SYMPOSIA PAPER Published: 01 January 1986
STP19345S

The Markham Mine Disaster

Source

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.

Author Information

Demaid, APA
The Open University, Faculty of Technology, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
Lawley, A
Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
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Details
Developed by Committee: E08
Pages: 389–416
DOI: 10.1520/STP19345S
ISBN-EB: 978-0-8031-4983-0
ISBN-13: 978-0-8031-0485-3