GB2033450A - Shuttering system - Google Patents

Abstract

A shuttering system for use in pump packing in underground mines having roadway arches comprises at least one fixed section (6a, 6b, 6c, 6d) which has a first edge engageable with a roadway arch (2) and is correspondingly shaped, and a second edge which in use, forms a substantially vertical hinge-line (X-X); and attached to the second edge is at least one hinged panel section (10a, 10b, 10c, 10d) capable of being pointed to bear against conventional shuttering (5). Fluid packing material can be pumped through a filler point (14) and is allowed to set before the shuttering system is moved to the next position. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Shuttering system This invention concerns a shuttering system for use in pump packing in mines having roadway arches and partial shuttering attached to one or more roof supports.

Pump packing, that is the pumping of mine debris and/or run of mine mineral in admixture with cement into a space adjacent the roadway is an important new technique in mining--especially coal mining. Not only does the use of pumped packs provide substantial support adjacent the roadway, thus preventing uneven loading and distortion of the roadway, but also its use enables air-tight stoppings to be constructed and prevents the uncontrolled flow of air through worked-out areas which can cause spontaneous combustion. It has become commonplace in mines using pump packing to attach shuttering to at least the end face roof support, which therefore defines most of walls of the pack, together with the face of the previous pack and the lining attached to the roadway arches or inserted behind the arches.Because of the curvature of the arches and accordingly the lining, there is a gap increasing in width towards the top, between the edge of the shuttering attached to the roof support and the roadway lining, which has to be filled to prevent the pack escaping while still fluid.

Until now this gap has been filled by sandbags or the like, laboriously built up in a wall each time a pack is made. Especially in the case of deep seams, perhaps about 10 or more feet depth, this hand filling has slowed down the rate of pump packing. Moreover, such constructed filling can and does leak packing material with the result that sealing the gaps has to be hurriedly effected while the pack is being pumped in.

While we realised that it might be possible to attach supplementary shuttering to the roadway arches, and use it to fill the gap, a difficulty became evident. Since invariably the edge of the shuttering attached to the roof supports was not in line with the nearest roadway arch, such supplementary shuttering would be at an angle and this angle would lessen up the arch as the gap increased, thus creating even further sealing difficulties.

The present invention provides a shuttering system for use in pump packing in mines having roadway arches and partial shuttering, comprising at least one first door section having a first edge adapted to engage a roadway arch and correspondingly shaped, and a second edge which, in use, forms a substantially vertical hinge line, and at least one second door section adapted to be hingedly attached to said second edge and capable of being positioned to bear against the partial shuttering.

It is preferred that there are two or more first door sections and a plurality of second door sections.

It is preferred that the various door sections should be of a size and weight that can be relatively easily manually handled, with a simple locking arrangement to permit attachment to each other. It is also preferred that the edges of the second door sections which bear against the partial shuttering should have a sealing member, such as a deformable sealing strip or the like.

It is also preferred that the first door sections should include hinges at the second edges, and that the second door sections may be attached to the hinges. To further improve sealing, it is also preferred to have a sealing member protecting the hinge line and thus preventing leakage past the hinges and damage to the hinges.

As it is not unusual for the line of the face to creep relative to the roadway as working progresses, the distance between the base of the arch and the partial shuttering may vary.

This may be accommodated in the present invention by extending the second sections by spacer or extension pieces. Similarly, the first sections may also comprise spacer or extension pieces.

The first door sections(s) may suitably be attached, by clamps or the like, to the roadway arch. It has been found preferable in practice, however, to use a plurality of bracing members capable of extending from a second roadway arch to urge the first edge of the first door section into engagement with the roadway arch. Preferably, in this latter embodiment, the system also includes a buttressing member capable of buttressing the top of the second edge of the first door section.

The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompany drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of a first embodiment of a shuttering system, according to the invention, Figure 2 is a cross-section of the system of Fig. 1, along the line A-A, Figure 3 is a schematic cross-section of the system of Fig. 1, along the line C-C, Figure 4 is an enlarged section of the hinge shown in Fig. 3, Figure 5 is an enlarged section of Fig. 3, showing the attachment of the first door section to the roadway arch, Figure 6 is a front elevation of a second embodiment of a shuttering system according to the invention, looking towards the goaf of a coal mine, Figure 7 is a cross-section of the system of Fig. 6, along the line A-A, and Figure 8 is a plan view of the system of Fig.

6, with certain parts ommitted for clarity.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 5, in a coal mine, a roadway, 1, having roadway arches, 2, is adjacent a deep worked-out seam between roof, 3, and floor, 4. Fig. 1 shows the shuttering system of the invention looking from an advancing face and illustrates the gap to be filled between arch and the partial shuttering, 5, attached to the back of a self-advancing face roof support (not shown). For the sake of clarity the tunnel lining, normally consisting of boards, possibly with wire-mesh, is shown only in Fig. 3.

Attached to arch 2 are shaped first door sections 6a, 6b, 6c, and 6d, providing a common vertical hinge line X-X. Lowermost first door section 6a has a spade edge which is hammered into the floor and attached to the arch by clips 7. The top of section 6a is provided with two spigots 8, which act as locating pegs over which door section 6b may be placed. Sections 6a and 6b are locked together by hammering wedges 9 through holes in the spigots 8. The wedges are conveniently retained on the section 6b by chains.

It will be easily understood that such a system of spigots and retained wedges offers a simple, effective and easily re-usable system of attachment and disengagement. Similarly, first door sections 6c and 6d are attached and built up into a unit. Hingedly attached to the first door sections are second door sections 1 0a, lOb, 1 0c and 1 or, conveniently attached to each other by the spigot and wedge arrangement. It is intended that the lowermost second door section 1 0a, is positioned to bear firmly against partial shuttering 5, compressing synthetic rubber sealing strip 11 and the spade edge is hammered into the floor, the upper second floor sections are then attached.

The uppermost first door section 6d has a synethetic rubber sealing flap, 12, which is maintained in position by sand bags, 13, or the like. Sand bags are also used to fill the top gap above the second door sections 1 Od.

There is relatively little load on this top seal and also the rigid structure of the shuttering system according to the invention provides a secure basis for such top seal, which is absent in the prior used system. A filler point, 14, is provided in section 6d, to which a hose (not shown) may be attached to fill the cavity formed with the pack.

Fig. 4 shows a preferred hinge arrangement. Pivotally attached to the first door sections 6a is a hinge strip, 15, having a front plate, 16, and a back plate, 17, which includes a hinged flap 1 7a. Front plate 1 6 has at least two pins, 1 8, projecting rearwardly and provided with a slot, 19, flap 1 7a has a hole to enable it to clear pin 1 8 on closing.

Second door section 1 0a has vertical slots enabling it to be located on pins 18 and permitting vertical adjustment; flap 1 7a is then closed and a wedge 20 is hammered into the slot 1 9 giving firm attachment of door section 1 0a to hinge strip 1 5. Protecting the pivots from blocking or attack by the pack is strong synthetic rubber sealing strip, 21. It will be clear that the arrangement shown offers more protection to the hinge than a system in which the attachment of the two door sections actually forms the hinge.

Referring to Fig. 5, first door section 6a has a welded shoulder element, 22. A J-shaped clip 7 having a slot 23 is passed through appropriately shaped holes in the door section and the shoulder element, trapping an end of the I-section arch 2 between it and the shoulder element, and is then secured by wedge 24.

Referring to Figs. 6 to 8, a coal mine roadway 31 having first and second roadway arch supports 32 and 33 is adjacent a deep worked-out seam between roof 34 and floor 35. The roof 34 is supported by conventional hydraulic supports (not shown), to which are attached partial shuttering generally indicated by 36, shown in Fig. 8 only.

A first door section 37, shaped to correspond to the roadway arches, has a U-shaped section 38 on a first edge which section 38 is suitably provided with a deformable sealing strip 39, adhesively bonded in the section.

The section 38 is urged into engagement with an outer edge of the I-shaped beam which forms arch 32, by hydraulic or cam-operated bracing members 40, each of which has a Ushaped section 41 bearing against second arch 33. To locate door section 37 vertically, the section has a protruding hook-shaped support member 60, which fits over the archways. The second edge of door section 37 is formed with a cylindrical hinge pin 42 having at its lowermost end a telescopic spike 43 which may be hammered into floor 35 after location of support member 50. Hingedly attached to the top of door section 37 is a buttressing member 44, capable of telescopic length adjustment by means of spiked lower section 45 and clamps 46.

A set of second door sections 47a, 47b, 47c and 47d are hingedly clamped onto pin 42 by means of a semi-circular section bearing member 48, preferably having an adhesively bonded rubber liner 49, and clamps 50. The second door sections are built up one on top of the other by location of holes in the bottom edge of sections 47b, 47c and 47d over spigots 51 and then clamped by means of wedges 52 driven through holes in the spigots. The edges opposite to those bearing on the hinge pin have deformable elastomeric sealing strip 53.

To accommodate higher roofs, a supplementary first door section 54 and second door section 47e may be located on top of door sections 37 and 47d using the hole and spigot construction. On the top first and second door sections are mounted flexible sealing flaps 55 which may be forced against the roof by packing with sand bags 56.

The second door sections are urged tightly against the partial shuttering 36 by drawing chains 57 which are attached to each second door section tightly against an edge of the shuttering 36 and clamping them in position.

Fluid pumped packs may be pumped into the pack through feed holes 58, 59 in first door section 37 and supplementary first door section 54.

The second embodiment described above offers certain advantages over the first embodiment, primarily because of the unitary first door section 37 compared to a plurality of first door sections with their attendant sealing problems and because of the more positive location of the first door section against the edge of one of the limbs of the roadway arch rather than being positioned against the outside surface of the arch. The present invention also facilitates the day-to-day operation of an advancing coal face, as it can enable the roadway to be advanced out of phase with the face itself.

Many variations of the above-described detailed constructions will be clear to the skilled man, without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (8)

1. A shuttering system for use in pump packing in mines having roadway arches and partial shuttering, comprising at least one first door section having a first edge adapted to engage a roadway arch and correspondingly shaped, and a second edge which, in use, forms a substantially vertical hinge line, and at least one second door section adapted to be hingedly attached to said second edge and capable of being positioned to bear against the partial shuttering.

2. A system according to claim 1, comprising two or more first door sections and a plurality of second door sections.

3. A system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the edge(s) of the second door section(s) which bear against the partial shuttering have a sealing member.

4. A system according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the first door section includes a hinge at the second edge and the second door section is attachable to the hinge.

5. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising also a plurality of bracing members capable of extending from a second roadway arch to urge the first edge of the first door section into engagement with the roadway arch.

6. A system according to claim 5, comprising also a buttressing member capable of buttressing the top of the second edge of the first door section.

7. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the second door section is provided with means for maintaining its position against the partial shuttering.

8. A system according to claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described and with reference to Figs. 1 to 5 or 6 to 8 of the drawings.