Light well

BACKGROUNDMiner has been facing many problems which affect their circadian rhythm, mainly because of how the miner industry uses shifted working schedules in order to have an on-time production and a productive environment on the working site. As a result, many workers have suffered from worker fatigue. Fatigue from shift work has the potential to decrease productivity and increase accidents in organizations where workers are overly fatigued (Dawson et al., 2000). Several potential health effects are directly associated with fatigue, including trouble sleeping, decreased alertness, slower reaction time, and a weakened immune system. Workers suffering from fatigue also show a general decline in cognitive abilities, such as problem-solving and working memory. Circadian rhythm problem is mainly caused by the lack of light in a working site, especially at a mining level.

CONCEPTThis project aims to develop a structure that can make miners worker’s daily life better, by using a light tower structure acting as a light well bringing natural daylight to the mining level. This structure can provide natural daylight for a five-hundred radius per tower and the underground structure can be adapted to the terrain where the mining level is. In this research, we use Thailand’s mining site as a base for this research project, but we hope this structure can be built and used in any mining site around the world.

STRUCTUREAs we know, the mining industry has much-wasting earth in the process of digging for minerals or ores, by using a rammed-earth wall as the main structure can minimize waste material.

DETAILSMajor of this design’s structure consists of the light collector tower and the light transmission system. In which, the light collector can receive light from the top and the side facade of the structure. From above, the light will be concentrated by a convex lens and then transmitted to the core of the transmitter light tube. From the side, the light will pass through a one-way mirror, be trapped, and then reflect the light into the aperture. After collecting all the light from the tower, the light will be sent to the next part ‘the light transmission system’. This part uses Fibre Optic Lighting System to transport light to every level we estimate that one tower could cover about a 250-meter radius. By using the real natural light the miner can also sense the difference in the color spectrum of the light that is emitted, and the intensity of the blue line in each part of the day This allows the miner’s body’s circadian rhythm to work more efficiently than artificial light therapy.