Roof Prop System: Support Column Assembly, Collet Assembly and Installation Assembly
Project Leader: E. Bane Kroeger
Unit: Coal Extraction and Utilization Research Center
Brief Description:
Support Column Assembly and Collet Assembly: Adjustable vertical support column assemblies for supporting roofs and the like.
Support Column Installation Assembly: An apparatus and method for setting an adjustable vertical support column assembly in place, to support a roof or other structure.
Patent Status:
Patent pending. U.S. Patent applications 20060278476, 20060207210, 20060201322.
Potential Commercial Uses:
The roof prop is a yieldable steel roof prop to be used in underground mining as supplemental support, for example in longwall installations for gate entry support. It could also be used in continuous miner operations for aircourse and bleeder support. The system allows the user to apply an active load to the roof and floor and also can yield without failure over a deflection range not possible with competing steel, wood and pumpable freestanding support products.
Contact:
Jeff Myers, Senior Technology Transfer Specialist, (618) 453-4543, fax: (618) 453-8038