Dust Control on Longwall Shearers Using Water-Jet-Assisted Cutting

摘要

The Bureau of Mines equipped a longwall shearer with a water-jet-assisted cutting system and measured dust levels during the cutting of a simulated coal block. The block was cut dry, at a conventional water spray pressure of 190 psi, and with water-jet-assisted cutting pressures ranging from 1,000 to 6,000 psi. At water pressures of 3,000 psi and higher, dust concentrations were reduced by as much as 85 pct via water-jet-assisted cutting in comparison with conventional water sprays.