INCREASING THE INSULATION PROPERTIES OF FILTER RESPIRATORS TO PROTECT MINERS’ RESPIRATORY ORGANS FROM DUST

Abstract

To increase the insulating properties of elastomeric half-masks, it is suggested to perforate the obturator in the area of the nasal bridge, chin and cheeks, which allows for adjustment in its size, thus preventing the occurrence of wrinkles on the user’s face in the areas which are the individual features of a particular user’s face. Three versions of the perforated filter respirator obturator have been proposed: in the first, the holes are made along the entire perimeter of the obturator; in the second, the holes are only in the area of the cheeks and nasal bridge; in the third, incisions with a diameter of 5 mm are made in the area of the nasal bridge and cheeks. The result of modelling a set of alternative solutions taking into account the coefficient of protection of filter respirator half-masks, the distribution of compressive forces, which are determined in the environment of the packages “ANSYS” and “Solid works”, has been obtained on the basis of main indicators of the proposed models. To make a decision on choosing the best model, the mass of the elastomeric half mask, its dimensions and the complexity of the design were additionally considered. On the basis of expert evaluation, according to the described procedure for determining the utility function of the factors from their values, it has been defined that the second model of the half-mask is characterized by the best parameters. Conducted laboratory studies to determine the aerosol absorption coefficient by the obturation line showed the lowest indicator in the second option.