Accelerating Sustainable Energy Development through Industry 4.0 Technologies

Utilizing Industry 4.0 technologies to create a sustainable energy industry enables a decentralized energy system in which energy can be effectively produced, managed, and controlled from local resources. Furthermore, the technologies also enable data capture and analysis to improve energy performance. As digital energy is being developed and increasingly decentralized, renewable energy is now a more attractive option for creating sustainable development. The technologies are capable of integrating different energy sources to respond to an increasingly demanding and distributed market by providing sustainable and efficient resources. The technologies of the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) are already being used in the energy sector to transform the business processes of the industry. Energy management systems based on emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things (IoT), big data, blockchain, and machine learning (ML), have been used to support industry players in analyzing the energy market, improving the supply–demand chain, real-time monitoring, and generating more options for using alternative sources of energy, such as storage devices, fuel cells, and intelligent energy performance. The optimization of the energy industry can be achieved through energy production and distribution efficiency by the digitization of manufacturing processes and service delivery. Optimized energy pricing and capital resources, predictive operation and maintenance plans, efficiency of energy usage, and further maximizing asset lifetime and usage are among the solutions produced from the technologies of Industry 4.0. These technologies are set to transform the energy industry to being more sustainable. This transformation has happened through the provision of integrated information in both planning and operational processes. Industry 4.0 technologies contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of energy product life-cycles and value chains, therefore impacting business strategies to produce better energy management systems.         Smart energy ecosystems that employ cyber-physical systems enhance all production and consumption energy chain processes. Smart applications in energy production and usage consumption processes can be used efficiently in managing and optimizing energy, such as by storing energy on demand or reducing consumption. Utilizing Industry 4.0 technologies to create a sustainable energy industry enables a decentralized energy system in which energy can be effectively produced, managed, and controlled from local resources. Furthermore, the technologies also enable data capture and analysis to improve energy performance. As digital energy is being developed and increasingly decentralized, renewable energy is now a more attractive option for creating sustainable development. The technologies are capable of integrating different energy sources to respond to an increasingly demanding and distributed market by providing sustainable and efficient resources

Maschinen und Verfahren für den Bergbau und Spezialtiefbau: 66. Berg- und Hüttenmännischer Tag 19. Juni 2015 Freiberg

Der 66. Berg- und Hüttenmännische Tag, als wissenschaftliche Hauptveranstaltung der TU Bergakademie Freiberg, steht im diesjährigen 250. Jubiläumsjahr unter dem Motto „Innovative Ressourcentechnologien”. Mit insgesamt 13 Fachkolloquien wird ein breites fachliches Spektrum der Forschungsaktivitäten und Wissenschaftsgebiete unserer Technischen Universität präsentiert. Das Kolloquium 7 „Maschinen und Verfahren für den Bergbau und Spezialtiefbau”, das am Freitag, den 19. Juni 2015, stattfindet, spiegelt einen Ausrichtungstrend in Forschung und Lehre an der Bergakademie wider. Die Themenvielfalt dieses Kolloquiums ist sehr breit gefächert und behandelt Aspekte des Bergbaus über und unter Tage, des Spezialtief- und Tunnelbaus und Fragestellungen zur Verschleißproblematik. Im Vordergrund stehen logistische Herausforderungen auf Großbaustellen, es werden innovative Neu- und Weiterentwicklungen herausgestellt sowie die Energieeffizienz von Spezialtiefbaumaschinen näher betrachtet

High-Precision Drilling by Anchor-Drilling Robot Based on Hybrid Visual Servo Control in Coal Mine

Rock bolting is a commonly used method for stabilizing the surrounding rock in coal-mine roadways. It involves installing rock bolts after drilling, which penetrate unstable rock layers, binding loose rocks together, enhancing the stability of the surrounding rock, and controlling its deformation. Although recent progress in drilling and anchoring equipment has significantly enhanced the efficiency of roof support in coal mines and improved safety measures, how to deal with drilling rigs’ misalignment with the through-hole center remains a big issue, which may potentially compromise the quality of drilling and consequently affect the effectiveness of bolt support or even result in failure. To address this challenge, this article presents a robotic teleoperation system alongside a hybrid visual servo control strategy. Addressing the demand for high precision and efficiency in aligning the drilling rigs with the center of the drilling hole, a hybrid control strategy is introduced combining position-based and image-based visual servo control. The former facilitates an effective approach to the target area, while the latter ensures high-precision alignment with the center of the drilling hole. The robot teleoperation system employs the binocular vision measurement system to accurately determine the position and orientation of the drilling-hole center, which serves as the designated target position for the drilling rig. Leveraging the displacement and angle sensor information installed on each joint of the manipulator, the system utilizes the kinematic model of the manipulator to compute the spatial position of the end-effector. It dynamically adjusts the spatial pose of the end-effector in real time, aligning it with the target position relative to its current location. Additionally, it utilizes monocular vision information to fine-tune the movement speed and direction of the end-effector, ensuring rapid and precise alignment with the target drilling-hole center. Experimental results demonstrate that this method can control the maximum alignment error within 7 mm, significantly enhancing the alignment accuracy compared to manual control. Compared with the manual control method, the average error of this method is reduced by 41.2%, and the average duration is reduced by 4.3 s. This study paves a new path for high-precision drilling and anchoring of tunnel roofs, thereby improving the quality and efficiency of roof support while mitigating the challenges associated with significant errors and compromised safety during manual control processes

Bacterial Programming Based Kinematic Chain Estimation of Construction Vehicle

Construction vehicle automation for high accuracy applications require information about the state of the machine, resulting in a fully sensitized system with precise kinematic parameters. Since the measurement of these parameters contains uncertainties, accurate measurement of them is an expensive task. Automatic calibration of link parameters makes the task of kinematic parameter determination easier. This study reports a method for forward kinematic chain estimation of an excavator by bacterial programming (BP) based on randomly placed inertial navigation systems (INS) per segments with microelectromechanical sensors (MEMS) within. MEMS INS with fusion techniques provide increasing accuracy with outstanding resilience against harsh environment in a rigid housing. With known robot kinematic the tool orientation estimation can be made more accurate also the path can be planned. The unknown model structure and parameters are established and identified by BP without any a priori or given information about the device according to Denavit-Hartenberg (DH) transformation conventions. Fundamentals of this approach are described in detail and shown on simulated measurement results

Research status and prospects of key technologies for intelligent rapid excavation in coal mines

In view of the intelligentization of coal mine roadway excavation, this paper discusses the current development status of four major categories of intelligent fast excavation equipment, including continuous mining machine, excavation and anchor machine, full-section excavation system, and anchor excavation machine, analyzes the applicability of the four major categories of intelligent fast excavation equipment with the geological conditions, proposes some key technological issues for the realization of intelligent coal mine excavation which need to be resolved, and also explores the information transmission and intelligent analysis technology, intelligent perception technology, precise positioning and navigation technology, autonomous stereotyped directional cutting technology, remote and autonomous cutting control technology of road-header and multi-level and multi-process intelligent cooperative control technology, as they are the basis for the realization of intelligent roadway excavation. Based on the key technological issues needed to be solved in the mine roadway excavation under the complex geological conditions, the paper puts forward the design method of systematic analysis, modular design and optimal combination of functions, according to the functional requirements of the excavation operation and the requirements of the excavation process. A multi-level digital twin architecture of virtual control and virtual-reality combination is studied based on the multi-dimensional information reproduction of heading equipment, environment, and geological structure to realize the remote control of road-heading machine. A control method that integrates single-machine intelligence, system synergism, and synergism of underground intelligent control and surface remote monitoring is proposed. A new type of flexible advance support technology without repetitive crushing, multi-stage telescopic cutting technology of cutting section, and multi-rig parallel operation technology of intelligent anchoring unit have been developed, and a new type of combined unit for rapid roadway heading operation with a parallel operation of excavating, supporting, anchoring, transporting, and exploring processes has been also developed, and a flexible parallel operation technology of excavation robot, advance support robot, anchoring robot, and auxiliary transportation robot group has been proposed. A data-driven multi-machine, multi-process collaborative control behavior planning and decision-making method is proposed. In addition, it is proposed to construct a complete coal mine underground cross-system full-temporal-spatial information digital sensing system, build a data sensing intelligent monitoring platform with multi-parameter, multi-scale and full-temporal-spatial characteristics, that integrates the production state of underground site, spatial information of roadway, state of heading equipment, and risk information, etc., and realize a real-time communication between virtual system and actual tunneling system, so as to realize the intelligent and less-manned heading through data-driven planning and analysis

Stability and support issues in the construction of large span caverns for physics

New physics experiments, proposed to study neutrinos and protons, call for the use of large underground particle detectors. In the United States, such detectors would be housed in the US Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL), sited within the footprint of the defunct Homestake Mine, South Dakota. Although the experimental proposals differ in detail, all rely heavily upon the ability of the mined and reinforced rock mass to serve as a stable host for the detector facilities. Experimental proposals, based on the use of Water Cherenkov detector technology, specify rock caverns with excavated volumes in excess of half a million cubic meters, spans of at least 50 m, sited at depths of approximately one to 1.5 kilometers. Although perhaps sited at shallower depth, proposals based on the use of Liquid Argon (LAr) detector technology are no less challenging. LAr proposals not only call for the excavation of large span caverns, but have an additional need for the safe management of large quantities (kilo-tonnes) of cryogenic liquid, including critical provisions for the fail-safe egress of underground personnel and the reliable exhaust of Argon gas in the event of a catastrophic release. These multi-year, high value physics experiments will provide the key experimental data needed to support the research of a new generation of physicists as they probe the behavior of basic particles and the fundamental laws of nature. The rock engineer must deliver caverns that will reliably meet operational requirements and remain stable for periods conservatively estimated to be in excess of twenty years. This paper provides an overview of the DUSEL site conditions and discusses key end-user requirements and design criteria likely to dominate in determining the viability of experimental options. The paper stresses the paramount importance of collecting adequate site-specific data to inform early siting, dimensioning and layout decisions. Given the large-scale of the excavation and likely timeline to construction, the paper also strongly suggests that there are exciting opportunities for the rock mechanics and engineering community to identify and efficiently integrate research components into the design and construction process