Implementation of Explosion Safety Regulations in Design of a Mobile Robot for Coal Mines

Novák, Petr; Kot, Tomáš; Babjak, Jan; Konečný, Zdeněk; Moczulski, Wojciech; Rodriguez López, Ángel

doi:10.3390/app8112300

Open AccessArticle

Implementation of Explosion Safety Regulations in Design of a Mobile Robot for Coal Mines

by

Petr Novák

^1,*

,

Tomáš Kot

^1,*

,

Jan Babjak

¹

,

Zdeněk Konečný

¹,

Wojciech Moczulski

²

and

Ángel Rodriguez López

³

¹

Department of Robotics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, VŠB-Technical University of Ostrava, 70833 Ostrava, Czech Republic

²

Instytut Podstaw Konstrukcji Maszyn, Konarskiego 18A, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland

³

Department of Systems Engineering and Automation, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, 28911 Madrid, Spain

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Appl. Sci. 2018, 8(11), 2300; https://doi.org/10.3390/app8112300

Submission received: 18 October 2018 / Revised: 8 November 2018 / Accepted: 13 November 2018 / Published: 19 November 2018

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Mobile Robotics)

Download

Browse Figures

Versions Notes

Abstract

The article focuses on specific challenges of the design of a reconnaissance mobile robotic system aimed for inspection in underground coal mine areas after a catastrophic event. Systems that are designated for these conditions must meet specific standards and regulations. In this paper is discussed primarily the main conception of meeting explosion safety regulations of European Union 2014/34/EU (also called ATEX—from French “Appareils destinés à être utilisés en ATmosphères Explosives”) for Group I (equipment intended for use in underground mines) and Category M1 (equipment designed for operation in the presence of an explosive atmosphere). An example of a practical solution is described on main subsystems of the mobile robot TeleRescuer—a teleoperated robot with autonomy functions, a sensory subsystem with multiple cameras, three-dimensional (3D) mapping and sensors for measurement of gas concentration, airflow, relative humidity, and temperatures. Explosion safety is ensured according to the Technical Report CLC/TR 60079-33 “s” by two main independent protections—mechanical protection (flameproof enclosure) and electrical protection (automatic methane detector that disconnects power when methane breaches the enclosure and gets inside the robot body).

Keywords: mobile robot; coalmine; exploration; robotics; ATEX; safety; methane

Graphical Abstract

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Novák, P.; Kot, T.; Babjak, J.; Konečný, Z.; Moczulski, W.; Rodriguez López, Á. Implementation of Explosion Safety Regulations in Design of a Mobile Robot for Coal Mines. Appl. Sci. 2018, 8, 2300. https://doi.org/10.3390/app8112300

AMA Style

Novák P, Kot T, Babjak J, Konečný Z, Moczulski W, Rodriguez López Á. Implementation of Explosion Safety Regulations in Design of a Mobile Robot for Coal Mines. Applied Sciences. 2018; 8(11):2300. https://doi.org/10.3390/app8112300

Chicago/Turabian Style

Novák, Petr, Tomáš Kot, Jan Babjak, Zdeněk Konečný, Wojciech Moczulski, and Ángel Rodriguez López. 2018. "Implementation of Explosion Safety Regulations in Design of a Mobile Robot for Coal Mines" Applied Sciences 8, no. 11: 2300. https://doi.org/10.3390/app8112300

APA Style

Novák, P., Kot, T., Babjak, J., Konečný, Z., Moczulski, W., & Rodriguez López, Á. (2018). Implementation of Explosion Safety Regulations in Design of a Mobile Robot for Coal Mines. Applied Sciences, 8(11), 2300. https://doi.org/10.3390/app8112300

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

Implementation of Explosion Safety Regulations in Design of a Mobile Robot for Coal Mines

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI