ABSTRACT
Ground collapse is a severe matter for underground mining, and currently there is an absence of remote sensing monitoring systems to perform real-time critical deformation monitoring. Instrumentation as extensometers, microseismic monitoring, optical fiber, strain gauges, total stations and prisms provide pointwise information and oblige the user to work close to unstable areas, thus a remote monitoring system would offer noticeably improved safety conditions. Hydra-U, a ground based radar for safety critical monitoring in underground mining, was recently developed by IDS Georadar. Hydra-U is an interferometric radar system used to monitor ground fall precursors and provide early warning alarms in order to evacuate people and machinery at risk. This radar system can be used for continuous monitoring campaign as well as for discontinuous campaign to monitor slow displacements over long periods, permitting a periodic monitoring and producing preliminary risk assessment on potentially exposed instabilities in underground areas. The new radar system provides sub-millimetre displacement accuracy at a spatial resolution of tens of centimetres, with updated displacement information every 30 seconds.
