System and method for monitoring fault conditions in a pan line of a longwall mining system

1. A system for monitoring a condition of a pan line associated with a longwall mining system, the system comprising:

a plurality of pan segments arranged in a successive manner such that adjacently located pan segments are moveably coupled by an interconnecting joint;

an underside of each pan segment configured to define an opening therein, the opening having an axis generally parallel to a plane of the associated pan segment;

a fiber optic shape sensing system having:

a fiber optic cable disposed along the plurality of pan segments and located within the opening of each pan segment; and

a controller communicably coupled to the fiber optic cable, the controller configured to:

detect a shape of the fiber optic cable;

identify a position of each pan segment based on the detected shape of the fiber optic cable; and

determine if a fault exists in the interconnecting joint between the adjacently located pan segments based on the identified positions of respective ones of the adjacently located pan segments.

2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the opening of each pan segment is bound by at least three sides by a first wall, a second wall, and a third wall located on the underside of the associated pan segment.

3. The system according to claim 2 , wherein the fiber optic cable is constrained, at least partially, from moving laterally in relation to the axis of the opening by a tubing system that is disposed within the opening and located around the fiber optic cable.

4. The system according to claim 3 , wherein the tubing system associated with each pan segment has:

a steel tube received within the opening and welded to at least one of the first, second, and third walls; and

a thermoplastic tube received within the steel tube, the thermoplastic tube configured to extend past an axial length of the associated opening to form a contiguous pathway for the fiber optic cable to be received therein.

5. The system according to claim 4 , wherein, upon arranging adjacently located pan segments in a successive manner, welding the steel tube to at least one of the first, second, and third walls on the underside of respective ones of the pan segments and forming the contiguous pathway by inserting the thermoplastic tube within the welded steel tube, an end of the fiber optic cable is received within an end of the formed contiguous pathway with the help of a cable blowing machine and received at another end of the formed contiguous pathway.

6. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to diagnose that the determined fault existing in the interconnecting joint between the adjacently located pan segments is a failure of the interconnecting joint.

7. The system according to claim 6 , wherein the controller is configured to terminate, based on the diagnosis, an operation of a longwall shearer associated with the longwall mining system.

8. The system according to claim 1 , wherein identifying the position of each pan segment includes identifying an axial displacement of each pan segment relative to an adjacent pan segment.

9. The system according to claim 1 , wherein identifying the position of each pan segment includes deducing, by the controller, the position of each pan segment from at least one of: a pitch of the pan line from a start to an end of the pan line, a yaw angle of the pan line from the start to the end of the pan line, and a roll angle of each pan segment owing to a pushing or pulling force applied to a relay bar of a corresponding pan segment.

10. The system according to claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to:

determine that the relay bar of an associated pan segment is faulty if the associated pan segment does not move in tandem with adjacently located pan segments; and

terminate, based on the determination, an operation of a longwall shearer associated with the longwall mining system.

11. A method for monitoring a condition of a pan line associated with a longwall mining system, the method comprising:

arranging a plurality of pan segments in a successive manner,

coupling adjacently located pan segments with an interconnecting joint,

defining an opening on an underside of each pan segment such that the opening has an axis generally parallel to a plane of the associated pan segment;

providing a fiber optic cable disposed along the plurality of pan segments and locating the fiber optic cable within the opening of each pan segment,

coupling a controller, in communication, to the fiber optic cable,

detecting, by means of the controller, a shape of the fiber optic cable;

identifying, by means of the controller, a position of each pan segment based on the detected shape of the fiber optic cable; and

determining, by means of the controller, if a fault exists in the interconnecting joint between the adjacently located pan segments based on the identified positions of respective ones of the adjacently located pan segments.

12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the opening of each pan segment is defined such that the opening is bound by at least three sides by a first wall, a second wall, and a third wall located on the underside of the associated pan segment.

13. The method according to claim 12 further comprising providing a tubing system within the opening and around the fiber optic cable such that the fiber optic cable is constrained, at least partially, from moving laterally in relation to the axis of the opening.

14. The method according to claim 13 , wherein providing the tubing system includes:

receiving a steel tube within the opening, and welding the received steel tube to at least one of the first, second, and third walls; and

receiving a thermoplastic tube within the steel tube such that the thermoplastic tube extends past an axial length of the associated opening for forming a contiguous pathway; and

receiving the fiber optic cable within the contiguous pathway.

15. The method according to claim 14 , wherein, upon arranging adjacently located pan segments in a successive manner, welding the steel tube to at least one of the first, second, and third walls on the underside of respective ones of the pan segments and forming the contiguous pathway by inserting the thermoplastic tube within the welded steel tube, an end of the fiber optic cable is received within an end of the formed contiguous pathway with the help a cable blowing machine and received at another end of the formed contiguous pathway.

16. The method according to claim 11 further comprising diagnosing, by means of the controller, that the determined fault existing in the interconnecting joint between the adjacently located pan segments is a failure of the interconnecting joint.

17. The method according to claim 16 further comprising terminating, by the controller based on the diagnosis, an operation of a longwall shearer associated with the longwall mining system.

18. The method according to claim 11 , wherein identifying the position of each pan segment includes identifying an axial displacement of each pan segment relative to an adjacent pan segment.

19. The method according to claim 11 , wherein identifying the position of each pan segment includes deducing, by the controller, the position of each pan segment from at least one of: a pitch of the pan line from a start to an end of the pan line, a yaw angle of the pan line from the start to the end of the pan line, and a roll angle of each pan segment owing to a pushing or pulling force applied to a relay bar of a corresponding pan segment.

20. The method according to claim 19 further comprising:

determining, by the controller, that the relay bar of an associated pan segment is faulty if the associated pan segment does not move in tandem with adjacently located pan segments; and

terminating, by means of the controller based on the determination, an operation of a longwall shearer associated with the longwall mining system.