Coal Mine Safety Monitoring System for the Central Mining Research Institute (CMRI), Dhanbad, Jharkhand

To reduce the calamities due to mining hazards, the Central Mining Research Institute (CMRI) decided to install an underground Data Aquisition System (DAS) which will monitor different safety parameters like Pressure, Carbon dioxide Level, Temperature, etc., in the mines.
The various parameters are monitored by an array of sensors placed at strategic positions (each called a Channel) deep within the mines. The data from the sensors is collected by a set (four in all) of Data Collection nodes (each called a Zone), placed in different divisions of the mine. The software is designed to communicate periodically (once in a minute) with these DASes and display the values indicated by the various sensors. The mode of communication is RS-232 serial.
Apart from displaying the values of the various parameters, the software also indicates the status of each Channel - i.e., whether the particular parameter is Normal, Faulty or within Danger Limits.
The Limits are fed into the system for each parameter. An alarm is set whenever a Channel goes beyond the Danger Limits.

                

The System also has the following features

A Real Time Mode wherein the User can monitor multiple Channels in real time, sampling at a rate of around 10 secs/channel. The data is represented in a graphical form. The System can be monitored across a LAN.Records of data acquired from all the channels will be stored in a database and the users can view the data in a graphical format or text format, and thereby can determine the stability of the channels.

The Software is also used as a configuration tool for the sensors, allowing the users to set the ranges for the various sensors without even stepping into the mine.