Overcast System for Mine Ventilation

Abstract

An overcast system to block an intersection between two or more mine passageways so as to prevent the mixture of intake air with return air. The overcast system includes a first sidewall formed of one or more prefabricated panels, a second sidewall formed of one or more prefabricated panels, and a top member formed of one or more prefabricated panels, such that the top side spans the width between the first sidewall and the second sidewall. A fire-resistant coating is applied to at least a portion of the first sidewall, the second sidewall, or the top member to provide an air-tight, fire-resistant structure. Each of the one or more prefabricated panels is formed from a composite material having one or more structural studs embedded at least partially therein.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 272,748, filed Dec. 30, 2015, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Field of the Invention[0003]The present disclosure relates to an overcast system used in mine ventilation that prevents the mixture of ventilation air at an intersection of two passageways within a mine. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to an overcast structure formed of a plurality of prefabricated panels and coated with spray-on material to create a substantially air-tight and fire-resistant structure.[0004]Description of Related Art[0005]In underground mining operations, there is a need to provide a ventilation system such that clean intake air may be introduced into the mine through a first passageway (or passageways), while contaminated return air may be removed via a separate, second passageway (or passage...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]To facilitate securement of the one or more prefabricated panels to an adjacent panel, the one or more prefabricated panels may include a tongue at one end thereof and define a groove at the other end thereof for receiving a tongue of an adjacent panel. A brace may be secured to the first sidewall and the top member to add further structural integrity to the overcast system.

Problems solved by technology

However, these structures require large amounts of material and many hours of labor to construct.

Furthermore, due to the numerous joints between adjacent concrete blocks and / or steel plates, air leaks were common, leading to both contamination of the respective passageways and loss of pressure throughout the ventilation system.

While U.S. Pat. No. 5,879,231 may have provided for an overcast structure having a shortened installation process and sealing improvements over the previous concrete block and / or steel plate partitions, the need to provide and assemble the insulated cores, wire grids, rebar, and concrete coating during installation still resulted in a complicated and time-consuming process.

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