Abstract: A continuous mining apparatus such as a coal milling or shearing machine includes sensors mounted on the machine frame or on the cutter bits, including an accelerometer and one or more strain gauges, for sensing vibrations and stresses exerted on the cutter bits during operation of the machine. A signal conditioning and amplification circuit provides an audio and/or visual display indicating when the cutter is moving outside of the coal seam and/or is cutting along a cleat or other joint to improve excavation rates while maintaining or lowering stress levels on the cutter bits. The display enables the machine operator to keep from penetrating the roof or floor of the coal seam and to position the cutter to take advantage of natural fracture lines in the seam. The frequency spectrum of the sensor signals is determined to distinguish vibrations caused by bit interaction with the material being cut.

Abstract: Seismic measurements are taken during drilling operations by an array of seismometers placed on the earth's surface about the axis of a drillstring connected to a conventional drillbit and wherein the drillstring has an arrangement of strain gages and accelerometers mounted thereon in such a way as to measure axial and torsional vibrations of the drillstring. Signals indicating vibrations induced by the drillbit or another source and transmitted through the drillstring are compared with signals received by the seismometer array to determine the characteristics of the formation based on measurement of acoustic velocity from direct and reflected transmission of acoustic vibrations through the formation.