of the communication link. Once
  knowledge of the availability of high bandwidth
  communication becomes widely distributed, many
  controls and sensor improvements will appear, to
  make use of the available bandwidth.

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Reference

•  
• Dev George, Sonet Ring Links Offshore Oil
  Installations, 7/1/1999 Online accessed 11 Apr.
  2002. URL
• http//www.fiberiopticsonlinedc9055cca-3156-11d
  3-b648-00c04f481017/
•  
• Michael A. Marcus, Process Monitoring with
  Optical Fibers and Harsh Environment Sensors,
  1999
• Online, accessed 12 Apr. 2002. URL
  http//www.spie.org/web/abstracts/3500/3538.html 
• Perry Joseph Wright, Optical fibers gigabit
  bandwidth, 200 km range attractive for subsea
  work, 2000 Online, accessed 10 Apr. 2002. URL
• http//www.findarticle.com/cf_1/m3037/2000_May/627
  93624/print.html