Document Type

Conference Paper

Publication Date

2013

Publication Details

R. Morla, R. Balusu, K. Tanguturi and M. Khanal, Prediction and control of spontaneous combustion in thick coal seams, 13th Coal Operators' Conference, University of Wollongong, The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy & Mine Managers Association of Australia, 2013, 232-239.

Abstract

Spontaneous combustion is one of the causes of fire in underground coal mines especially in thick coal seams, which may cause loss of working personnel, production, valuable reserves, and damage or loss of expensive mining equipment. The blasting gallery method in an 11 m thick seam in Indian geological conditions was considered to model prediction and control of spontaneous combustion (sponcom) in thick coal seams. To find sponcom properties of the coal, gas evolution test, sponcom propensity test, differential scanning calorimetry and crossing point temperature tests were conducted for the specified thick seam. The knowledge of goaf gas behaviour in the blasting gallery extraction method during sponcom can be useful in controlling and minimizing the effects of fire. The paper discusses the application of computational fluid dynamic simulations to investigate the goaf gas behaviour at the time of sponcom in the blasting gallery panels. Computational fluid dynamic simulations studies were also conducted with ascentional and descentional ventilation systems with inert gas injection at a single injection point, multiple injection points and at various inert gas flow rates. The results indicate that the descentional ventilation system is useful for goaf inertisation and multiple inert gas injection points are more effective than the single point injection. The paper also presents the effect of sealing of bottom rooms by inertisation.

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