Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology has introduced two new innovative solutions to reduce noise emissions in surface top hammer drilling. The new options for Ranger™ DXi series and Dino™ DC410Ri surface drill rigs help to mitigate harmful noise at construction worksites and quarries. “Many contractors and quarries face increasingly restrictive noise limits, particularly in urban areas. Effective solutions are necessary to cut out harmful noise to improve work safety and to maintain neighborly relations with local communities. The new solutions introduced by Sandvik are not only beneficial to the surrounding areas, they also reduce operators’ and worksite personnel’s exposure to harmful noise levels, thereby offering a more comfortable working environment.”
The main source of noise from a top hammer drill rig is the rock drill itself, which accounts for up to 75% of the total sound power level from a drill rig. Both new Sandvik solutions reduce the sound level around the drill rig by isolating the rock drill and rod handling system inside a noise-suppressing structure. These solutions are especially effective at suppressing the most disturbing drilling noise frequencies, between 2,500 and 10,000 Hz.
NoiseGuard-DXi reduces noise emissions from Ranger™ DXi series drill rigs (max. 27 kW rock drill, recommended hole diameter 51–127 mm / 2”–5”) designed for construction applications and quarries. NoiseGuard-DXi is a fully enclosed structure that provides up to −12.9 dB noise reduction in A-weighted sound pressure within a 16 m radius of the rig. In this measuring distance, the noise reduction compared to unmitigated sound pressure is up to 95 percent. The NoiseGuard-DXi option comes with a camera system that provides visually aided drilling when the structure doors are closed. Additionally, it has an innovative single-bolt dismantling design for fast and easy maintenance on the feed system.
Another Sandvik innovation, NoiseShield-DC, is a simple, compact solution for the smaller, cabinless Dino™ DC410Ri drill rigs (14 kW rock drill, recommended hole diameter 51–76 mm / 2”–3”) that excel in urban worksites. While not fully enclosed, NoiseShield-DC offers up to a −7.5 dB reduction in A-weighted sound pressure by directing the drilling noise upwards through an open top, away from the operator and surrounding areas. This reduction translates to an 82 percent mitigation in noise pressure within a 16 m radius of the drill rig.
For noise reduction for the classic Ranger™ DX series drill rigs, a solution called NoiseGuard-DX has been successful in the market for several years.
Requirements to limit noise from drilling machinery stem from several international and national sources, such as EU directives, various safety standards, occupational health and safety legislation and environmental regulations. The measurements above represent the A-weighted sound pressure (LpAd) levels according to the EN 16228-1 safety standard, which applies the methods standardized in SFS EN ISO 3744:2010 for determining the sound power level of a noise source.
