Development process for a higher capacity Propsetter® system

As longwall tailgate support technologies continue to be developed and improved, strata worldwide has worked to design and manufacture a revised Propsetter to provide additional support capacity and enable applications at greater mine heights. The support is targeted for tailgate applications, however, it can also be utilized for roof support in various types of mining environments. This paper describes the design changes for enhancing the support capacity of the Propsetter to more closely align its performance with other support technologies currently being employed in longwall tailgates. Balancing changes to each design aspect of the Propsetter was key to successfully improving the roof support's load capacity while maintaining controlled deformation. Increasing the load capacity would allow a mine to improve support efficiency with a smaller, less intrusive support compared to support alternatives and reduce the cost per foot of supported entry. The target support capacity was 711-890 kN at 50 mm of deformation to more closely match the performance of competing tailgate supports such as the 610 mm-diameter CAN®. To achieve this goal, changes were made to all design aspects of the Propsetter: diameter, wedge cut depth and angle, pod size, and confinement rings. Test results from the NIOSH Mine Roof Simulator verified that these design changes were successful in increasing the capacity of the Propsetter to the 711-890 kN range at fifty mms of deformation.