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Development of Goaf Gas Drainage and Inertisation Strategies in 1.0-km- and 3.0-km-Long Panels

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Abstract

A collaborative research project is undertaken by Anglo American Coal and CSIRO to develop appropriate strategies for gas and spontaneous combustion management of longer panels. Extensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling studies have been conducted and calibrated using operational longwall goaf gas data to obtain a fundamental understanding of goaf gas flow patterns in longwall panels of 1.0-km and 3.0-km lengths and a detailed investigation of the effect of various mining and operational parameters on goaf gas flow patterns. The modelling studies have also been used to investigate the performance of various gas drainage and proactive inertisation strategies during various stages of longwall panel extraction. Simulation results indicated that apart from tailgate (TG) side goaf holes, gas drainage from maingate (MG) goaf holes and the mid panel start-up goaf holes would be useful for flat seam field conditions. Operation of 8–10 goaf holes is recommended for field site conditions with high goaf gas emissions of 6000 L/s. The modelling results indicated that the traditional inert gas flow rate of 500 L/s currently used in some mines would be insufficient to achieve effective goaf inertisation in long panels. Results indicate that 3.0-km-long panels would require 1500 L/s of inert gas and there is a need for multi-point inert gas injection strategy for effective goaf inertisation. In this paper, details and results of modelling investigations and recommended strategies for gas and spontaneous combustion management in 1.0-km- and 3.0-km-long panels are presented.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to express their sincere appreciation to the company management and staff for their support in providing the necessary field data. We would also like to thank the management of CSIRO for their support of the project.

Funding

The authors would like to record their grateful thanks to Anglo Metallurgical Coal for funding and providing support to this research over the years.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CSIRO Energy, 1Technology Court, Kenmore, 4068, Australia

    Rao Balusu & Krishna Tanguturi

  2. Anglo American Coal, Brisbane, Australia

    Bharath Belle

  3. University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

    Bharath Belle

Authors
  1. Rao Balusu
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  2. Bharath Belle
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  3. Krishna Tanguturi
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Correspondence to Krishna Tanguturi.

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Balusu, R., Belle, B. & Tanguturi, K. Development of Goaf Gas Drainage and Inertisation Strategies in 1.0-km- and 3.0-km-Long Panels. Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration 36, 1127–1136 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42461-019-0071-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42461-019-0071-9

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