Evaluation of Roof Bolter Canopy Air Curtain Effects on Airflow and Dust Dispersion in an Entry Using Exhaust Curtain Ventilation

Details

• Personal Author:
  Reed, William R. ; Zheng Y
• Description:
  Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software has been used to aid in the design and improvement of the roof bolter canopy air curtain (CAC) system. A recent study conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) evaluated the roof bolter CAC system in a blowing face ventilation system demonstrating its effectiveness and illustrating the CAC protection zones. This study evaluates the roof bolter machine CAC while operating in an exhausting face ventilation system. This study considers two scenarios: (1) a roof bolting machine in the center of the entry for installation of the fifth row of bolts from the face, and (2) a roof bolting machine positioned close to the face for the installation of the last row of bolts. In both scenarios, the bolting machine is placed in an environment that contains 6.0 mg/m3 of respirable dust and is ventilated by an exhaust curtain with 9,000 cfm (4.25 m3/s) of air. This environment is used to simulate the roof bolter machine operating downstream of a continuous mining machine. Two operation positions are simulated at the same bolting location: dual drill heads in the inward position for two inside bolts and dual drill heads in the outward position for two outside bolts. The influence of the CAC on airflows and dust dispersion is evaluated with the CAC operating at 250 cfm (0.12 m3/s) with dust reductions ranging from 39.5 to 82.8%. When the roof bolter operated close to the face, increasing CAC airflow was required for adequate protection since the dust reductions can be as low as 39.5%. Additional CAC airflows of 350 cfm (0.17 m3/s) and 450 cfm (0.21 m3/s) were evaluated and demonstrated that dust reductions increased to 59.7% (350 cfm) and 72.0% (450 cfm) for the worst location where the roof bolter operators located. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Movements Dust Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Mining Occupational Health Safety Software Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Air Flow Computerized Simulation Computer Software Continuous Mining Control Equipment Dispersion Dust Control Dust Suppression Effectiveness Research Exhaust Ventilation Fluid Mechanics Industrial Design Machine Operation Machine Operators Performance Capability Protective Measures Respirable Dust Roof Bolters Roofing Roof Supports Underground Mines Ventilation Equipment Ventilation Systems

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• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Publisher:
  Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Arizona ; Colorado ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 8 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PMRD - Pittsburgh Mining Research Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20059712
• Citation:
  MineXchange: 2020 SME Annual Conference & Expo, February 23-26, 2020, Phoenix, Arizona, preprint 20-066. Englewood, CO: Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, 2020 Feb; :1-7
• Contact Point Address:
  Y. Zheng, NIOSH Pittsburgh Mining Research Division, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, USA
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• NORA Priority Area:
  Mining
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  MineXchange: 2020 SME Annual Conference & Expo, February 23-26, 2020, Phoenix, Arizona, preprint 20-066
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f42da495aded972b93ce1bb69c9be0930a3ca179527a91bb9e138e5f219701b7280df7956d3072e0989789331f1fcb323d6ef56bbe127a50e83e683eff0a481d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/215278/cdc_215278_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 478.39 KB ]