Development of Elastomeric Isolators to Reduce Roof Bolting Machine Drilling Noise

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ferro E ; Johnson D ; Michael R ; Swope C ; Yantek D
• Description:
  Among underground coal miners, hearing loss remains one of the most common occupational illnesses. In response to this problem, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Office of Mine Safety and Health Research (OMSHR) conducts research to reduce the noise emission of underground coal-mining equipment, an example of which is a roof bolting machine. Field studies show that, on average, drilling noise is the most significant contributor to a roof bolting machine operator's noise exposure. NIOSH OMSHR has determined that the drill steel and chuck are the dominant sources of drilling noise. NIOSH OMSHR, Corry Rubber Corporation, and Kennametal, Inc. have developed a bit isolator that breaks the steel-to-steel link between the drill bit and drill steel and a chuck isolator that breaks the mechanical connection between the drill steel and the chuck, thus reducing the noise radiated by the drill steel and chuck, and the noise exposure of the roof bolter operator. This paper documents the evolution of the bit isolator and chuck isolator including various alternative designs which may enhance performance. Laboratory testing confirms that production bit and chuck isolators reduce the A-weighted sound level generated during drilling by 3.7 to 6.6 dB. Finally, this paper summarizes results of a finite element analysis used to explore the key parameters of the drill bit isolator and chuck isolator to understand the impact these parameters have on noise. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Engineering Maintenance Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Mining Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Coal-miners Coal-mining Control-technology Engineering-controls Hearing Hearing-conservation Hearing-impairment Hearing-loss Mining-equipment Mining-industry Noise-control Noise-exposure Noise-induced-hearing-loss Noise-shielding Underground-miners Underground-mining

  More +
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISSN:
  0736-2501
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OMSHR - Office of Mine Safety and Health Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  59
• Issue:
  6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20040212
• Citation:
  Noise Control Eng J 2011 Nov-Dec; 59(6):591-612
• Contact Point Address:
  David Yantek, NIOSH, 626 Cochrans Mill Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15236 USA
• Email:
  dcy6@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Noise Control Engineering Journal
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:75a8206100e6091fdcafac5e47d93f394f5595fac0bf0d3677c1711b5e1253947e9a47f9d2be24faa6e01c883c965ad2b4aeaefaaa3f1dd20e14a89cbc441d44
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/227406/cdc_227406_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 5.60 MB ]