ISBN:  Unavailable

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Page count: 40

An engineering evaluation was performed on hardwood stoppings, or "batteries," as they are referred to, constructed in anthracite coal mines. The evaluation investigated the structural and fire-resistant qualities of these ventilation control structures. Batteries, constructed using two layers of 1-inch oak planks lapped in the parallel direction, were judged to have the most favorable structural and fire-resistant characteristics when compared with perpendicular lapped 1-inch boards and/or full 2-inch thick oak planks. Rectangular hardwood batteries appear to have superior structural qualities and no less equivalent fire-resistant characteristics, for ventilation control applications, when compared to masonry block constructions of similar dimensions.