Abstract
Switching from conventional mining to mass production technology is the need of the hour to meet the ever-increasing coal demand of the country. Consequently, today's focus is primarily on mine planning for successful implementation of mass production technology in Indian coal mines. As per existing norms, i.e., Coal Mines Regulations No. 153 sub clause 2 (a) of CMR 2017, to secure adequate ventilation in every ventilating district, not less than 6 m3 per minute of air per person employed in the district on the largest shift or not less than 2.5 m3 per minute of air per ton of daily output, whichever is larger, passes along the last ventilation connection (LVC) of the district. To comply with this rule, a large quantity of air is to be delivered in the LVC of the mass-production panels (MPPs), as the daily output of coal in the MPPs is very high. This large air quantity will generate excessive dust in the LVC panel as well as high water gauge will be developed in the main mechanical ventilator. This high ventilation pressure will accelerate the chances of spontaneous heating and endanger the overall safety of the mines. In this research, an attempt has been made to assess the optimum requirement of air for MPPs in Indian coal mines keeping minimum air velocity, and maintaining the dust, temperature and inflammable gas concentration within permissible limits. The parameters which have been considered in this research include respirable airborne dust concentration, temperature due to heat emission from machines, heat and humidity conditions and noxious and inflammable gas concentration existing in MPPs. Workable solutions have been derived for the calculation of optimum air requirement in continuous miner panels on the basis of respirable dust concentration and heat emission from machines. This study may be an eye opener for revamping the guidelines on ventilation air requirement for MPPs in Indian coal mines.
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Acknowledgements
The authors are very grateful to Coal India Limited and all the mines management for their cooperation and assistance in conducting the field surveys. The authors are also grateful to the suppliers of CM and PSLW sets for sharing the details of their machines.
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Das, K., Mishra, D.P. & Bhattacharjee, R.M. Ventilation Air Requirement for Mass-Production Panels (MPPs) in Indian Coal Mines: A Critical Appraisal. J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. D 104, 359–371 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40033-022-00371-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40033-022-00371-9