A Survey of the Current Rib Support Practices and Techniques in U.S. Coal Mines

Details

• Personal Author:
  Klemetti, Ted M. ; Lawson HE ; Mohamed KM ; Murphy MM
• Description:
  The design of rib support systems in U.S. coal mines is based primarily on local practices and experience. A better understanding of current rib support practices in U.S. coal mines is crucial for developing a sound engineering rib support design tool. The objective of this paper is to analyze the current practices of rib control in US coal mines. Twenty (20) underground coal mines were studied representing various coal basins, coal seams, geology, loading conditions, and rib control strategies. The key findings are: (1) any rib design guideline or tool should take into account external rib support as well as internal bolting; (2) rib bolts on their own cannot contain rib spall, especially in soft ribs subjected to significant load - external rib control devices such as mesh are required in such cases to contain rib sloughing; (3) the majority of the studied mines follow the overburden depth and entry height thresholds recommended by the Program Information Bulletin (PIB) 11-29; (4) potential rib instability occurred when certain geological features prevailed - these include draw slate and/or bone coal near the rib/roof line, claystone partings, and soft coal bench overlain by rock strata; (5) 47% of the studied rib spall was classified as blocky - this could indicate a high potential of rib hazards; and (6) rib injury rates of the studied mines for the last three years emphasize the need for more rib control management for mines operating at overburden depths between 500 ft and 1,000 ft. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Mining Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Coal-mining Control-systems Environmental-control Environmental-engineering Geology Ground-control Ground-stability Industrial-design Mining-industry Structural-analysis Underground-mining

  More +
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Publisher:
  West Virginia University
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania ; Washington ; West Virginia
• 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
• Pages in Document:
  83-96
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046596
• Citation:
  Proceedings of the 34th International Conference on Ground Control in Mining, July 28-30, 2015, Morgantown, West Virginia. Barczak T, Peng SS, Schmidt D, Tadolini S, Thompson M, eds. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University, 2015 Jul; :83-96
• Editor(s):
  Barczak T; Peng SS; Schmidt D; Tadolini S; Thompson M
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• NORA Priority Area:
  Mining
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of the 34th International Conference on Ground Control in Mining, July 28-30, 2015, Morgantown, West Virginia
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f5d731efe0cfa2ea630eda17ee3172dddc17d0375c7a11b74ef725ccd722217935900163ff673b734f0fd9048cc598c21d0b17cd0a4321ecd138559375a60599
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228154/cdc_228154_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.46 MB ]