Department
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Major
Mechanical Engineering
Research Advisor
Ahmad, Diana L.
Advisor's Department
History and Political Science
Funding Source
UMR Department of History & Political Science
Abstract
The Sutro Tunnel was a revolutionary concept in mining engineering. Numerous mining locations world-wide, including locales in Missouri, have benefited from the tunnel's technology. The Sutro Tunnel's legacy includes the elimination of diseases common for miners, such as pneumonia and "miner's consumption," the hazards posed by extremely hot air and lethal gases for those in the mines, and the lack of fresh air. For the first time in history, it also provided mining companies with a practical means to mine a fissure vein and drain water from flooded mines. Finally, Sutro's innovations quartered the death rate of miners at the Comstock Lode that benefited from the Sutro Tunnel and increased the output of the entire load by nearly one-third. Thus, it is not a surprise that mining became significantly more productive after the Sutro Tunnel's construction when others began implementing Sutro's ideas in their own mines.
Biography
Stuart Salvador, son of Joseph and Anita Salvador, is a senior currently attending both UMSL and UMR, where he is majoring in mechanical engineering and minoring in history. Aside from his extracurricular activities, Stuart actively pursues his interest in robotics, programs video games, and works as a part-time design engineer in Springfield, MO.
Research Category
Humanities/Social Sciences
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Document Type
Poster
Location
Havener Center, Carver-Turner Room
Presentation Date
11 April 2007, 9:00 am - 11:45 am
The Sutro Tunnel: An engineering feat in the West, a global legacy
Havener Center, Carver-Turner Room
The Sutro Tunnel was a revolutionary concept in mining engineering. Numerous mining locations world-wide, including locales in Missouri, have benefited from the tunnel's technology. The Sutro Tunnel's legacy includes the elimination of diseases common for miners, such as pneumonia and "miner's consumption," the hazards posed by extremely hot air and lethal gases for those in the mines, and the lack of fresh air. For the first time in history, it also provided mining companies with a practical means to mine a fissure vein and drain water from flooded mines. Finally, Sutro's innovations quartered the death rate of miners at the Comstock Lode that benefited from the Sutro Tunnel and increased the output of the entire load by nearly one-third. Thus, it is not a surprise that mining became significantly more productive after the Sutro Tunnel's construction when others began implementing Sutro's ideas in their own mines.
