Airtight

Robert Bolinger, Minova North America,

US, discusses the recent evolution of
underground mine ventilation seals.

ventilation seal is a barrier

that separates a remote or
abandoned area of an
underground mine from the
current active area where miners and
equipment routinely work and travel.
Ventilation seals improve safety for the
workers, reduce the hazards associated
with accumulations of noxious and
explosive gases, improve the efficiency
of the mine ventilation system and
reduce the area of the underground
mine that needs to be maintained or
monitored by mine personnel. The

underground mine ventilation seal

system is therefore a line of defense that
separates a potentially hazardous
environment and provides safety for the
workers in the underground operation.
The mine ventilation seal system has
evolved dramatically. As mining
operations have increased in size in
conjunction with the advancements in
mining methods and mechanised
mining equipment, mining regulatory
agencies have recognised that all
worked out or abandoned areas of
underground mines need to be

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Typical mine map showing active works and sealed or proposed sealed areas.
ventilated or sealed with an explosion-proof isolation barrier.
The steps of this evolution are noted in the following time
line.

1969

The Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act identifies that
each set of cross entries, room entries or panel entries of a
mine that are to be abandoned can be isolated from active
workings of the mine with explosion-proof bulkheads. The
ventilation seals were to be made in an approved manner
to isolate with explosion-proof bulkheads such areas from the
active workings of the mine.

1992

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) revised

the construction standards of mine ventilation seals:
ll The ventilation seals must be constructed to
withstand a 20 psi horizontal static explosion
overpressure.

Cleaning and preparation of the area.

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ll The ventilation seals must not leak more than

100ft/min at 1 in. water pressure differential across
the seal.
ll The ventilation seal must be constructed of solid
concrete blocks of at least 6x8 x 16 in., or an alternative
method and material subject to testing by the
NationalInstitute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH) Lake Lynn experimental mine.

2006

As a result of two mine explosions in the US, MSHA issued a

moratorium for all ventilation seals and issued an
EmergencyTemporary Standard (ETS) for all future
constructed ventilation seals.

2008

It was recognised that mine environments are dynamic in

nature and conditions change rapidly in underground
mines. Worked out areas of mines may contain coal dust
and accumulated explosive gas mixtures that may be
ignited by multiple sources. Seals isolate this environment
from active workings and must be designed to withstand
overpressures resulting from explosions in these abandoned
areas and to prevent the potential explosive mixtures from
migrating to the active working areas of a mine.
ll All seals must undergo a thorough review of
structural engineering design by the manufacturer
with the seal materials, proper construction
techniques, entry dimensions and anchoring
interactions to the surrounding mine strata at the
proposed seal location.
ll The seal design must be tested and approved by MSHA
and certified to have met all criteria.
ll A ventilation seal plan must be submitted and
approved by MSHA.

Formwork construction of the seal.

strata interface. The applicable design of the system is defined

under the parallel plug bulkhead formula identified by the
US Bureau of Mines IC9020, Design of bulkheads for
controlling water in underground mines.1
The formula is an accepted design criteria by MSHA
technical support for the design of plug-type seals in
underground mines. The formula is modified to include a
dynamic load factor (DLF) to address the additional dynamic
loading imposed by an explosion or blast underground on
the face of the ventilation seal and to include a design factor
of safety for assumptions made in the design process
regarding actual conditions. The dynamic load factor was
determined from the maximum response of elastic,
one-degree-of freedom for rectangular load, based on design
criteria identified by the Department of the Army
TechnicalManual 5-1300, Structures to resist the effects of
accidental explosions.2
The following plug bulkhead design formula was used to
compute the thickness of the ventilation seal by balancing the
dynamic load on the face of the ventilation seal versus the
shearing forces along the perimeter of the seal:

L = P x W x H x Fs x DLF (2 x (W + H) x fshear)

Brattice curtain.
ll A professional engineer must examine and certify the
seal location and installation of the ventilation seals.
ll All seals must be designed, constructed and maintained
to meet the following criteria:
xx Withstand a 50 psi instantaneous overpressure and
maintain this overpressure for a specified interval.
For a 50 psi ventilation seal, the sealed area must be
monitored and maintained inert.
xx Sealed areas that do not require monitoring or
maintained inert after the approved ventilation seal
has reached their required strength must withstand
a 120 psi instantaneous overpressure and maintain
this overpressure for a specified interval.

Permanent, pumpable, blast-proof

ventilation seal

Minova, in cooperation with MarshallMiller&Associates, a

leading engineering consulting firm with over 35 years
experience in the mineral resource industry, has developed
the Tekseal ventilation seal system, an MSHA-approved
permanent, pumpable, blast-proof ventilation seal system for
use in underground mines. The Tekseal pumpable seal
process is, and continues to be, a safe and easy system for
installing permanent underground ventilation seals.
The design is based on balancing the load applied to the
face of the seal from a blast or underground explosion against
the resistance to shearing at the Tekseal and the surrounding

In which:
L = the resultant adjusted thickness of the plug (ft).
P = the assumed blast pressure (50 or 120 psi).
W = the entry width after loose strata has been removed (ft).
H = the entry height after loose strata has been removed (ft).
Fs = the static factor of safety (1.5).
DLF = the dynamic load factor (2.0).
fshear = calculated laboratory shear strength for Tekseal (72psi).
The Tekseal ventilation seal system is a simple, innovative
and cost effective permanent seal system for the underground
mining industry. Formwork for the Tekseal plug may be
constructed by one of three following options:
ll Timber crib or posts, boards and brattice cloth.
ll Concrete blocks.
ll Prefabricated steel panels.
The Tekseal material forms a low density foam
(0.60.8SG) when combined with a controlled amount of
air and water from a specially-designed Tekplacer pump
unit. The 400 psi compressive strength mixture begins to gel
in minutes, forming a non-toxic, non-combustible
ventilation seal. The lower causticity of the material enables
safer handling compared to other standard cement
products.
Advantages of the Tekseal ventilation seal system include:
ll Acid mine water resistance: determined as a result of
months of MSHA testing in pH 3 water.
ll Simplicity: easy to install; eliminates requirements for
hitching into roof, ribs and floor.
ll Proven: thousands of installations have been
constructed in the US alone.
ll Ease of use: ideal for areas difficult to reach and/or in
need of major rehabilitation for conventional seals.
ll Labour savings: requires minimal man hours.
ll Safety: reduces exposure time in hazardous areas and
handling of heavy material.

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Typical Tekplacer pump and water heater.

Finished seal.
ll Yield: yields with ground pressure before brittle
failure, a substantial improvement over conventional
seals.
ll Reduced cure times: by controlled increases in
the material density, cure times to the required
compressive strength can be attained in as low as
threedays.
ll MSHA approval: the seals are approved for various
entry dimensions for both Mainline and Gob seals at
50and120 psi dynamic blast pressures.

Installation guidelines

The installation guidelines for the Tekseal ventilation seal

area are very simple. The preparation, construction and
pumping steps are as follows:
ll A professional engineer approves and certifies the
seal location.
ll The ventilation seal plan is submitted and approved
by MSHA.
ll The seal location must be at least 10 ft from the
corner of the underground pillar. (Approval for
510 ft offsets may be submitted for approval to
MSHA with additional pillar support).
ll The roof, ribs and floor must be cleaned and scaled to
competent strata. All loose material must be removed
from within the seal location and for a distance of 3 ft
on each side of the seal. Rock dust should be removed
from the strata within the seal area.

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ll Supplemental roof support must be installed by

cribbing or equivalent on both the outby and inby
sides of the seal.
ll The seal area must be free of debris, oil, standing or
running water and unsound material.
ll Each pair of formwork is constructed of wood and
brattice cloth, 6 in. solid blocks or prefabricated
steel panels. The minimum thickness of the seal is
based on the maximum height and width once the
seal area is prepped. The thickness is defined on the
appropriate design table for the respective material
used for the forms.
ll A nonmetallic water drainage trap and valve is
installed in the lowest elevation seal(s) of the set.
A low weir catchment, no more than 12 in. high, is
constructed across the entry inby the seal.
ll Each seal shall have one nonmetallic gas sampling
tube extended into the next connecting crosscut inby
the seals.
ll At least three pressurisation fill pipes with shut off
are installed in each seal. If a seals thickness exceeds
10ft, than six fill pipes are installed. A bleeder pipe
may be used to confirm filling if any roof voids exist.
ll An approved polyurethane foam pack may be used
around the perimeter to minimise leakage during
material pressurisation.
ll The Minova Tekplacer pump is calibrated before the
filling of the seals to insure the Tekseal material is
proportionally correct.
ll A minimum of nine Tekseal samples are taken
from each seal, stored at the ventilation seal for
the specified cure time, and then crushed to verify
the required minimum average 400 psi unconfined
compressive strength.

Conclusion

The construction of underground ventilation seals has

successfully evolved, from a barrier that was originally
constructed from material that was deemed suitable to the
present day ventilation seal that is structurally engineered and
designed to withstand explosion overpressures of
50and120psi. The new design criteria and innovative
materials of these ventilation seals have increased the safety of
the underground workers and the efficiency of the mining
operations.
As a result of the Minova and MarshallMiller&Associates
accepted plug design analysis for a ventilation seal, the
Tekseal ventilation seal system can be used in a wide variety
of geological conditions. This versatility, combined with the
many advantages of the system, has made the Minova
ventilation seal a proven and widely accepted ventilation seal
for use in underground mining operations.

References
1. CHEKAN, G.J., Design of bulkheads for controlling water in
underground mines, US Bureau of Mines IC9020 (1985).
2. US Department of the Army Technical Manual 5-1300 was
written in 1969 and revised in 1990. It has since been
superseded by the Department of Defense UFC 3-340-02 (2008).