SIMULATING THE SENSITIVITY OF UNDERGROUND VENTILATION NETWORKS TO FLUCTUATING AMBIENT CONDITIONS

Authors

  • Ryan Fair North-West University
  • Jean van Laar North-West University
  • Kristy Nell
  • Diaan Nell
  • Edward Mathews

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7166/32-3-2616

Abstract

The weather directly impacts ventilation systems, especially large industrial systems found in underground mines. Underground mine ventilation systems have high cost implications that add to the financial strains and uncertainties of future mining operations. In addition, the dynamic nature of underground ventilation systems makes the accurate prediction of underground conditions extremely difficult using traditional steady-state methods. Therefore, improved prediction methods of dynamic underground environmental conditions are needed to ensure cost-effective ventilation systems. This paper investigates simulating the sensitivity that underground ventilation systems have to fluctuating ambient conditions. Simulation software was applied to a case study on a gold mine in South Africa. The results showed that transient software can now be applied to entire mine ventilation systems, and can improve predicting the underground environment because of fluctuating ambient conditions.

Downloads

Published

2021-11-29

How to Cite

Fair, R., van Laar, J., Nell, K., Nell, D., & Mathews, E. (2021). SIMULATING THE SENSITIVITY OF UNDERGROUND VENTILATION NETWORKS TO FLUCTUATING AMBIENT CONDITIONS. The South African Journal of Industrial Engineering, 32(3), 42–51. https://doi.org/10.7166/32-3-2616

Issue

Section

Special Edition