Coal dust monitoring and computational simulations of dust dispersion in continuous miner development heading through auxiliary ventilation systems

Dispersing coal dust to a safe level near the mining face is of utmost importance for maintaining a safe and healthy workplace environment in any mine. The huge amount of coal dust generated during coal winning near a mine development heading is generally dispersed through auxiliary ventilation systems. In this study, dispersion of coal dust in a continuous miner development heading was analysed with five different auxiliary ventilation systems through computational fluid dynamics simulations, and their efficacy of dust dispersal to a safe level was compared. The dust concentration in the heading developed by continuous miner was monitored by a Grimm aerosol spectrometer. The k–e turbulence model was used to perform 3D computational simulations utilizing real mine data. This study provided an insight into the dispersion behaviour of coal dust in the development heading with diverse auxiliary ventilation systems. The line brattice system proved to be the most effective means of dust dispersion. Nonetheless, better dispersion of coal dust in the development heading was achieved at line brattice distances of 0.75 and 1.0 m from the side wall.