Development of a Test Apparatus to Determine Optimal Fan Configurations for Haul Trucks and LHDs

Details

• Personal Author:
  Alcorn L ; Lowe, Melissa J. ; Peterson, Jeffrey S. ; Yantek D
• Description:
  Operators of haul trucks and load-haul-dump (LHD) vehicles without cabs used in underground metal and nonmetal mines are frequently exposed to hazardous noise levels, putting them at risk of noise-induced hearing loss. To address this issue, the NIOSH Office of Mine Safety and Health Research (OMSHR) is developing noise controls for these machines. Analysis of field data showed that engine cooling fan noise was the dominant contributor to the sound level at the operator location. Thus, to reduce the operator noise exposure, engine cooling fan noise would have to be reduced. It was determined that a new apparatus would be needed to conduct laboratory noise and air flow testing to evaluate different noise control approaches. This paper documents the development of this test apparatus. This fixture is now being used by NIOSH to develop haul truck and LHD cooling configurations that maintain the required cooling air flow rate while reducing noise emissions. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Metals Mining Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Analytical-processes Hazards Metal-mining Mining-industry Noise-exposure Noise-induced-hearing-loss Noise-levels Sound Trucking Underground-mining
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Publisher:
  The Institute of Noise Control Engineering of the USA (INCE/USA)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 8 ; 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
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20043228
• Citation:
  NOISE-CON 2013. The 28th Conference of the Institute of Noise Control Engineering, August 26 - 28, 2013, Denver, Colorado. Washington, DC: The Institute of Noise Control Engineering of the USA, 2013 Aug; :NC13-48
• Contact Point Address:
  J. Shawn Peterson, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Office of Mine Safety and Health Research, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236
• Email:
  JPeterson@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• NORA Priority Area:
  Mining
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  NOISE-CON 2013. The 28th Conference of the Institute of Noise Control Engineering, August 26 - 28, 2013, Denver, Colorado
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7caa4bc944fb1cb018cc06f8bb538e2f93a61620ac92bf1f93fe3fe6d1e5cd97b25d866f908b768f3d1119569e8cd4fbf4535d600ead88ac42bb2f993610acf1
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228009/cdc_228009_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.12 MB ]