Investigation to determine the effect of wet surface condition in mines on design of lighting system

Abstract

In surface mines, where the work is carried out in the night shifts, good lighting is necessary for safe and efficient work. The reflectance of surrounding surfaces is one of the important factors, which improve the vision, in the night hours. Field studies shows that the reflectance of mine surfaces will be reduced, considerably under wet weather conditions. A laboratory set up has been developed to study the reflectivity of various mineral surfaces, in dry and wet weather conditions, which indicates that the reduction in reflectance due to wet surfaces varies from 9 to 48%, depending upon the type of mineral surfaces. The texture depth of surface has an important bearing on the specularity of a surface, when it is wet. The composition of road surface directly influences the texture of that surface, and thus its dry and wet weather specularities.