COSTS REDUCTION OF MAIN FANS OPERATION ACCORDING TO SAFETY VENTILATION IN MINES – A CASE STUDY

Abstract

Considering the various hazards present in an underground mine, safe ventilation entails maintaining a certain airflow rate in the mining workings. The air velocity, airflow rate and air composition must be regulated in a ventilation network by operation of the main fans. On the other hand, ventilation costs must be minimized. Thus, the optimal solution is when the requisite safety features are fulfilled and the power output of the fans is at a minimal yet sufficient rate. In real-world mines, it is common to have airstreams interlinking subnets of the main fans. The current restructuring of the mining sector commonly involves the connection of different mines, which leads to an increase in the number of such cases. This article presents the results of research into ventilation networks containing these kind of airstreams and introduces a new method for reducing ventilation costs. The method is based on an algorithm which allows the determination of the resistance of a stopping, the head of the fans and the air quantity for which air distribution is optimal. As a result, the total power output of the fans is at the lowest level that yields a reduction in ventilation costs. The method was applied for two theoretical examples and a practical one which was taken from a real ventilation network. In the first example, fan power output was reduced by 17.252 kW, which gave an annual reduction of 188.909 MWh, and an annual electricity cost reduction of €27014. Therefore, optimization enabled a saving of approximately 14% of the costs. In the second example, power output was reduced by 106.152 kW, which produced an annual reduction of 1162.364 MWh, and an annual electricity cost reduction of €166218. In this case, optimization allowed a reduction in costs of approximately 40%. Considering both examples, the cost reductions did not affect the safe airflow rate. For the real-world mine, the annual savings were 2343 MWh, which corresponds to approximately €335000.