Chile Mine Rescue: Is There a Braking Mechanism?

[BNAZN]

I've been following up on the rescue efforts and everything but have not seen if there is a braking mechanism on the rescue pod. One that would installed if the cable broke. Does anyone know if there is? My idea would be either a free-fall stopper, one that would expand around the pod and shaft when the weight of the cable was release. Or a magnetic one since some of the shaft has had a sheet metal tube installed.

 

[NobodySpecial]

Steel cables in new condition almost never break. The half inch steel rope on the capsule can hold several hundred tons, and it will have a second rope any - just in case.

The capsule is a fairly close fit inside a tube with stabiliser wheels, it would only drop a few metres before wedging itself sideways - it's always very difficult to lower an object down a tight tube without it wedging when you don't want it to.

 

[russ_watters]

The design constraints for this type of thing are a lot different from consumer products. For consumer products, the time available to design and prototype the product is a lot longer and safety is a much higher priority. For something like this, the lack of testing makes complexity work against safety since the miners are already in a life-and-death situation and safety features that add complexity also increase the chances of failure.

 

[ViewsofMars]

BBC News has an article and video about the rescue.

Joy as Chile miners reach surface
13 October 2010

The first 14 of 33 miners trapped underground for more than two months in northern Chile have been winched to the surface amid scenes of jubilation.

Please read on . . .
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11518015

Tears of joy. I was also pleased that NASA in August 2010 had sent a team to help. http://www.space.com/news/nasa-team-helps-trapped-chilean-miners-100830.html

 

[Nik_2213]

They're up to about 20, and going strong...