Damp (mining)

The weather are all gases contained in the mine a mine in mining. These consist first and foremost of air, supplemented by additions that flow towards the pit from the surrounding mountains.

Basics

The term " weather " itself comes from a time when they did not know much about the composition of the air and the movements of their underlying mechanisms. So you comes from the general observation that there is a certain correlation between the air movement in the pit ( direction and amount ) and the ( meteorological ) conditions. With regard to the origin of the air movement, technical processes for their production and the distribution of air in the mine is called weathering.

Types of weather

The miner distinguishes between two types of bettors: good weather and bad weather. Good weather is fresh weather, so the unconsumed fresh air, to breathe the mountain man. Through the consumption of oxygen and the access of harmful gas species, the good weather can turn into bad weather.

The characteristics of the bad weather were partially known in the early mining. Although it was not yet reached at the time in significant depths, the miners have been made ​​here the experience with poor bettors. So already mentioned Pliny the disadvantages of the suffocating haze and smoke that appeared when firesetting. Later there was a division of the bad weather in the different subspecies:

• The miner speaks of dull or weak bettors bettors when it comes to asphixiating air with reduced oxygen content and often a high proportion of carbon dioxide.
• Bad weather are toxic weather. They include increased admixture of toxic gases such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, and nitrogen oxides.
• As firedamp the miner is a mixture of air and flammable gases, mostly methane, in a potentially dangerous mix ratio. Above all, the resounding weather are feared because of the large explosion hazard in mining. Worst may be a firedamp explosion when it stirs up loose coal dust and ignites and continues to work as a coal dust explosion. Among the destructive effects of an explosion also be added the danger of suffocation, because on the one hand, a large part of the atmospheric oxygen consumed and on the other hand, the air is enriched with carbon monoxide and then it nasty weather arise.

As Abwetter the miner denotes the dissipated out of the pit " stale" air.

As Schleich weather the miner called small, uncontrolled weather flows which roam dropped mines as the Old Man and occur in a different place back to normal weather flow.

Fresh air consumption

The supply enough fresh bettors is prescribed in the relevant legal regulations. The General Mountain Police Regulation prescribes in Austria that all the operating serving workings are to supply enough bettors that accumulations of evil, matt or beating bettors are avoided. The German Federal General Mining Ordinance prescribes the entrepreneur that he has a sufficient safety margin to bewettern all underground work sites so that the mine workings located in the atmosphere for the health and safety of miners is harmless.

Several studies have been conducted over the required amount Weather. After the investigation of Schondorff man per hour requires 24 liters of oxygen. The open Geleucht consumes 28.5 liters of oxygen. A pit horse needs 100 liters of oxygen - a horse pit is expected as four men at the weather quantity calculation.

Later studies of Zuntz and Schumburg showed that Schondorff is assumed to need oxygen at moderate movement. Under stress, a man needed depending on the severity of the stress from 52.8 to 80.8 liters of oxygen. Taking into account a safety margin of 120 liters of oxygen per hour 148.5 liters of oxygen at the weather quantity calculation is taken into account for a man without Geleucht and Geleucht. This corresponds to an air consumption of 707 liters per man per hour. Taking into account the processes of oxidation and decay processes, a much higher value is taken into account. Thus, the per man to be fed Weather amount is due 17 times as high.

2 cubic meters of fresh air to be directed into the pit per man thus per minute. The value varies from mine to mine. Some pits come out with this value at other mines the required amount of air per man is twice as high. For safety reasons, more than 10 cubic meters of air per man per minute are taken into account in today's mines.

Nature of the weather

In addition to a sufficiently high percentage of oxygen and the humidity is a factor to consider.

• When humidity is too high, the working capacity of the miners is reduced. In addition, a weeping current weather promote the spread of the dreaded worm disease. High humidity makes the pit horses used to create physically even more than the people, and led to the pit horses have died at a temperature of 32 degrees with little effort.
• A dry air promotes the drying up of the mine and coal dust increases the risk. The drying out of the pit is stronger in winter than in summer. This is because the cold air can hold less moisture than warm air.

In today's mining the composition of the weather is regularly inspected by Weather Steiger and documented on a weather panel near the mine site.