Tunnel construction

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As tunneling is known in the mining a form of underground mining , which in deposits is applied pending, the (z. B. in mountainous areas) above a bottom. In the case of tunnel construction, the deposit is mined by driving more or less horizontal cavities, the tunnels , into the rock from the surface of the terrain, i.e. mining usually only takes place in or above the bottom of the tunnel . The tunnel construction is the oldest type of underground construction.

application

The tunnel construction was used very early in the Harz and Freiberg mountain areas . Already in the 12th century it was regulated in the mining rights how to proceed with tunnel construction. In the Ruhr mining industry, there was no tunnel construction at first, but the coal was extracted by digging in Pingen . The coal was then mined using Akeldruftbau , a forerunner of the real tunnel construction. The tunnel construction was only used in the Ruhr district from the 17th century. Towards the end of the 19th century, the Ruhr area went from tunnel construction to civil engineering . Tunnel construction was hardly used in Germany as early as the 1950s. This was mainly due to the fact that the trough had been reached almost everywhere in the older mining areas. In Central Europe, tunnel construction is only practiced to a limited extent, as the deposits that are suitable for tunnel mining are largely exploited. In some mines, clay, gypsum and roofing slate are still extracted using tunnels . Tunnel construction is still widespread worldwide today. In the mining districts of the so-called New World, it is still widely used today. In the United States of America, too, around a third of coal production comes from tunnels.

Driveway and operation

Face (site of the tunneling) of a tunnel with typical staircase, mallets and iron, 16th century

The purpose of the tunnel construction is to remove the contents of the deposit by means of mining work. The deposit is opened up and mined by driving one or more tunnels. When driving tunnels, the starting point, the direction, the size and the slope of the tunnels must be taken into account. The tunnel construction begins with the construction of the tunnel mouth hole . The deposit is aligned based on this starting point . In doing so, tunnels that are driven through dead rock are always driven in a straight line. The direction of the tunnels to be driven is otherwise determined by the position of the mine fields to be mined . Existing saddles and hollows also have an influence on the direction of the tunnels . The size of the tunnel is determined by its task. In the 16th century, small tunnels were excavated that were 0.8 meters high and 0.4 meters wide. Conveyor tunnels require a larger cross-section. Wide tunnels are created for conveyor tunnels that are used for punting , and high tunnels are created for tunnels in which wagon conveyance takes place. The rise of the tunnel is also dependent on its use. In order to get to the usable minerals faster when building the tunnels, longer tunnels with opposite locations are being excavated. For this, then first light holes drilled , the same time the ventilation serve the tunnel system.

The excavation during tunnel construction, the so-called tunnel work, was carried out in early mining using mallets and iron . This type of advance could be accelerated in solid rock with sufficient wood availability by setting fire . Drilling and shooting with explosives replaced the older methods from the 17th century. Modern construction machinery and equipment are used in today's tunnel construction. Several wing locations are being excavated from the main tunnels so that the deposit can be mined . As a mining method which is often the tunneling pillar method applied. Sinking works is used as the mining method for salt mining in the Hasel Mountains. The deposit can only be mined to a limited extent beyond the level of a tunnel. As soon as the reservoir contents have been mined to this level, a deeper tunnel must be excavated. This usually happens during the mining at the level of the upper gallery. If necessary, the individual tunnels are connected to one another via blind shafts . By creating several tunnels on top of each other, the deposit is divided into individual levels , similar to civil engineering . The tunnel system can be covered by several hundred meters of mountains. The tunnel construction is limited at the bottom by the valley floor.

particularities

Water solution tunnel

An essential feature of this type of underground construction is that, unlike in civil engineering , the dissolved water can freely flow out of the pit via a drainage tunnel, i.e. it does not have to be pumped (up). So that the tunnel water can drain off well in the event of a flood, the tunnel mouth holes are provided with sufficient tailings. Since some tunnels were not used to lead the pit water out of the pit, but to use the water power to drive the machines, these tunnels had to have a certain gradient. The deeper a tunnel is, the more significant the difference in altitude and thus the usable gradient between the water inlet and outlet. The tunnel systems can often be ventilated by natural drafts . However, at certain times of the year the weather direction changes . In order to achieve better weather changes, artificial ventilation systems are also installed in the tunnel construction.

Limits and disadvantages

Since it is necessary in tunnel construction that the tunnel is always driven up slightly, the tunnel construction can no longer be used if the bottom of the valley has to be undershot. Since it is not possible to reach any significant depths with the tunnel construction, deeper-lying parts of the deposit can hardly be reached with normal tunnel construction. Deposits from rolling or loose rock in the area of ​​the starting point of the tunnel mouth hole have an unfavorable effect on the approach of a tunnel mouth hole. In addition, special safety pillars must remain in place during the construction of the tunnels, the dimensions of which must be larger for the lower tunnels than for the upper tunnels due to the breaking angle. This leads to a lower yield from the deposit. When building tunnels in coal seams , strong water inflows have a detrimental effect on the operation of the water solution tunnels. The water takes larger amounts of deposits with it and the tunnel can become so silted that it can no longer be maintained or can only be maintained with a great deal of maintenance. This work often takes several weeks and cannot be carried out by adult miners , especially in smaller tunnels . Mine boys were then used for this work in the Brandenburg mountain area in the 16th century . They then had to bend over or kneel to load the mud into towing troughs and remove the filled troughs.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Moritz Ferdinand Gätzschmann: Collection of mining expressions . Craz & Gerlach Publishing House, Freiberg 1859.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Ernst-Ulrich Reuther: Textbook of mining science. First volume, 12th edition. VGE Verlag, Essen 2010, ISBN 978-3-86797-076-1 .
  3. ↑ a b c d Ernst-Ulrich Reuther: Introduction to mining. 1st edition. Glückauf Verlag, Essen 1982, ISBN 3-7739-0390-1 .
  4. ↑ Kurt Pfläging: The cradle of Ruhr coal mining. 4th edition. Glückauf Verlag, Essen 1987, ISBN 3-7739-0490-8 .
  5. ↑ a b c Kurt Pfläging: Stein's journey through coal mining on the Ruhr. 1st edition. Geiger Verlag, Horb am Neckar 1999, ISBN 3-89570-529-2 .
  6. ^ Gerhard Gebhardt: Ruhr mining. History, structure and interdependence of its societies and organizations. Glückauf Verlag, Essen 1957.
  7. ↑ Joachim Huske: The coal mine in the Ruhr area. 3. Edition. Self-published by the German Mining Museum, Bochum, 2006, ISBN 3-937203-24-9 .
  8. ^ A b c Carl Hellmut Fritzsche: Textbook of mining science. Second volume, 10th edition. Springer Verlag, Berlin / Göttingen / Heidelberg 1962.
  9. ^ Emil Treptow: Mining including quarrying and precious stone extraction. Publishing house and printing by Otto Spamer, Leipzig 1900.
  10. ↑ a b c d e f Albert Serlo: Guide to mining science . First volume, third and up to the most recent edition expanded. Published by Julius Springer, Berlin 1878.
  11. ↑ a b Georg Haupt: The tunnel systems. Guide for miners and tunnel builders, published by Julius Springer, Berlin 1884.
  12. ↑ a b c d J. Niederist: Fundamentals of mining science. kk court book and art dealer FA Credner, Prague 1863.
  13. ^ A b Emil Stöhr, Emil Treptow: Basics of mining science including processing. Spielhagen & Schurich publishing house, Vienna 1892.
  14. ↑ a b Alfred Nehls: All wealth lay in the earth. Verlag Gronenberg, Gummersbach 1993, ISBN 3-88265-180-6 .
  15. ^ Carl Friedrich Richter: Latest mountain and hut lexicon . Second volume, Kleefeldsche Buchhandlung, Leipzig 1805.
  16. ↑ Frank Stahl: Development of a data warehouse system for advance data in tunnel construction. Thesis. 2005 ( online , accessed October 8, 2012)
  17. ↑ a b c Gustav Köhler: Textbook of mining science. Sixth improved edition. Published by Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig 1903.
  18. ^ E. Treptow, F. Wüst, W. Borchers: Mining and metallurgy . Publishing house and printing by Otto Spamer, Leipzig 1900.
  19. ↑ Fritz Heise, Fritz Herbst: Textbook of mining science with special consideration of hard coal mining. First volume, fifth improved edition. Published by Julius Springer, Berlin 1923.
  20. ↑ Walter Buschmann : Collieries and coking plants in the Rhenish coal mining industry, Aachen district and western Ruhr area. Gebr. Mann Verlag, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-7861-1963-5 .
  21. ↑ a b F. Heise, F. Herbst: Textbook of mining science with special consideration of hard coal mining. First volume, published by Julius Springer, Berlin 1908.
  22. ↑ F. Freise: Alignment, device and mining of hard coal deposits. Publishing house by Craz & Gerlach, Freiberg in Sachsen 1908.