Mining Shearer Dust Scrubber with Dynamic Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dust suppression methods in mining environments, such as long wall mining, are insufficient in reducing respirable dust levels, which poses health hazards and visibility issues, despite ventilation efforts.
Innovation Solution
A dust scrubber is mounted on the shearer arm, opposite to the mine surface, featuring an inlet for air drawn in by an extraction fan, a filter/contact chamber for particle removal, and a water spray system to capture airborne dust particles, with a mounting arrangement that compensates for the shearer arm's movement, ensuring stable orientation and effective dust suppression.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If ventilation is provided to maintain air flow along the long wall, then dust problems are reduced, but dust concentrations still exceed acceptable standards
Solution Approach 1:
The dust suppression system is divided into multiple independent units mounted on the shearer arm, with each unit containing its own extraction fan and filter chamber. This segmentation allows localized dust capture at the source rather than relying on general ventilation, directly addressing the insufficient dust concentration reduction.
Solution Approach 2:
A water spray system is introduced as an intermediary mechanism between the dust-generating shearer drum and the extraction fan. The water spray captures airborne dust particles before they enter the extraction system, enhancing the overall dust suppression effectiveness beyond what ventilation alone can achieve.
2Reliability
If the dust scrubber is mounted on the shearer arm, then dust capture effectiveness is improved, but the mounting arrangement must compensate for arm movement to maintain stable orientation
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting arrangement incorporates movable joints and flexible connections that allow the dust scrubber unit to dynamically adjust its position and orientation in response to the shearer arm's pivoting and horizontal movements. This dynamic adaptation maintains stable relative positioning without requiring complex active control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting system utilizes multi-degree-of-freedom joints that compensate for movement in multiple spatial dimensions simultaneously. By allowing movement in both vertical (pivoting) and horizontal dimensions, the mounting arrangement maintains the scrubber's operational stability despite the complex motion of the shearer arm.
3Productivity
If the shearer arm pivots and moves horizontally to perform cutting operations, then mining productivity is maintained, but the dust scrubber must remain stable relative to the arm
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting arrangement incorporates movable joints and flexible connections that allow the dust scrubber unit to dynamically adjust its position and orientation in response to the shearer arm's pivoting and horizontal movements. This dynamic adaptation maintains stable relative positioning without requiring complex active control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The dust scrubber system is designed to be self-adjusting through its mounting arrangement, automatically maintaining proper orientation relative to the shearer arm without external intervention. The system compensates for arm movement intrinsically, ensuring continuous effective operation during productive mining activities.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively reduces airborne dust levels, enhancing worker safety and visibility by capturing dust generated during mining operations, even with the shearer arm's pivoting and horizontal movements, thereby meeting stricter dust concentration standards.
Implementation Method 1
an extraction fan for drawing an air stream containing dust particles into the scrubber and through the housing passage
Implementation Method 2
a water spray system to capture airborne dust particles
Implementation Method 3
a filter/contact chamber for particle removal
Data Source
AI summary
A dust scrubber for a mining shearer machine is adapted to be mounted behind the rear surface of the shearer arm, on the opposite side of the arm to the mine surface being cut, so as to extract airborne particulates. The scrubber may be mounted to the shearer via a compensation mechanism such as a double hinge and link arrangement which maintains relatively static position and/or orientation of the scrubber despite the pivoting of the shearer arm in operation.