High Power Laser Mining Equipment for Precise Material Removal
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current mining, tunneling, and infrastructure repair methods rely on dangerous, noisy, and imprecise equipment that often require explosives or large mechanical cutting machines, leading to inefficiencies and environmental disruptions.
Innovation Solution
The development of high power laser systems capable of delivering precise, directed energy over long distances to penetrate and remove material in a predetermined three-dimensional pattern, reducing the need for mechanical force and minimizing environmental impact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If high power laser systems are used to deliver directed energy over long distances for material removal, then manufacturing precision and measurement precision are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical cutting and mining equipment with high power laser systems that deliver directed energy to remove material. This substitution enables precise material removal through controlled energy delivery rather than mechanical force, resolving the contradiction by achieving high precision through a different physical mechanism despite increased system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes variable parameters of the laser system including power output, pulse duration, wavelength, and beam focusing to achieve precise material removal. By changing these parameters, the system can be optimized for different material types and removal requirements, maintaining high precision while managing device complexity through parameter optimization rather than structural complexity
2Device complexity
If traditional mechanical cutting and mining equipment is used, then device complexity is reduced, but object-generated harmful factors increase due to noise and vibration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical cutting and mining operations with non-mechanical laser energy delivery. This substitution eliminates the noise and vibration inherently generated by mechanical equipment while achieving material removal through thermal and mechanical effects induced by the laser, thereby reducing harmful factors despite increased device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potential harm of high power laser energy into a beneficial process by precisely controlling the energy delivery to achieve clean material removal. The intense energy that could cause uncontrolled damage is instead used to create precise cuts and minimize harmful effects like noise and vibration associated with traditional mechanical methods
3Productivity
If explosives are used for mining and tunneling, then productivity is improved, but object-affected harmful factors increase due to safety risks and environmental disruption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces explosive-based mining and tunneling with laser energy delivery systems. This substitution maintains productivity by efficiently removing material while eliminating the safety risks and environmental disruption caused by explosives, as the laser provides controlled, localized energy delivery without the uncontrolled effects of detonation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces laser energy as an intermediary between the energy source and the material to be removed. This intermediary enables controlled energy transfer that achieves mining productivity without the harmful effects of explosives, as the laser can be precisely directed and controlled to affect only the target material
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables controlled and precise removal of material, reducing noise and vibration, allowing for more efficient and environmentally friendly operations in mining, tunneling, and infrastructure repair, with the potential for remote and hostile location applications.
Implementation Method 1
delivering high power laser beams over a distance to a work surface to perform a laser operation or a laser mechanical operation on the work surface, such as treating, fracturing, tunneling, weakening, welding, annealing, cutting, removing, drilling, penetrating
Data Source
AI summary
There are provided high power laser and laser mechanical earth removing equipment, and operations using laser cutting tools having stand off distances. These equipment provide high power laser beams, greater than 1 kW to cut and volumetrically remove targeted materials and to remove laser affected material with gravity assistance, mechanical cutters, fluid jets, scrapers and wheels. There is also provided a method of using this equipment in mining, road resurfacing and other earth removing or working activities.