International Symposium on Earthquake Hazard

Potential and Preparedness for Safety in Coal Mining

Development of ICT Geotechnical Instrumentation and Remote

Monitoring System for Mae Moh Mine

B. Vardhanabhuti1, P. Sanpoth2, K. Chantawarangkul3, A. Chotisankasa4,

V. Teerawut, S. Seawsirikul, and Vivattavornwong, T.
1
Dept. of Civil Engineering, Kasetsart University fengbmv@ku.ac.th,
2
Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Kasetsart University fengpyp@ku.ac.th
3
Dept. of Civil Engineering, Kasetsart University fengkcc@ku.ac.th
4
Dept. of Civil Engineering, Kasetsart University fengatj@ku.ac.th

Abstract:
A low cost domestic geotechnical instrumentation with ICT remote
monitoring system is developed for slope monitoring program at Mae
Moh open pit mine, Lumpang, Thailand. The instrumentations include
wire extensometer, borehole joint meter, borehole stressmeter, electric
piezometer and tensiometer. They could be used to monitor change in
stress, strain and deformation of rock mass and porewater in joint and
shear zone. The instruments are connected to a wireless network system
which could send and receive data from the potential slope failure area to
the mining head office.

Keywords: slope stability, remote monitoring system, wire extensometer,

borehole joint meter, borehole stressmeter, piezometer, tensiometer

1. Introduction
There is a growing concern on slope failure induced by mining
activity at Mae Moh Coal Mine, Lampang province because of increasing
depth of excavation and existing adverse geological features. The Area
4.1, located at the North East of Mae Moh open pit mine, is an example
of a mining challenge due to a thin layer of weak clay seam underneath
an approximately 230 x 300 m unstable rock mass, as shown in Fig. 1 and
2. The high plasticity green clay seams (G1 and G2) are about 50 to 100
m below the ground surface. It has a dip angle approximately 14 degrees
and the residual shear strength in a range of 11 to 17 degrees
(Doncummul, 2004; Mungpayabal, 2005; Pipatpongsa et al, 2010). An
over excavation of lignite at the toe may cause a translation slope failure
of the rock mass. In order to prevent the slope failure, detail studies of
slope stability analysis, sequence of arching excavation, ground
improvement technique, field and laboratory tests have been conducted
(EGAT, 1990; Doncommul, 2004; Mungoayabal, 2005; Pipatpongsa et al.,

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Potential and Preparedness for Safety in Coal Mining

2010; Khosravi et al., 2011; Leelasukseree et al., 2011). Further, domestic

geotechnical instrumentation with remote monitoring system has been
developed by utilizing a current information and communication
technology (ICT) available at Mae Moh mine (Vardhanabhuti, 2010 and
2011). This paper presents a conceptual design and a current development
state of the ICT geotechnical instrumentation and remote monitoring
system.

A potential
sliding rock mass

(a)

Potential slope failure

Fault Fault
Lignite layer

Thin green clay seam

between bedding plane

(b)

Figure 1 (a) A potential sliding rock mass at the Area 4.1. (b)
Significant geological feature and bedding along the Area 4.1 (courtesy of
EGAT)

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Figure 2 Weak clay layer found between bedding in the Area 4.1
(Mavong, 2009; Pipatpongsa et al., 2010)

2. Development of in house geotechnical instrumentation

In general, the slope stability and mining performance could be
monitored though ground deformation and movement, change in stress of
rock mass, and porewater within joints, faults and shear zone. There are
several types of instrument for measuring ground deformation such as
surveying method, surface extensometer, borehole extensometer, tile
meter, and inclinometer. For measurement of stress change in rock mass,
an instrument can be installed in a borehole to measure displacement,
strain, or pressure caused by a change in the near field stress. Examples of
the instrument are flat and cylindrical borehole pressure cell, biaxial and
triaxial strain cell, and stress meter. For positive and negative
groundwater pressure measurement, piezometer and tensiometer are
commonly used. (Dunnicliff and Green, 1988)
However, these instruments are not cheap, not available in
domestic and require technical knowledge for installation and
interpretation. For the research propose, four in house instrumentations
have been developed, including (1) slope extensometer or wire

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extensometer, (2) borehole joint meter, (3) borehole stressmeter, and (4)
piezometer and tensiometer.

Slope extensometer
Slope extensometer or wire extensometer is a low cost device and
is designed for a continuous record of landslide measurement. One
advantage of wire extensometer is that it could measure movement larger
than other instruments. It consists of a steel wire anchored to a bottom of
borehole below the slip surface. The opposite end is attached to a slope
extensometer installed on the ground surface. The wire is placed around
the pulley connecting to the gears, shaft, and a display meter. The shaft is
coupled to a potentiometer which could transmit voltage to the processor
for digital output. Figure 3 and 4 presents components of the in house
wire extensometer and the prototype model, respectively. Table 1 shows
the specifications of the wire extensometer. The detail analysis of
translation slope movement recorded by slope extensometer could be
referred to Corominas et al. (2000).

Table 1 Specifications of the prototype slope extensometer

Descriptions Size and Specification

1. Dimensions
1.1 width x length x height 60 x 155 x 91 mm
1.2 depth of borehole < 100 m
1.3 maximum movement < 800 mm
1.4 display unit mm
2. Potentiometer
1.1 resistance 50 kΩ
1.2 maximum number of rotation 10
3. Instrument box
3.1 size (width x length x height) 15 x 220 x 50 mm

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Figure 3 Components of a prototype slope extensometer

Figure 4 A prototype slope extensometer (without casing)

Borehole Joint Meter

Borehole joint meter is designed to measure the relative movement
in perpendicular direction of joint, fault, and failure plane underneath the
ground. The data can be used to diagnose the stress change between the
above and below shear zone. The instrument is installed inside a borehole
to a depth where the failure plane is intersected. The borehole joint meter
component consists of a stainless steel bar with a counter weight attached
at the bottom as shown in Fig. 5 and 6. A ball roller system is installed at
the top of the bar. Two types of ball roller system are made, cantilever
end and restrained end, shown in Fig. 7. Eight active electrical resistance

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strain gages are attached at the bottom of the bar for a longitudinal strain
measurement in 4 directions of 0, 90, 180, and 270 degrees. The strain
gages are installed in Wheatstone bridge half bridge network, shown in
Fig. 8. The steel bar and strain gages are sealed by a protective sleeve for
water resistance and shielding the gage. As the rock mass above the
failure plane moves, it pushes the ball roller system in perpendicular
direction of the bar, causing a movement at the top, and inducing moment
and flexural stress in the bar as shown in Fig. 9. The relative movement
and the applied force can be determined from the longitudinal strain using
double integration method or moment area method. Table 2 shows
specification of the prototype borehole joint meter.

Table 2 Specifications of borehole join meter

Descriptions Size and Specification

diameter x length 60 x 1,700 mm
diameter of steel bar 20 m
diameter of borehole > 100 mm
depth of borehole < 100 m
maximum movement 40 mm

Figure 5 Components of a prototype borehole joint meter

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Figure 6 A schematic of prototype borehole joint meter

Cantilever
Restrained

≈ 1.7 m

(a) (b)

Figure 7 (a) Cantilever end type and restrained end type ball roller
system and (b) A prototype borehole joint meter

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Figure 8 Wheatstone bridge half bridge network

(a) (b)

Figure 9 Types of deformation (a) Cantilever end borehole joint meter

and (b) Restrained end bore joint meter

Borehole Stress Meter

The primary application of borehole stress meter is for
measurement of stress change in pillar and wall along the toe slope during
mining. The uniaxial borehole stress meter is commonly used and
commercially available in the market. The instrument can be installed in a
borehole to measure strain or deformation of the host rock. It is designed
to be stiffer than the host rock so that a stress change could be determined
from the modulus of the borehole stress meter (rigid inclusion gage).
Dunicliff and Green (1988) recommended that modulus of the borehole
stress meter is 3 times higher than that of the host rock. Figure 10
presents a conceptual design of in house uniaxial borehole stress meter.
The main components consist of a thick walled steel cylinder with a
vibrating wire or electrical resistance strain gage attached across a center
core of the ring. In order to apply full contact to the host rock and
minimize the effect of plastic zone around the borehole, the instrument is
designed to be grouted in the borehole with soft shell casing protecting
the steel cylinder.

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Elastic
Zone
Plastic Zone

Cement
Soft Shell Grout
Casing
Steel
Ring

Load Cell/
Vibrating
Air Wire/ Strain
Gage
Contact
Area

Figure 10 A conceptual design of uniaxial borehole stress meter

piezometer and tensiometer

The KU-electronic piezometer and KU-tensiometer were
developed by Department of Civil Engineering, Kasetsart University.
They utilize MEM pressure sensor technology (Micro Electro Mechanical
System) as shown in Fig. 11. For the KU-electronic piezometer, it can
measure the porewater pressure raging from 0 to 600 kPa within ± 0.5
kPa accuracy. The KU-tensiometer is designed for negative porewater
pressure measurement (or suction pressure). It could measure suction
pressure up to -80 kPa. Both instruments have been used for many
research and construction projects as shown in Figs. 12 and 13. (i.e.,
Jotisankasa et al., 2007; Jotisankasa and Mairaing, 2010)

(a) (b)
Figure 11 (a) KU-electric piezometer and (b) KU-tensiometer

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Protective
Twin Tube

Ground Level

Cement
PVC Bentonite
Conduit Grout

-15.50 Soft Clay

-19.00 Stiff Clay

Bentonite Ball

PZ-07 (-25.00 m.)

Piezometer

Borehole Pneumatic Tip

Coarse Sand
Bentonite Ball

Figure 12 An installation of KU-electric piezometer

Figure 13 An installation of KU-tensiometer (Jotisankasa et al., 2007)

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3. ICT Remote monitoring system

Due to the potential slope failure and critical danger during mining
operation at the Area 4.1 and limiting access to the slope above the
excavation area, the in house instruments are designed to be able to
connect to a wireless monitoring system as shown in Fig. 14. The ICT
remote monitoring system consists of (1) signal transmitter, (2) signal
processor, (3) power supply unit, (4) wireless network, and (5) a
computer station.
The signal transmitter board (Type RS485) installed in the housing
instrument, shown in Fig. 15, transmits digital signal to the signal
processor via a water proof signal cable. The signal processor is a CPY
ARM7-LP2368 Microcontroller board and Ethernet Lan (10/100 Mb). It
is installed in a control station on the ground where the potential slope
failure might occur. The signal processor requires electricity for sending
and receiving data and, therefore, is connected to the power supply unit.
Figure 16 shows the power supply unit composing of a solar cell, a
converter and a battery which is designed for 3 days of no sunlight.
A wireless network (TCP/IP) is use to transmitting signal from the
Area 4.1 to the head office. Four wireless access points (PTP 1 to PTP 4)
are required with maximum transmission length of 5 km between PTP 1
and PTP 2 and 1 km between PTP 3 and PTP 4, as shown in Fig. 17.
A computer station is located at the head office and could send and
receive a data from the instrument installed at the potential sliding area
through the wireless network. A software program is developed using
Visual C# for data storage, access control, interpretation, and warning
system (Fig. 18).

Light Alarm Silent Alert

Alarm system
Wire
Extensometer

Signal Signal
Joint Meter
Transmitter processing
Processor

Data Storage

Solar Cell System

Figure 14 ICT remote monitoring system

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(a) (b)

Figure 15 (a) The signal processor board and (b) The signal transmitter
board

Figure 16 The power supply unit connecting to the signal processor

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Figure 17 The wireless network and access points connecting between

the potential slope failure area and the head office

Figure 18 An example of software window for ICT Remote monitoring

system

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4. Summary
Four domestic and relatively low cost slope monitoring instruments
have been developed for Mae Moh coal mine, Electrical Authority of
Thailand. The instruments are (1) wire extensometer, (2) borehole joint
meter, (3) borehole stress meter, (4) electric piezometer and tensiometer.
The instruments are capable to connect with a wireless network system
which could send and receive data from the potential slope failure area to
the mining head office. The research development could be useful to
monitor the stability of slope, the stress and strain behavior of rock mass
during arching excavation, and reduce the risk of slope failure during
mining operation. The future progresses are instrument calibrations, field
installation, control software and warning system program.

5. Acknowledgement
This research is funded by the Electrical Generating Authority of
Thailand (EGAT) with an international cooperation among Chiangmai
University and Kasetsart University, Thailand and Tokyo Institute of
Technology (TIT), Japan. The authors would like to express their
appreciation to Geotechnical Engineering Department, Mae Moh Mine
for supervising and suggestion during the study.

6. References
Corominas, J.et.al.(2000). “Measurement of landslide displacement using
a wire extensometer”, Engineering Geology 55, pp. 149-166.
Doncummul, P. (2004). Increment of Shear Strength Along Bedding
Plane Due to Stabilized Blasting at Mae Moh Mine, Master Thesis,
Department of Mining Engineering, Chiangmai University,
Chiangmai (in Thai).
Dunnicliff, John. and G.E. Green, (1988). “Geotechnical Instrumentation
for Monitoring Filed Perfomance,” New York.
EGAT (1990). Interim Review of Geotechnical Strength Data.
Khosravi, M.H., Pipatpongsa, T., Takamura, J. and Doncommul, P.
(2011). “Investigation on Shear Strength of Shale Stone at the Mae
Moh Open Pit Mine, 4th Thailand-Japan International Academic
Conference, TJIA Conference Proceedings.
Leelasukseree, C; Wattanachai, P., Vardhanabhuti, B., and Pitpatpongsa,
T. (2010). “Stabilization of Alternative Excavation and
Strengthening of Supporting Materials for Pit Wall in Area 4.1”,
Inception Report submitted to EGAT, Thailand (in Thai).
Leelasukseree, C; Wattanachai, P., Vardhanabhuti, B., and Pitpatpongsa,
T. (2011). “Stabilization of Alternative Excavation and

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Potential and Preparedness for Safety in Coal Mining

Strengthening of Supporting Materials for Pit Wall in Area 4.1”,

Interim Report submitted to EGAT, Thailand (in Thai).
Mavong, N. (2009). Ground Anchor Application for Slope Stabilization
at Mae Moh Mine, Master Thesis, Department of Mining
Engineering, Chiangmai University, Chaingmai (in Thai).
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in Mae Moh Mine, Master Thesis, Department of Mining
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Watanachai, P. (2010). “Shear Strength Parameters of Clay Seam
Placed Between Underburden Layers of Rock Masses In the Mae
Moh Lighite Mine”, 15th National Conference in Civil Engineering,
Ubonratchatanee, 12 – 14 May 2010.
Vardhanabhuti, B. (2010). “A Development of Geotechnical
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Instrumentation and Remote Monitoring System for Mae Moh
Mine”, Supplement Interim Report submitted to EGAT, Thailand (in
Thai).
Jotisankasa, A., Porlila, W., Soralump, S., Mairiang, W., (2007).
“Development of a low cost miniature tensiometer and its
applications,” 3rd Asian Conference on Unsaturated Soils (Unsat-
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Jotisankasa, A. and Mairaing, W. (2010). “Suction-monitored Direct
Shear Testing of Residual Soils from Landslide-Prone Areas, J. of
Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 136,
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