RDCIS DEVELOPES LIGHT STEEL PROP FOR COAL MINES
Research and Development
Centre for Iron and Steel (RDCIS), Ranchi of the Steel Authority
of India Ltd. (SAIL), in collaboration with the Central Mine Planning
Design Institute of Coal India Ltd, has developed high strength
lightweight steel props for use in underground coal mines. Use
of steel props in place of the wooden props will go a long way
in preventing denudation of forests.
Inherent disadvantages
like non-uniform strength due to variation in size, shape and
grain structure, prohibitive cost as well as poor life have made
timber props a non-viable option for use as a support material
in underground mines. Timber props are gradually being replaced
with steel props, but these are also heavy and difficult to install
and transport. RDCIS initiated the project to develop lightweight
props as a solution to the problem. The steel props used before
weigh around 40 kg and are difficult to carry manually in underground
mines.
The newly developed
prop has been designed using a circular section of 130 mm outer
diameter, 3.15 mm thickness and 2540 mm length which is welded
to a bottom portion of prop having 152 mm outer diameter, 5 mm
thickness and 250 m length. The high strength corrosion resistant
SAILCOR steel of yield strength 470 Mpa has been used for manufacturing
the props. The combination of high strength material with optimum
design parameters like pipe diameter and wall thickness have helped
to reduce the weight of the prop to nearly 8 kg, making it substantially
lighter for easy handling.
