Application of Artificial Neural Networks to Determine the Length of Mining Bolts Using a Self-Excited Acoustical System

The self-excited acoustical system is a system for indirect determination of stresses in mechanical structures. It uses the phenomenon of self-excitation of the sent acoustic wave in the tested material by the emitter, which is then received by the receiver and fed back to the emitter using positive feedback. The change in strain within the material during the test changes the frequency of the self-excited system, which is indirectly a measure of the stress in the sample. This paper discusses the utilization of data obtained from self-excited system and processed by artificial neural networks to assess the length of mining anchors. The data used were collected during an experimental study at the Wieliczka salt mine in Poland, a live site.