Numerical analysis on the thermal performance in an excavating roadway with auxiliary ventilation system

Abstract

A steady and proper thermal environment in deep underground is imperative to ensure worker health and production safety. Understanding the thermal performance in the roadway is the premise of temperature prediction; ventilation design; and improvement in cooling efficiency. A full coupled model incorporated with a moving mesh method was adopted; reflecting the dynamic condition of roadway construction. This study revealed the characteristics of the thermal performance and its evolution law in an excavating roadway. Several scenarios were performed to examine the designs of the auxiliary ventilation system on thermal performance in the roadway. The results show that there is a limitation in the cooling effect by continuously increasing the ventilation volume. Reducing the diameter of the air duct or distances between the duct outlet and the working face will aggravate the heat hazard in the roadway. The heat release from the roadway wall increases with the increase of the advance rate of the working face or roadway section size. Furthermore; an orthogonal experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of major factors on the average air temperature and local heat accumulation in the roadway.