Safety aspects of permitted explosives for use in underground coal mines

摘要

After a short survey of the historical development the present state of testing and use of mining safety explosives in Europe is described. Special reference is made to the powder form safety explosives containing the so-called "inverse salt pair". The enhanced safety of these explosives with regard to the ignition of firedamp explosions is based on the principle of the so-called "selective" detonation. Because of their water content novel emulsion explosives have already an intrinsic degree of firedamp safety, which may be enhanced by the addition of inert salts. Yet more sophisticated compositions are needed to reach the overall safety of powder form explosives with inverse salt pair. The development of such explosives will be strongly supported by test methods introduced by DMT-Bergbau-Versuchsstrecke in the last decades, e.g. the testing of firedamp and coal dust safety with addition of oxygen to the gallery atmosphere, to evaluate the influence of variations in composition.