Numerical study of the respirable coal dust removal performance of a vortex ventilation system at an excavation face

Abstract

Coal dust is one of the most serious issues in coal mines. The miners at an excavation face have a high potential for exposure to high concentrations of coal dust. The main method for removing coal dust is by ventilation. To better control the coal dust at the excavation face, it is important to understand the coal dust movement patterns and distribution characteristics. This paper used the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach to simulate coal dust movement under two different ventilation systems. The Eulerian-Lagrange method was used to study the gas-solid two-phase fluid behavior. The coal dust concentration distributions under the two ventilation systems are presented and further compared. From the comparison results, it is found that a vortex ventilation system has better coal dust removal performance. This ventilation system is recommended for excavation for better coal dust control and miners' health protection.