Some approaches to improve the ventilation system in underground potash mines
Mine ventilation is a crucial factor for the sake of underground operations. Not only does it affect efficiency and effectiveness rates, but it also influence the health and safety of the employees. Despite it is a topic thoroughly analysed, every mine has its particularities and there is not much s...
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| Tipo de recurso: | tesis doctoral |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2016 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | CBUC, CESCA |
| Repositorio: | TDR. Tesis Doctorales en Red |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:www.tdx.cat:10803/393897 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10803/393897 https://dx.doi.org/10.5821/dissertation-2117-96326 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Mine ventilation Geographic information system (GIS) Health and safety Friction factor Heat Underground environment Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria civil 624 |
| Sumario: | Mine ventilation is a crucial factor for the sake of underground operations. Not only does it affect efficiency and effectiveness rates, but it also influence the health and safety of the employees. Despite it is a topic thoroughly analysed, every mine has its particularities and there is not much specific information concerning potash mines currently. This thesis investigates the main characteristics of the ventilation system in two potash mines, using a room and pillar method, with the idea to analyse their specific behaviour in terms of airway particularities, heat exchange and gas concentrations. Data regarding subsurface ventilation conditions have been collected from 2008 to 2015. First, it has been necessary to create a system able to manage such quantity of different parameters related to ventilation and obtain results from short to long term. For this purpose, it has been used a geographical information system (GIS), being able to model the behaviour of the environmental conditions as well as establish a methodology for other types of mines or underground infrastructures. This system has allowed to determine the weaknesses of the ventilation systems and where the investigations regarding efficiency and health and safety should be focused on. Part of the data managed by the GIS has been used to determine the friction factors of the airways and heat inputs of both mines. The airways of the cases studied have a particular roughness due to the exploitation method and intrinsic characteristics of evaporitic minerals. The results achieved have given standard friction factors in potash mining applicable to other similar mines for modelling the ventilation system and know the airflow behaviour. The investigations have also been focused on calculating the heat load of the system and proposing some approaches to reduce temperatures and gas concentrations in underground environments. Based on the friction factor results and the GIS created, the characteristic heat factors in the case study have been determined as well as the different heat inputs, comparing the variation in heat generation using diesel and electrical equipment. The outcomes display an important reduction in heat generation and subsequently a potential increasing improvement in the workplace conditions. |
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