Controlling Dust Concentration at a Longwall Face Through Application of a Flooded-bed Scrubber to a Longwall Shearer

By Sampurna Arya, University of Kentucky; William Chad Wedding, University of Kentucky; Thomas Novak, University of Kentucky; and James P. Rider, NIOSH

A full-scale physical model of a Joy 7LS longwall shearer, modified with an integrated flooded-bed scrubber, was designed and fabricated at the University of Kentucky. The mockup was assembled and tested in the longwall dust gallery at the Pittsburgh Research Laboratory (PRL) of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

Test results indicate an average 68% dust reduction at the longwall face. The experimental results of the tests conducted at the PRL, as well as the validation of CFD simulations, are presented.