Abstract
During a mine fire or other emergency, it may be desirable to reverse the airflow in order to provide an escapeway or to isolate a fire. Also, in colder areas, the airflow may be reversed to prevent ice buildup. When reversing main mine fans, the mine operator usually does not know what operating characteristics of flow and pressure to expect. Laboratory and field tests of vane axial main mine fans were conducted to establish forward and reverse performance characteristics under controlled conditions and in typical mine installations. All fans tested were between 81 and 96 in. (2.1 and 2.4 m) in diameter. The data obtained suggest that reverse performance characteristics are dependent upon the blade angle and the hub to tip ratio. There is also evidence that reverse performance can be perdicted for a family of blade angles for a given hub to tip ratio. Generally fan quantity is 30–60% less in reverse than when operating in the normal forward mode, with static pressure equal to the square of the volume percentage change.
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