WorldWide Drilling Resource

NASA’s New Kind of Breathing Tanks Could Make Mining Safer Adapted from Information by NASA A technology used by NASA to protect crews working around haz- ardous gases could soon be called on for a number of life-saving applications. The Cryogenic Refuge Alternative Supply System (CryoRASS) and a smaller liquid air-filled backpack under development in Kennedy Space Center’s Biomedical Lab have the potential to store more than twice as much breath- able air as traditional compressed gas systems. David Bush, Lead NASA Engineer, and teams from BCS Life Support, URS Corporation, and InoMedic Health Applications began working on the two systems in September 2012. NIOSH (Nat ional Inst i tute for Occupational Safety and Health) is funding both projects in hopes the liq- uid air-based systems can change the way coal miners seek refuge or escape underground disasters. “We’re excited about this cryogenic technology be- cause it has the potential to save lives and improve safety in mines,” Bush said. “Currently, mines use big tube banks of compressed air with no cool- ing. Our solution uses smaller, lower pressure dewars of liquid air with cool- ing.” The way CryoRASS and the back- pack, called CryoBA, work is by draw- ing air into a closed environment, then vaporizing and circulating it back to the user. Bush describes the systems as “passive air conditioners”, and said ini- tial demos show a drop in temperature by about 15 degrees. Since many refuge chambers stand no more than 30 inch- es tall, cooling would likely be a wel- come feature. “When you get about ten men in a small, confined space, essen- tially laying down in tin cans, with their David Bush works on a prototype of a CryoRASS at Kennedy Space Center. 67 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® DECEMBER 2013 body heat, it can get really hot in there,” said Bush. Another advantage to liquid air sys- tems is improved safety. Bush stated, “Compressed air has its own hazards because it’s stored at a high pressure. It’s also heavy and takes up a lot of space. Compressed 100 percent oxy- gen can present potential fire hazards.” Many refuge chambers are de- signed to provide up to 96 hours of breathable air, but Bush said CryoRASS could easily exceed the minimum re- quirements, allowing more time for min- ers to be rescued. Another plan being discussed is to build refill stations in mines, spaced about 90 minutes apart, so miners could walk out of a disaster situation with their personal CryoBA backpacks. I appreciate your magazine a great deal and rely on some of your ad- vertisers at various times. You do a great job. Thanks, Jess Pearson Conely Company Salt Lake City, Utah