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Mining Publication: Visual Performance for Incandescent and Solid-State Cap Lamps in an Underground Mining Environment
Keywords: Cap lamps Hazard recognition Improving visibility
This page is archived for historical purposes and is no longer being maintained or updated.
Original creation date: September 2007
Authors: JJ Sammarco, TJ Lutz
Conference Paper - September 2007
Download PDF Document (0.17 MB)
NIOSHTIC2 Number: 20032704
IAS '07: Conference Record of the 2007 IEEE Industry Applications Conference: Forty-second IAS Annual Meeting, September 23-27, 2007, New Orleans, Louisiana. Piscataway, NJ: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2007; 4:1-6
Miners depend most heavily on visual cues to recognize underground mining hazards; consequently, illumination plays a critical role in miners' safety. Some hazards are located in the miners' peripheral field-of-view (10 degrees to about 60 degrees off-axis) or on-axis (0 degrees). The objective of this research was to determine if there were visual performance improvements when using solid-state cap lamps with light emitting diodes (LEDs) as compared to incandescent light bulbs commonly used in miner cap lamps. Recent research has indicated that an increased short-wavelength content of the spectral power distribution of LEDs relative to incandescent lamps improves peripheral visual performance for low-light (mesopic) conditions. The visual performances of nine subjects were quantified by measuring the subjects' speed and accuracy in detecting floor objects located on axis and at ±20 degrees off axis. The objects were located near field (1.83 meters) and far field (3.66 meters). Upon presentation of the objects, subjects would count and point to each object using a red-laser pointer. The object detection response time and number of missed objects were recorded. The results of the visual performance comparison for an LED, a prototype LED, and an incandescent cap lamp are presented. There we no missed objects when subjects used the LED-based cap lamps but, there were three missed object occurrences when subjects used the incandescent cap lamp. The mean detection time when using the incandescent cap lamp was 55.3% greater than the prototype LED cap lamp and 43.5% greater than the LED cap lamp. It can be inferred from this data that the spectral distribution of LED-based cap lamps could enable significant visual performance improvements as compared to incandescent cap lamps.
Image of publication Visual Performance for Incandescent and Solid-State Cap Lamps in an Underground Mining EnvironmentConference Paper - September 2007
Download PDF Document (0.17 MB)
NIOSHTIC2 Number: 20032704
IAS '07: Conference Record of the 2007 IEEE Industry Applications Conference: Forty-second IAS Annual Meeting, September 23-27, 2007, New Orleans, Louisiana. Piscataway, NJ: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2007; 4:1-6
See Also
Assessing and Monitoring Open Pit Mine Highwalls
Continuous Mining: A Pilot Study of the Role of Visual Attention Locations and Work Position in Underground Coal Mines
Discomfort Glare Comparison for Various LED Cap Lamps
The Effect of Cap Lamp Lighting on Postural Control and Stability
Evaluation of Peripheral Visual Performance When Using Incandescent and LED Miner Cap Lamps
Experiments on Personal Equipment for Low Seam Coal Miners: IV. Incorporating Coiled Cord Into Cap Lamp Battery Cords
Technological Aspects of Solid-State and Incandescent Sources for Miner Cap Lamps
Technological Aspects of Solid-State and Incandescent Sources for Miner Cap Lamps
Toolbox Training For Construction Aggregate Miners
Visual Performance for Incandescent and Solid-State Cap Lamps in an Underground Mining Environment
Page last reviewed: September 21, 2012
Page last updated: September 21, 2012
Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Mining Program
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