Laboratory Evaluations of a Redesigned Collapsible Drill Steel Enclosure to Reduce Noise from Roof Bolting Machines

Details

• Personal Author:
  Alcorn L ; Azman, Amanda S. ; CamargoH
• Description:
  Roof bolting machine (RBM) noise is a significant health hazard in underground coal mining because the sound levels at the operator's station often exceed 100 dB(A). Drilling the hole prior to installing a roof bolt is the most significant source of RBM operator noise exposure. Vibrations along the drill still generated by the bit-rock interface are the dominant noise source of the roof bolting machine. Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) have developed an enclosure to surround the drill steel as it drills the hole to reduce the noise reaching the machine operator. The collapsible drill steel enclosure, or CDSE, is designed to collapse upon itself as the drill steel is further advanced into the mine roof so that the drill steel can remain enclosed during the entire hole-drilling process. Past NIOSH studies found this device to be effective at reducing noise exposure of the operator by 5-7 dB. However, the prototype was deemed unacceptable by the mining industry for various usability and durability issues. This paper describes a new design of the CDSE which is more acceptable because of improved operator usability and durability in harsh underground mining conditions. Laboratory testing of the redesigned CDSE at NIOSH's Office of Mine Safety and Health Research (OMSHR) revealed a noise reduction of 3-4 dB. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Coal Coal Mining Engineering Mining Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Coal-mining Control-technology Engineering-controls Equipment-design Mining-equipment Mining-industry Noise-control 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:
  Florida ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; 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:20045699
• Citation:
  NOISE-CON 2014. The 29th Conference of the Institute of Noise Control Engineering, September 8-10, 2014, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Washington, DC: The Institute of Noise Control Engineering of the USA, 2014 Sep; :NC14-088
• Contact Point Address:
  Amanda Azman, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Office of Mine Safety and Health Research, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15236
• Email:
  AAzman@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• NORA Priority Area:
  Mining
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  NOISE-CON 2014. The 29th Conference of the Institute of Noise Control Engineering, September 8-10, 2014, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a96b3781888d25e0a013279b7ac1ed8b4ffc7072d5dcca4a8831b5217e753bb837d55b41cad36f75992414950b13d497a62a6453fc2627983a1e66483c6b02c4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228107/cdc_228107_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.09 MB ]