SEDL / STP / STP918-EB / STP19345S

The Markham Mine Disaster

Demaid, APA
Lecturer on Materials, The Open University, Faculty of Technology, Milton Keynes,

Lawley, A
Professor, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA

Pages: 28    Published: Jan 1986

Download this paper for $25 PDF (552K)          View License Agreement
Abstract

The authors have applied linear elastic fracture mechanics to an official accident investigation of a fatigue failure. A single-line component in the mechanical braking system controlling the descent of a cage in a mine shaft fractured; the cage failed to slow down and eighteen miners were killed by the impact. It is shown that significant perceptions of the events prior to fracture are possible using a fracture mechanics approach. A Paris-Erdogan analysis is performed to highlight the constraints and limitations of a fracture mechanics fatigue analysis when applied to a real engineering problem. The Markham accident was a landmark case study in that it stimulated a new philosophy with respect to brake design.