Systems and methods for determining water depth and explosive depth in blastholes
An explosive delivery system for dipping and loading a blasthole to determine water depth and explosive depth in blasthole. The explosive delivery system includes a vehicle with a first reservoir configured to store an explosive and a delivery apparatus reel mounted to the vehicle with a delivery apparatus stored on the delivery apparatus reel. The delivery apparatus having a central bore that extends a length of the delivery apparatus from a proximal end to a distal end of the delivery apparatus and an outlet disposed at the distal end. The explosive delivery apparatus is configured to deliver the explosive out of the outlet of the delivery apparatus. The delivery apparatus includes a plurality of level sensors disposed on an outer surface of the delivery apparatus and that are dispersed along the delivery apparatus. Each level sensor is configured to determine if it is disposed in water, air, or explosive.
1 . A sensor system for detecting a presence of fluid in a blasthole, comprising:
a cable that is configured to be inserted into a blasthole;
a plurality of level sensors disposed along the cable; and
processing circuitry configured to determine if each of the level sensors is disposed in water, air, or explosive, and
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine a height of at least one of water or explosive in the blasthole based on measurements from the plurality of level sensors.
2 . The sensor system of claim 1 , wherein each of the level sensors is configured to detect a capacitance and a conductance of a predetermined surrounding area.
3 . The sensor system of claim 1 , further comprising a delivery hose comprising an outlet to deliver an explosive to the blasthole.
4 . The sensor system of claim 3 , wherein the cable is wound on a first reel and the delivery hose is wound on a second reel.
5 . The sensor system of claim 3 , further comprising a plurality of level sensors disposed along an external surface of the delivery hose.
6 . The sensor system of claim 1 , further comprising a communication medium that is configured to communicate between the plurality of level sensors and the processing circuitry.
7 . The sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the cable comprises a weight.
8 . The sensor system of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of level sensors comprises a subset of level sensors.
9 . The sensor system of claim 1 , further comprising a baiting sensor that is configured to detect a presence of a detonator in the blasthole.
10 . The sensor system of claim 9 , wherein the baiting sensor comprises a wireless reader.
11 . The sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the level sensors are optical sensors.
12 . The sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the level sensors are pressure sensors.
13 . The sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of level sensors are vertically aligned along the cable.
14 . The sensor system of claim 1 , wherein each level sensor comprises a transmitter for transmitting data.
15 . The sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is disposed on a mobile processing unit.
16 . The sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is disposed in a remote location.