New beacons for vehicle detection in LKAB further improve safety and reduce energy consumption in the mining site
Gefa System AB together with Euroroc, a subcontractor to LKAB, have been trying out new bluetooth control units for vehicle detection at the underground mine in Malmberget. The new units was tested during fall 2021 and have now been installed in all the vehicles used by Euroroc on Fabian 955.
The new bluetooth units will replace the old radio communication for the underground ventilation system in this particular area. This will further improve presence detection and give even more accurate positioning of the vehicles.
The detailed positioning data from the new Bluetooth units allows LKAB to further reduce energy consumption in the mining site and improve air quality in the active areas.
The old radio units could detect vehicles coming into the mining area and would turn on fans in the whole area at once.
The fans would then run for a pre-programmed length after the vehicles had left the area. In the example figure below, you can see that the new Bluetooth units also can detect wether the incoming vehicle is going to the left or right on the active site.
In practice, this means when a vehicle from Euroroc enters the area on Fabian 955 and turns right, only the fans on the right side of the will be turned on.
As an example, if there are eight fans in total in the specific area, four on the left and four on the right, using this system – only four of them will be turned on as the vehicle enters. That means you can reduce energy consumption by 50% only by switching the units, or beacons, in the vehicles.
Read more about how Arctic Vent Control can be used on our ventilation on demand FAQ.
The new Bluetooth units are also cheaper, smaller and require no installation.
This means more units can be installed through-out the mine and create a more detailed web of communication. More units connected allows the system to detect moving vehicles and people with greater accuracy, making the mining site safer and reducing energy consumption at the same time.
We are proud to keep improving our system and continue to make Arctic Vent Control the most efficient ventilation on demand system for underground mines.
