T. Novak et Jl. Kohler, TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS IN DEEP COAL-MINE POWER-SYSTEMS, IEEE transactions on industry applications, 34(1), 1998, pp. 196-204
Various innovations and changes have occurred to underground coal mine
power systems during the past ten years. Some of these are the use of
higher utilization and distribution voltages and associated switchgea
r, the use of programmable logic controllers (PLC's) for control, moni
toring, and diagnostic applications, improved protective relaying with
built-in test circuitry, power-factor correction near loads for impro
ved voltage regulation, and modifications to power-system component ar
rangement. Many of the innovations were necessitated by significant in
creases in power requirements of face equipment, particularly longwall
equipment, while others are the result of improved technology, In eit
her case, improved power-system operating characteristics, as well as
enhanced levels of safety, have resulted. This paper describes many of
the major innovations that have evolved during recent years.