Numerical simulation and application study on a remote emergency rescue system during a belt fire in coal mines

Abstract

Once initiated, coal mine belt fires can develop rapidly, and if improperly controlled, these fires could easily lead to the airflow disorders that undermine the function of the ventilation system, and the smoke plume could lead to heavy casualties. However, belt fires can be effectively prevented by establishing a fire smoke plume control system. According to the characteristics of fire smoke plume control in the ventilation network, models of ventilation systems are analyzed, and different methods of fire emergency rescue systems are designed. A mathematical model for fire smoke flow was developed based on the west-wing mining area in Long-Dong coal mine. The distributions of the smoke parameters and airflow temperature on the roadway before and after performing the smoke flow control measures were simulated by Fluent software. The results indicate that 37 min after the fire began, the smoke plume had invaded all of the roadways in the west-wing mining area. The average temperature of the roadway in the west mining area is 332 K, the O2 concentration is 14.8 %, the CO2 concentration is 5.1 % and the highest concentration of CO is 0.98 %. In this environment, miners in distress are unable to survive. A function to adjust the opening degree of the air-doors was designed, and the air volume control of the key branches was realized during a fire emergency rescue. A permanent refuge chamber was situated in the mining area to provide a safe shelter for miners when a disaster occurs. Many field exercises have verified the combined function of the emergency rescue system and refuge chamber to ensure the security of the miners in the underground coal mine.