Influence of the Auxiliary Air-Duct Outlet and the Brattice Location on the Methane Hazard—Numerical Simulations
Adam P. Niewiadomski,
Grzegorz Pach,
Zenon Różański,
Paweł Wrona,
Dariusz Musioł,
Pavel Zapletal,
Marian Sofranko
Affiliations
Adam P. Niewiadomski
Department of Geoengineering and Raw Materials Extraction, Faculty of Mining, Safety Engineering and Industrial Automation, Silesian University of Technology, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Grzegorz Pach
Department of Geoengineering and Raw Materials Extraction, Faculty of Mining, Safety Engineering and Industrial Automation, Silesian University of Technology, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Zenon Różański
Department of Geoengineering and Raw Materials Extraction, Faculty of Mining, Safety Engineering and Industrial Automation, Silesian University of Technology, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Paweł Wrona
Department of Safety Engineering, Faculty of Mining, Safety Engineering and Industrial Automation, Silesian University of Technology, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Dariusz Musioł
Department of Geoengineering and Raw Materials Extraction, Faculty of Mining, Safety Engineering and Industrial Automation, Silesian University of Technology, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Pavel Zapletal
Department of Mining Engineering and Safety, Faculty of Mining and Geology, Technical University of Ostrava, 708-00 Ostrava, Czech Republic
Marian Sofranko
Institute of Earth Resources, Faculty Of Mining, Ecology, Process Control and Geotechnologies, Technical University of Kosice, 042-00 Kosice, Slovakia
The article presents the results of research into the influence of the location of auxiliary ventilation devices on the distribution of methane concentrations at the outlet of the longwall in an underground mine. Since this area is crucial from the point of view of explosion risk, the existence of an optimal arrangement of these devices could lead to improved safety of the crew working in the area. The aim of conducted study was to examine if the impact of this devices placement is significant. The research was carried out with the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling—Ansys Fluent. The analyses took into account the location of the two most commonly used devices: a brattice and an auxiliary air-duct. The numerical model has been prepared and validated based on in situ measurements. Thirty-two cases of device configurations were analysed. The length and position of the brattice, as well as the height and position air-duct outlet along tailgate, were modified. It has been shown that although the presented solutions are an effective risk mitigation method, contrary to the common opinion of many practitioners, the impact of their exact placement, provided it is compliant with the regulations, is not significant for the registered methane concentration distribution at a longwall outlet.
