Construction of an occupational-dust hazard testing platform: An experimental study on the deposition mechanisms

Abstract

This study aimed to understand the influence of dust concentrations and environmental exposure on the mechanism of dust deposition in the human body following inhalation. Using a self-developed occupational dust hazard testing platform, the particle size and mass of dust in the environment and the dust inhaled by a bionic throat were measured under different conditions. The experimental results showed that an increase in dust concentration in the experimental area resulted in an increase in the size of the dust particles, particularly the absolute value of small-sized dust particles. The range of variation of the particle size of dust inhaled by the bionic throat was less than 25%, and the mass of dust inhaled exhibited a positive linear trend. When the dust concentration was fixed, an increase in the dust exposure time resulted in a gradual decrease in the dust particle size. When the dust exposure time reached 60 s, the particle size of the dust inhaled by the bionic throat remained constant, and the mass of the dust inhaled exhibited an increasing linear trend. With an increase in altitude, the dust concentrations in the experimental area gradually increased, whereas the dust particle size gradually decreased. The mass of dust inhaled by the bionic throat was represented by a quadratic power function. The results provide effective theoretical support for the prevention and control of dust originating from coal mines.