Study on the impact of humidity on dust dispersion in open-pit mining under different environmental temperatures

Abstract

To investigate the impact of changes in environmental temperature and humidity on the dust migration patterns during the open-pit mining and loading process, a 1:1 simulation model of open-pit mining and loading was established using SCDM software, based on actual working conditions. Fluent software was used to study the airflow velocity field and dust migration patterns under different temperature and humidity conditions. The simulation results were validated by on-site measurements of dust concentration, with the error values at selected measurement points all within 20%. The results indicate that as relative humidity increases, the dust dispersion capacity decreases, with a more significant reduction in high-temperature environments. Dust concentration is higher in the plane at heights of 3 m to 6 m, and dust tends to accumulate within a range of approximately 10–15 m around the ore transport vehicle. As relative humidity increases from 20% to 80%, the dust concentration within the height range of 3–6 m gradually decreases. At lower environmental temperatures, dust is less likely to settle and tends to move upwards above 6 m. As the environmental temperature increases, dust tends to settle near the ore transport vehicle.