Dynamics of Motion of Gases From a Source of Spontaneous Combustion of Coal in Mine Workings

Abstract

The object of this paper is to study the specificity of the dynamics of carbon monoxide in mining to determine the location of the source of coal self-heating or spontaneous combustion. The Fire Dynamics Simulator software package was used to model the gas hazard of coal mine workings. Given the typical details for the western coal basin of Donbas geo metric dimensions of workings, properties of coal, etc., a model of a fragment of emergency mining of a coal mine was created, which allows for the display of geometric and physical similarity to processes in actual mine workings. The results of the simulation for the studied scenarios with different air supply systems related to the detection and location of sources of self-heating or spontaneous combustion in the coal mine workings were obtained and analysed. It was established that low-density fire gases are concentrated in the vault of the workings, where they slowly dissolve in the air, with the dissolution process being linear. It was revealed that air velocity up to 0.67 to 0.7 m/s contributes to the formation of fire gas flows, which move towards the ventilation flow, almost without mixing, which is referred to as bifurcation. Numerical parameters of fire gas dynamics in near-real conditions were established, which can become a basis for the detection and location of sources of endogenous thermodynamic processes in mine workings.

Theoretical basis for the formation of damaging factors during the coal aerosol explosion

“…Over the past four decades, about three dozen explosions of air-methane mixtures or hybrid mixtures of coal dust with methane and air have occurred in Ukrainian coal mines (Table 1). As a result, 1349 miners were injured, of which 732, that is, 65% of those caught in the accident, were fatally injured [1], [2]. The occurrence of such accidents was provoked by such sources as drilling-and-blasting operations, heating of parts by friction, malfunction of electrical equipment, spontaneous combustion of coal, etc.…”

Simulation of groundwater contamination by leakage from waste-filled mine

“…Experimental investigation of fluid flow in porous media is costly and inaccessible in some cases. In this situation, computational fluid dynamics are used to study the interactions between fluids and solid matrix in industries, such as in oil and gas recovery, and in mining operations (Safari et al, 2017(Safari et al, , 2020Kostenko et al, 2021).…”