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C-ALS
MDL’s C-ALS system is a self-navigating, ‘motorised’ robotic probe designed to enter & survey dry abandoned mine workings or cavities.
With a diameter of just 50mm, the unit can be deployed down pre-drilled boreholes of 65mm or more, from where it employs a miniaturized laser scanner to measure the three-dimensional shape of the void together with its surface reflectivity.
The C-ALS is designed to gather comprehensive three dimensional survey data from difficult, dangerous and inaccessible areas of a mine. The system gives the mine and geo-technical engineer the ability to quickly and safely evaluate any number of critical underground mining operations.
The equipment consists of a pulsed laser range finder using ‘time-of-flight’ measuring principles, housed in a custom designed probe manufactured to military standards. Full 360º scans are completed in both the horizontal and vertical planes. Movement of the measuring head is controlled by a laptop computer, which also stores the results of the survey. Measurement Absolute accuracy is 5cm & repeatability/resolution is 1cm. Maximum range is 150m. Scan rate is up to 650,000 readings per hour/ 200 readings per second.
The C-ALS probe design incorporates a digital compass as well as pitch and roll sensors. These enable accurate positioning and orientation of the unit itself and the resulting ‘point cloud’.
A ‘Nosecone’ camera & infra-red lighting system can be optionally integrated into the probe head. This serves two purposes: (a) To gauge exactly the distance from the collar to the ‘breakout’ point of the borehole into the cavity. (b) To check the condition of the borehole. The camera will pick up any obstructions, blockages or ‘cave-ins’ & thus avoid damage to the C-ALS.
A set of carbon-fibre Boretrak rods (1m or 2m in length) are provided to push the C-ALS up or along the hole and to provide probe orientation in high magnetic field environments (where a compass is not reliable.) Boretrak® rods are flexible & hinged but do not twist, so the azimuth of the probe will remain constant. They may be aligned along a known direction to determine the probe orientation at the start of a scanning operation. The rods are lightweight (900g per 2m length). Each full rack has a quick release joint to connect to additional racks of rods
The C-ALS cable delivers power to the probe and also carries data to and from the instrument. The cable and connectors are highly durable and have a breaking strain of 500kg. The cable can be used without the Boretrak rods to deploy the C-ALS in areas where there is no magnetic interference.
The cable is marked at one-metre intervals by alternate red and black rubber nodules to facilitate accurate Boretrak readings during deployment of the probe.
The C-ALS cable is interfaced to a control box located on the surface. Housed in the rugged, watertight case, is an internal battery pack and a video interface for the nosecone camera. An ethernet or WiFi link is also enclosed, allowing connection to the PC & remote control of the C-ALS probe.
A ruggedised PC computer is used for setup, data acquisition and control. The cable data telemetry system transmits all measured data back to the control PC via the surface control unit. Data is displayed and logged in real-time and stored directly to disc. The raw data is then processed using MDL’s ModelAce software and can then be converted to a number of popular formats for direct export to third party CAD, mining and modeling packages. Advanced Modelling Software is also available for 3D modeling and analysis of the data.
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