Influence of the Volumetric Expenditure of Air Supplied to the Longwall Through the “Y” Ventilation System on the Location of an Area at the Risk of an Endogenic Fire

Abstract

Abstract In the case of longwall ventilation, in the underground hard coal mines, a phenomenon related to the migration of a certain amount of the air stream supplied to the longwall deep into goaf zones occurs. One of the wall ventilation systems, in which this phenomenon is quite intense, is the so called “Y” ventilation system. This migration is immensely unfavorable because it can lead to the self-heating process of coal left in a goaf and, consequently, to an endogenous fire. Such a fire is a great threat to both the safety and continuity of operation processes. For this reason, various activities are undertaken to prevent such a fire from occurring in goaf zones. One solution is a method presented in this article. It aims at determining an area in goaf zones, where an endogenous fire may occur. The study focused on the longwall ventilated with the Y system. This area was determined based on two criteria, namely air velocity and oxygen content. The study was carried out for various volumes of air supplied to the longwall. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to develop research methodology and determine the location of an area at the risk of an endogenous fire. The location of this area was determined for three different volume expenditures of air supplied to the longwall ventilated with the Y system.