AMR’s New Diesel Nullifying CO Monitor
09 January 2008
Since 1987, American Mine Research has provided the mining industry with reliable and flexible mine monitoring systems. Our MC-4000 System, which communicates over standard twisted pair copper cable or Ethernet over fiber, optimizes mine operations through real-time monitoring and control. It allows mine operators to locate unsafe or hazardous areas, trend machinery for maintenance and remotely control belts, pumps, fans, etc. AMR's MC-4000 product line includes a complete line of field-proven sensors, remote I/O devices, repeaters, and troubleshooting devices. It delivers the ultimate in safety and productivity improvements to mine operations.
Striving to satisfy the needs of our growing customers, AMR has now developed the MC-4210-CO/NO diesel nullifying gas monitor to significantly reduce nuisance alarms associated with using diesel equipment in the coal mines. In addition to emitting carbon monoxide (CO), the diesel engine also emits nitric oxide (NO) in a CO/NO ratio, which varies based on the machine and installation location. Using two gas-sensing cells, the monitor employs the same CO sensing cell and circuitry used in AMR’s traditional MC-4210-CO gas monitor along with an additional NO cell and its associated sensing circuitry.
Since different diesel engines and the location of the monitor will cause the CO/NO ratio to vary, the monitor must learn the CO/NO ratio of the location in which it is installed. This is accomplished by continuously measuring the CO and NO gas levels, computing the CO/NO ratios, and saving the results. The monitor then returns to the mine monitoring system's master station the measured CO value, the "measured" NO value, and the computed CO value. The computed CO value may be used by the master station to reduce nuisance CO alarms. The MC-4210-CO/NO diesel nullifying gas monitor retains all the user-friendly features of the MC-4210-CO Gas Monitor and can be configured to communicate with AMR's MC-4000 mine monitoring system or for Modbus communications.
