Western Mining Resource Center
Mission:The WMRC research component focuses on research topics that address specific Western mining concerns as identified by
the Risk Matrix and gap Areas Matrix developed by NIOSH. The program
areas for the health and safety related research are identified as:
Powered Haulage (PH)
Ground Control (GC)
Material Handling (MH)
Mine Environment and Ergonomics (MEE)
Direction of the research programs and goals
is dynamic and under the guidance of an advisory committee, whose members are
selected from industrial operators, equipment manufacturers, research and
educational institutions, and labor organizations.
Current Research Areas and Publications
Improving
Safety of Off-Highway Trucks Through GPS
(Program areas: PH, MEE).
This project aims to develop a computer
controlled warning and braking system for off-highway trucks as a function
of dump edge location map and on-board GPS system. The system is envisioned
to reduce accidents due to trucks going over the berms during truck back
up, and as such will improve safety of off-highway trucks. Coal
mining can be minimized at its source with significant health and safety
benefits for people working at the coal face.
Stereovision and 3D Modeling for Remote Operation
of Mining Equipment (Program areas: MEE, PH).
This project aims at reducing human health issues related
to operation of haulage equipment and exposure to hostile environments.
The ultimate goal of the project is to allow the equipment operator to move
away from the point of operation of the equipment by automating the operation
of the machine. The specific aim of the project is to develop advanced
sensing and control techniques that will allow this migration from on-board
manual operation to a mode of remote supervision. This move will improve
the miner's health and safety, and improve his working conditions.
Dust Control at Source
(Program areas: MEE, MH).
The aim of this project is to reduce dust
emissions in longwall and room and pillar coal mining by optimizing the
bit layout and attack angle on shearers and continuous miners. New
innovative cutting bit testing and development is also involved. Preliminary
research performed has shown that significant reductions in airborne dust
can be achieved by optimizing the bit rake angle and the drum layout.
By meeting this objective, the dust generation during coal mining can be
minimized at its source with significant health and safety benefits for
people working at the coal face.
Rationally Based Design Concepts for Yielding
Pillar (Program areas: GC).
This research project aims at improving ground control related safety in longwall entries that
employ yielding pillars. Although already being used, little is known quantitatively
about the response of the yielding pillars to different loading stages that
come about in longwall mining. The project focuses on improving the understanding
of yielding pillar behavior in deep longwalls to provide basis for developing
rationally based design methodologies.
High Pressure Water Scaling (Program areas: (GC, MEE).
The objectives of this proposal
are to develop equipment for scaling down loose rocks from mine openings
using high pressure water in order to 1.) remove miners from the high risk
areas of the mining face and reduce or eliminate their exposure to falls
of ground, 2.) improve the adhesion characteristics of the mine opening
to enhance the performance of shotcrete applied as a ground support member,
and 3.) provide a mechanism of remote sensing to identify areas of potential
instability in order to alert miners to the need for appropriate ground
support measures.
Computer Simulation of Gravity Flow of Ore in Ore Passes by the Discrete
Element Method (Program areas:
MH, GC,SSI).
Production in most deep underground mines depends on
the ore pass system. If ore passes become inoperable due to structural failure,
plugging, chute and gate problems, or for other reason, the production of
the mine comes to a halt and personnel must be deployed to restore function.
Development of numerical simulation techniques is expected to improve the
state of the art for ore pass design, reducing the need for worker entry
into these high risk areas.
Noise Prevention
(Program area: MEE)
Hearing loss is one of the major occupational health
problems for miners and is one of the priority research areas in the National
Occupational Research Agenda. We will identify typical noise sources in
mining and will seek feasible solutions based on both active and passive
noise reduction technologies.
Precision Blasting
(Program area: MEE)
Summary to come.
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