Windblast
≈ 1 min read
Names in other languages
No names in other languages are held for this entry yet.
Article bodies are English and are not machine-translated. A name in another language is not a translation of the article.
In mining, a windblast is a sudden rush of air or gas due to the collapse of a void.
In mining, a windblast is a sudden rush of air or gas due to the collapse of a void. ==Causes== Windblast is common in longwall coal mines, especially those whose roof strata are competent, and do not cave immediately behind the roof supports as the face advances. This results in the tendency for a large void to be created behind the roof supports in the goaf (or gob) which collapses when the overlying cantilevered strata can no longer support its own weight. When the collapse occurs, the air or gas occupying the void is displaced by rock, resulting in a pressure wave and windblast that propagates along the roadways (tunnels) of the mine. This may be followed by a "suck back" as the air pressure is equalised with the low pressure created higher up in the goaf. Windblast can also occur in metalliferous, kimberlite or even evaporite mines, particularly in block caving mines, as happened at the Northparkes mine in NSW, Australia on 25 November 1999, killing 4. ==References==
Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1283282571 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.