Evaluation, Scaled Testing, and Testing Design of Active Explosion Barriers Systems for the US Underground Coal Mines

The use of mechanisms to prevent and mitigate the spread of an underground coal mine explosion is a safety practice in various mining countries, Germany, Poland, South Africa, Australia, etc. Such types of systems are the last line of defense against methane explosions in underground coal mines. They cannot prevent explosions but they may aid to mitigate the intensity of the explosion and avoid its propagation to other areas of the mine. The last comprehensive explosion barrier research in the US was completed by the USBM in the late 1990's at the Lake Lynn Experimental Mine (LLEM). With advances in technology, research needs to be done regarding systems that might be employed in current US mining conditions. This proposal, with the participation of a worldwide expert in explosion barriers systems, will evaluate the most current common active explosion barrier systems used in other mining countries and will select the suitable systems for the US mining conditions. The evaluation of the systems will be done through methane explosion scale testing in the University of Kentucky Explosives Research Lab (UKERL). After the analysis of the scale testing results, the design and recommendations for a full-scale test stage will be provided. One full-scale test will be conducted at the UKERL. This proposal addresses Numeral 4 in Section G of the NIOSH BBA 2017-N-18045.