Foreign language material original text
The path to Successful Roof Support Automation
1 ABSTRACT
The first hydraulic roof supports were installed underground in 1950s and ever since that engineering developments have improved the supports in many different ways.However,advances in three main areas,the roof support mechanical design,hydraulic engineering and electronics have ultimately led to the point where ,35 years after that installation,automation has been achieved and is now commonplace.
The history of roof support automation has involved the continual integration of high technology engineering.There are further possibilities for the future which combine to give some idea of the likelihood of there ultimately being a completely manless face.
2 INTRODUCTION
Around 35 years ago,a development took place within the mining industry that,with hindsight,paved the way for this industry to change from being a highly labour intensive one,to the industry of today.This development was the introduction of the hydraulic roof support.
The first generation support,with its simplistic hydraulic tap controls,was a quantum leap in its time,contributing to improved safety of the workplace and improved productivity.Relative to the use of props and bars,the activity of supporting the roof had actually been “automated”,and thereafter the challenge for greater degrees of automation was laid firmly at the feet of the roof support designers.
Consequently,many improvements were made in the fields of structural and environmental mechanical engineering and the development of hydraulic systems which would operate reliably using water-based fluids.This improved engineering ,coupled with the development knowledge of the mining engineers of the effects of and load patterns induced from different types of strata,led to the development of competent mechanical structures.
