Pump chamber

Example of a pump chamber

In mining, a pump chamber is a mine in which the machines for drainage are installed. The pump chamber is located underground in the immediate vicinity of the swamp .

Location and structure and size

If possible, the pump chamber is created on the lowest foundation level . The hallway of the pump chamber is usually located at the level of the underground floor. The difference in depth between the pump chamber and the sump section is between three and a maximum of five meters. This arrangement leaves a safety distance of up to one meter for the motors. This ensures the operation of the dewatering machines , even when the swamp area is completely filled and the underground level partially subsides between 0.5 and 1 meter . Since the geodetic suction head of the pumps is limited, the difference in depth between the bottom of the pump chamber and the sump section must not exceed five meters. In addition, pumps with high numbers of revolutions run more quietly when the suction lift is low. The size of the pump chamber depends on the number and size of the required dewatering machines, including reserve machines.

Exceptions

There are also situations in which the pump chamber is created below the sump section. This is the case where the pit water is very muddy, e.g. B. in clay or kaolin mines. Since the sludge is difficult to separate with larger sludge inflows, care must be taken that the pump also pumps it out. For this purpose, the swamp section is created with a gradient of 22 percent to the pump chamber. The pump chamber is separated from the sump section by a barrier wall. Two pipes fitted with sliders are built into the barrier wall through which the water flows to the pump. Access to the pump chamber is via a sloping path, the entrance to the pump chamber is above the chamber. On the other hand, there is also the situation that the pump chamber is placed well more than five meters above the swamp section. Here a water reservoir must be created above the pump chamber, which is filled by means of feed pumps and from which the water flows to the main pump.

Protection of the pump chamber

In order to protect the pump chamber from flooding, the access to the pump chamber is provided with a dam gate. The dam gate is usually made of sheet steel, but it can also be made of wood . If there is now an increase in the water on the lower foundation level, the dam gate is closed and the water cannot penetrate the pump chamber. A watertight dam must be built between the swamp section and the pump chamber . The pit water to be pumped is fed to the pump via a pipe built into the dam. In order for the pump chamber to remain passable , it must have another access. This is created in the area of the roof of the pump chamber. It is laid out in such a way that it opens into the shaft about ten to fifteen meters above the foundation level .

Individual evidence

^ Walter Bischoff , Heinz Bramann, Westfälische Berggewerkschaftskasse Bochum: The small mining dictionary. 7th edition, Verlag Glückauf GmbH, Essen 1988, ISBN 3-7739-0501-7 .
^ RAG Aktiengesellschaft (ed.): Tasks for Eternity. Mine water management, polder measures and groundwater management in the Ruhr area. Herne 2016, pp. 9–11, 13.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Association for mining interests in the Oberbergamtsiertel Dortmund (ed.): The development of the Lower Rhine-Westphalian hard coal mining in the second half of the 19th century. Volume IV, extraction work - water management, Springer Verlag Berlin, Berlin 1902, pp. 127-131.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Fritz Heise, Fritz Herbst: Textbook of mining studies with a special focus on hard coal mining. First volume, fifth increased and improved edition, published by Julius Springer, Berlin 1932, pp. 703, 704.
^ Theodor Röhnert: Drilling of a central main water drainage on the Prosper Haniel mine. In: Deilmann-Haniel GmbH. (Ed.): Our company, company magazine for the companies of the Deilmann-Haniel Group. No. 28, printed by A. Hellendoorn, Bentheim December 1991, pp. 11-16.
^ Carl Hellmut Fritzsche: Textbook of mining science. Second volume, 10th edition, Springer Verlag, Berlin / Göttingen / Heidelberg 1962, pp. 647–650.

Remarks

↑ With this positioning of the pump chamber, the sludge-containing water flows into the pump and does not have to be sucked in by it. This has the advantage that the suction line does not become muddy and the pump does not suck in air. Since the sludge-containing water flows into the pump under pressure, it can pump out water with a sludge content of up to 30 percent. (Source: Carl Hellmut Fritzsche: Textbook of Mining Studies with Special Consideration of Hard Coal Mining. )

[Quelle_1-1] Walter Bischoff , Heinz Bramann, Westfälische Berggewerkschaftskasse Bochum: The small mining dictionary. 7th edition, Verlag Glückauf GmbH, Essen 1988, ISBN 3-7739-0501-7 .

[Quelle_2-2] RAG Aktiengesellschaft (ed.): Tasks for Eternity. Mine water management, polder measures and groundwater management in the Ruhr area. Herne 2016, pp. 9–11, 13.

[Quelle_3-3] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Association for mining interests in the Oberbergamtsiertel Dortmund (ed.): The development of the Lower Rhine-Westphalian hard coal mining in the second half of the 19th century. Volume IV, extraction work - water management, Springer Verlag Berlin, Berlin 1902, pp. 127-131.

[Quelle_4-4] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Fritz Heise, Fritz Herbst: Textbook of mining studies with a special focus on hard coal mining. First volume, fifth increased and improved edition, published by Julius Springer, Berlin 1932, pp. 703, 704.

[Quelle_6-5] Theodor Röhnert: Drilling of a central main water drainage on the Prosper Haniel mine. In: Deilmann-Haniel GmbH. (Ed.): Our company, company magazine for the companies of the Deilmann-Haniel Group. No. 28, printed by A. Hellendoorn, Bentheim December 1991, pp. 11-16.

[Quelle_15-7] Carl Hellmut Fritzsche: Textbook of mining science. Second volume, 10th edition, Springer Verlag, Berlin / Göttingen / Heidelberg 1962, pp. 647–650.

[Anm._Fritzsch.-6] With this positioning of the pump chamber, the sludge-containing water flows into the pump and does not have to be sucked in by it. This has the advantage that the suction line does not become muddy and the pump does not suck in air. Since the sludge-containing water flows into the pump under pressure, it can pump out water with a sludge content of up to 30 percent. (Source: Carl Hellmut Fritzsche: Textbook of Mining Studies with Special Consideration of Hard Coal Mining. )