Experimental and numerical investigation of distribution patterns of diesel particulate matter and development of control strategies in an underground mine environment

Many nations use diesel-powered vehicles in underground mines despite their tendency to generate diesel particulate matter (DPM), a known Group-1 human carcinogen. Diesel-powered vehicles are more flexible and efficient than electric or battery-powered vehicles because of their ease of maintenance, consistency, durability, ability to travel between mine sections, power, robustness and cost-effectiveness. Moreover, if a mine already has a fleet of diesel-powered vehicles, changing to battery/electric-powered vehicles is challenging because of the expenditure and infrastructure requirements. The main concern with diesel-powered vehicles in underground mine environments is their exhaust contaminants, especially DPM. Only a limited number of reported DPM monitoring investigations in the mining field and modelling studies are available in the literature. The main objectives of this research are to conduct extensive DPM field-monitoring investigations, develop and validate computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models, conduct modelling studies with different ventilation and operational conditions and develop DPM control strategies.