Modular Underground Safety Chamber Pressurization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current safety devices are inadequate for sustaining the lives of underground workers in emergency situations such as atmospheric contamination, roof falls, or blockages, due to logistical, accessibility, and sustainability challenges in underground mining and construction environments.
Innovation Solution
A modular underground safety chamber with features like compressed breathable air, CO2 removal systems, specific safety features, and monitoring systems, designed to maintain a pressurized state and provide essential necessities like food, water, and shelter for extended periods, allowing for safe entry and exit during rescue operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of moving object
If current safety devices are used in underground mining, then workers have some protection, but they cannot sustain life for extended periods during rescue operations
Solution Approach 1:
The safety chamber is divided into modular components including wall units, base units, and modular base pieces that can be assembled together to form a complete life support system. This segmentation allows the system to be customized and scaled to provide extended life support duration while maintaining reliability through standardized, reliable connections and sealing mechanisms.
2Duration of action of moving object
If a pressurized safety chamber is constructed, then life can be sustained for extended periods, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pressurized chamber is constructed from standardized modular wall units, base units, and modular base pieces that can be assembled together. This segmentation reduces overall complexity by breaking down the construction into manageable, interchangeable components with standardized connection and sealing mechanisms, while still achieving the required pressurized state for extended life support.
3Stress or pressure
If modular wall units are assembled to form sealed chambers, then pressurized state can be maintained, but manufacturing and assembly precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The chamber walls are divided into standardized modular wall units with predetermined sealing interfaces. This segmentation allows for consistent, repeatable manufacturing of each unit with controlled precision requirements, while the modular assembly process ensures proper alignment and sealing at connections through standardized interfaces and sealing mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
Sealing mechanisms between modular wall units utilize flexible sealing elements and gaskets that can accommodate minor dimensional variations and manufacturing tolerances. These flexible sealing components maintain effective seals under pressure differentials without requiring extremely tight manufacturing precision on the rigid structural components.
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 modular safety chamber effectively sustains life for several days by maintaining a pressurized environment, managing pressure differentials, and ensuring the safety of occupants through advanced ventilation and monitoring systems, enhancing rescue operations and overall underground safety.
Implementation Method 1
the shelter may be configured to maintain a pressurized state in a closed condition. For example, the shelter may be configured to selectively withstand a pressure differential in a range of approximately ±15 PSI between an interior of the shelter and an exterior of the shelter
Implementation Method 2
a control system that operates the atmospheric venting/purge system to selectively force an atmospheric gas from within the assembled shelter to an outside of the assembled shelter
Implementation Method 3
one or more one-way vents that are configured to open from one side at a first pressure and to resist air flow from another direction up to an operational pressure range of the one-way vent that is substantially higher than the first pressure
Implementation Method 4
methodologies for CO2 removal
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are provided for a modular shelter that is suited for use as a safety chamber in an underground working environment. The shelter includes at least two wall units connected along a substantially sealed seam, a base unit that extends substantially throughout a floor plan of the shelter, and a roll cage that surrounds an outer extent of the shelter above the floor plan. The shelter may be configured to maintain a pressurized state in a closed condition. Each of the at least two wall units may share a substantially common shape and substantially common dimension, and may form a part of a wall, ceiling, and floor of the shelter. The shelter can also include various atmospheric control, circulation, and purge systems, and exterior and soft seal doors to assist in maintaining a livable atmosphere in the safety chamber.