Evaluate fundamental approaches to longwall dust control: Subprogram A, Passive barriers/spray air movers for dust control
One method to control shearer-generated dust on longwall faces is to confine the dust cloud to the face area and keep it away from face personnel as it travels downstream over the shearer body and beyond. Passive barriers can help this process by partitioning the airflow around the shearer into a clean split and a contaminated split. In addition, water sprays used as air movers (such as the Shearer Clearer developed on another USBM contract) aid the air partitioning process. A variety of passive barrier designs were developed and evaluated in the laboratory, tested in conjunction with the Shearer Clearer. The results showed that a headgate splitter arm'' to begin the airsplitting process is a vital part of a passive barrier system, whether or not a spray air moving system is also used on the shearer. A simple gob-side passive barrier along the edge of the shearer was also shown to help partition the airflow. Underground evaluations were conducted on a combination passive barrier/spray air moving system. The results confirmed the importance of the headgate splitter arm and showed that a gob-side barrier was very effective when used on shearers with ineffective external spray systems. The gob-side barrier was unnecessary, however, on shearers equipped with effective external air moving systems such as the Shearer Clearer. 32 figs., 14 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- Foster-Miller, Inc., Waltham, MA (USA)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE/FE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AI01-81FE00016
- OSTI ID:
- 7046703
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/FE/00016-T163; ON: DE90015511; CNN: J0318097
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Using barriers to reduce dust exposure of longwall-face workers. Report of Investigations/1986
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AIR FLOW
COAL MINES
CONTROL
DOCUMENT TYPES
DUSTS
EQUIPMENT
FLUID FLOW
GAS FLOW
LONGWALL MINING
MINES
MINING
MINING EQUIPMENT
PROGRESS REPORT
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SPRAYS
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
UNDERGROUND MINING
VENTILATION
WORKING CONDITIONS