Design of Novel Rock Bolt Dynamometer Based on Microcontroller and Low-Power Technology

Rock bolt dynamometer is the important safety equipment which measures the rock bolt stress and is powered by battery which the most capacity is limited to 2500 mAh. Replacing battery is forbidden in coal mine according to requirement of mine safety. Therefore to reduce power consumption and improve battery life is the key technology of the design of rock bolt dynamometer. Choosing a low-power microcontroller with high density of integration which controls the operation mode of power supply of each circuit unit and the electric level of microcontroller interfaces through software mode, we successfully reduced the power consumption of the entire system and extended battery life. The experimental results show that the standby current is low to 36 ¿A and the working time of rock bolt dynamometer is from half or one year to six years. This design has the advantages of no battery replacement within working life of the whole system, which brings convenience to the coal mine and reduces the maintenance costs.