Reversal Ventilation as a Method of Fire Hazard Mitigation in the Mines

• Main Authors: Grzegorz Pach, Zenon Różański, Paweł Wrona, Adam Niewiadomski, Pavel Zapletal, Václav Zubíček
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-04-01
• Series: Energies
• Subjects: fire hazard; underground fires; mine ventilation network; reversal ventilation
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/7/1755

Reversal ventilation is one of prevention methods against fire hazard in underground mines, but it is not recommended for the mines where methane is present. The authors introduce the new method of reversal and by conducting numerical simulations they prove that it allows to keep methane at the acceptable level during miners escape. However, it requires connection between the subnetworks of the main ventilation fans. It was also shown, that by using the method some escape routes will be shortened. It is possible to apply this method in the mines where the fans and stoppings are fully controlled across the full range of their operating parameters. The findings are important for underground mines, as well as for surface facilities where air control or smoke control is managed by two or more fans.