Study of the Influence of Ventilation Pipeline Setting on Cooling Effects in High-Temperature Mines

Abstract

The high-temperature environment is a major factor that affects deep mining. Cooling has become a major expense, accounting for up to 25% of the total energy consumption of such mines. To address methods of cooling and the cooling cost, this paper studies the influence of the ventilation duct layout on the cooling effect. Six models were created in ICEM-CFD (3D modeling software), and the influence of cold airflow diffusion on the temperature of the mine environment was numerically simulated using ANSYS Fluent. Under the condition of the same ventilation volume, two models utilizing single pipe and double pipe scenarios were established, and six points were selected as the pipeline suspension position, forming six ventilation duct models. The cooling effect of each model was evaluated by analyzing the average temperature of the roadway section, the three-dimensional distribution of the roadway temperature and the velocity streamline of the whole roadway. The results show that the double-tube model has greater advantages than the single-tube model does, due to its superior local temperature, average temperature of the cross-section, range below 303 K, temperature uniformity and local wind speed. Among the models, model 4 (diameter of 0.5 m, 1.9 m away from the bottom of the roadway and 2.4 m away from the center of the circle) is the best pipeline layout scheme for comprehensive temperature values, roadway temperature uniformity and other factors. The average temperature is 299.3 K within 8 m from the mining face, which is 1.66 K lower than that of the single tube model. This configuration will increase the comfort of the mining environment and reduce cooling costs. These results can provide a reference for ventilation duct layouts of roadways in high temperature mines.

Applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics for Mine Ventilation in Mineral Development

“…Zhou et al [90] examine the cooling effects of a ventilation duct in high-temperature (Adapted with permission from ref. [76].…”

“…Zhou et al [90] examine the cooling effects of a ventilation duct in high-temperature mines. The CFD software ANSYS FLUENT, ICEM-CFD, k-ε model are used as the solver, grid generator, and turbulence model, respectively.…”

Experiment and Simulation on a Refrigeration Ventilation System for Deep Metal Mines

“…Qi et al [13] used a numerical method to simulate the heat exchange process in HEMS-II (Heat Exchange Machinery System) and roadways. Zhou et al [14] combined a numerical simulation to analyze six types of tunnel ventilation pipes and obtained an effective layout. In order to improve the operating efficiency of deep mine refrigeration and cooling systems and analyze the performance of refrigeration ventilation systems, more and more researchers have carried out simulation research on deep mine refrigeration and cooling systems.…”

Research on the Mobile Refrigeration System at a High Temperature Working Face of an Underground Mine

“…Previous studies have shown that increasing the air volume can reduce the air temperature of a working face by 1-4 • C. Wang et al [12] pointed out that the distance between the air supply outlet and the working face (Z m) and the heat generated by the scraper (QL) had a significant impact on the airflow velocity, relative humidity, and temperature distribution in the blind alley. A relatively optimal cooling performance could be achieved when Z m was set to 5 m. Zhou et al [13] established two single-pipe and double-pipe models to study the influence of the ventilation pipe arrangement on the cooling effect under the same ventilation volume; six points were selected as the pipe hanging positions to form six ventilation duct models. At the same time, the cooling effect of each model was evaluated by analyzing the average temperature of the drift section, the three-dimensional distribution of drift temperature, and the velocity streamline of the entire drift.…”