Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 42 (2014) 206215

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Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology

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Trenchless Technology Research

Simulation of a novel intermittent ventilation system for underground

mines
Jundika C. Kurnia a,b, Agus P. Sasmito a,c,, Arun S. Mujumdar a,d
a
Minerals Metals and Material Technology Centre, National University of Singapore, Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117576, Singapore
b
Mechanical Engineering, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Masdar City, P.O. Box 54224, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
c
Department of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, 3450 University Street, Frank Dawson Adams Bldg, Room 115, Montreal, QC H3A2A7, Canada
d
Department of Bioresource Engineering, McGill University, 111 Lakeshore Road Sainte-Anne-de-Belleveu, Quebec H9X3V9, Canada

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: With increase of energy costs and implementation of carbon tax in many countries, a cost-effective mine
Received 16 October 2012 ventilation system has become highly desirable in underground mine operations. In this study, a novel
Received in revised form 28 January 2014 intermittent airow ventilation system is proposed and evaluated via simulation with the goal of reduc-
Accepted 7 March 2014
ing the energy cost whilst maintaining methane level in the mining face below the allowable level. Para-
Available online 1 April 2014
metric studies are conducted to investigate the effects of various factors inuencing the effectiveness and
performance of this novel intermittent ventilation system, in particular the effect of intermittency period,
Keywords:
air velocity, and application of multiple outlet nozzles with intermittent on-off apper valves for air ow
Energy saving
Intermittent
control. Signicant energy savings and air handling requirements are shown to be possible through the
Methane control scheme proposed.
Mine ventilation 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Safety

1. Introduction energy consumed to drive fresh air to various locations in under-

During underground mining operation (especially underground
coal mine), large amounts of methane are released in the face area.
This hazardous greenhouse gas has for decades been recognized as
one of the prime causes of underground mine disasters around the
globe. Several major incidents and accidents related to the pres-
ence of methane in underground coal mines with fatalities have
been reported (Torano et al., 2009). To eliminate such incidents
and accidents, a good ventilation system is mandatory. According
to US regulations, methane concentration should be maintained
below 3% v/v while in other countries an even lower methane con-
centration is mandatory: 1% in Germany, 1.25% in UK, 2% in France
and 2.5% in Spain (Noack, 1998). It is expected that these require-
ments will become increasingly stringent in future.
Most ventilation systems installed in underground coal mines
nowadays supply excess fresh air to ensure safe methane concen-
tration as required by local codes. A study by Reddy (2009) reveals
that up to 60% of the total mining operating cost is attributable to
mine ventilation cost, highlighting the huge amount of electrical
Corresponding author at: Department of Mining and Materials Engineering,
McGill University, 3450 University Street, Frank Dawson Adams Bldg, Room 115,
Montreal, QC, H3A2A7, Canada. Tel.: +1 514 398 3788; fax: +1 514 398 7099.
E-mail addresses: kurnia.jc@gmail.com (J.C. Kurnia), agus.sasmito@mcgill.ca
(A.P. Sasmito).
ground mine. With increase of energy costs and implementation
of carbon tax in many countries, a cost-effective mine ventilation
system which ensure a safe and productive environment in an
underground mine whilst keeping energy usage and operating cost
at minimum has become highly desirable for the mining industry.
As such, a concept of ventilation-on-demand has received consid-
erable attention (Tuck et al., 2006; Allen and Keen, 2008; OConnor,
2008). The idea behind this concept is straightforward: supply ade-
quate fresh air to a certain location only when it is needed. Appli-
cation of this system in underground mine, however, will require
complex control system and sophisticated monitoring devices
and sensors.
In tandem with experimental design and studies, numerical
modeling has come to play an important role in designing and
examining mine ventilation system in underground mine. Model-
ing allows innovation at very low cost. Among the rst researchers
conducting computational uid dynamics (CFD) modeling to inves-
tigate ventilation airow, methane emission and dust dispersion in
underground mine were Heerden and Sullivan (1993). They exam-
ined ventilation airow patterns around continuous miner in an
active mining area and its effect on the methane and dust distribu-
tion. Next study was conducted by Srinivasa et al (1993). By utiliz-
ing commercially available CFD tools, they investigate ow
behavior and dust movement in a longwall face. First validated
CFD model on underground mine ventilation was developed by

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2014.03.009
0886-7798/ 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 J.C. Kurnia et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 42 (2014) 206215 207

Fig. 1. Shcematic of an underground mine tunnel with ventilation duct.

Uchino and Inoue (1997) by using experimental data from both outlet nozzles with intermittent on-off apper valves for air ow
full-scale heading and a scale model. This model was extended to control. It is noted that current mining codes refer only to steady
study methane distribution by Tomata et al (1999). Nakayama ows. So, if the proposed scheme were to be applied, changes
et al (1999) conducted similar studies by investigating methane may be needed to local mining codes.
gas distribution in a mining face by utilizing CFD software LA-
SAR95/98. Their model prediction achieved relatively good agree- 2. Mathematical formulation
ment with the experimentally measured counterparts. Wala et al
(2003, 2007) developed a CFD model for longwall as well as room A three-dimensional underground coal mining model is devel-
and pilar mines and validated their model with the experimental oped for a typical mine tunnel which is the simplest and most used
data obtained from a lab-scale set-up. They extend their study by in underground coal mining these days (please refer to Fig. 1). The
including the effect of scrubber operation on the face ventilation mine tunnel 36 m long 3.6 m wide and 2.9 m high. A ventilation
(Wala et al., 2008). duct with a diameter of 0.6 m is hung at 1.9 m height from the oor
A multiphase Eularian model to predict dust behavior in a com- and 0.6 m from the tunnel wall on the access road. Its setback dis-
plex mine geometry was developed by Canoo (2004). Another com- tance from the mining face is 6 m.
putational study was conducted by Parra et al (2006). After
validating their model, they investigated two scenario of additional 2.1. Governing equations
ventilation system in a cul-de-sac mine: blowing and exhausting.
Hargreaves and Lowndes (2007) numerically investigated the ef- In the tunnel ow, simultaneous mass, momentum, energy and
fect of the drivage of continuous miner on the ow behavior in species transport occur. Methane is released from specied dis-
underground mining face. Zheng and Tien (2008) conducted CFD crete sources in the mining face and it is dispersed by the ventila-
modeling of diesel particulate matters dispersion in a mining face tion airow. Conservation equations for mass, momentum, and
and examine the performance of blowing and exhausting ventila- species can be expressed as
tion system in reducing DPM concentration in the mining face.
Torano et al (2009, 2011) conducted numerical study to evaluate @q
r  qU 0; 1
methane and dust behavior in mining area and validate it with @t
experimental data obtained from an underground mine in Spain.
@
Recently, Sasmito et al (2013) reported a numerical study examin- qU r  qUU rp r  s qg; 2
ing various auxiliary ventilation equipments to provide better @t
ventilation whilst keeping low energy usage. @ cp lt
In this study, a novel and original intermittent airow ventila- qcp T r  qcp UT r  keff rT; 3
@t Prt
tion system is proposed and evaluated via simulation with the goal
of reducing the energy cost whilst maintaining methane level in  
@ l
the mining face below the allowable level. A computational uid qxi r  qxi U r  qDi;eff t rxi : 4
@t Sct
dynamic (CFD) approach is utilized to investigate the ow behavior
and methane dispersion on mine tunnels with an intermittent ow where q is the uid density, U is the uid velocity, p is pressure, s is
ventilation system. In our physical model, methane is uniformly the viscous stress tensor, g is gravity acceleration, cp is the specic
released from ten sources (10  10 cm2) in the mining face with to- heat of the uid, keff is the effective uid thermal conductivity, T is
tal ow rate of 0.05 m3 s1. Parametric studies are conducted to the temperature, xi is the mass fraction of species i (O2, CH4 and
investigate effects of various factors inuencing the effectiveness N2), Di,eff is the effective diffusivity of species i, lt is turbulent vis-
and performance of this novel intermittent ventilation system: cosity and Sct is the turbulent Schmidt number and Prt is the turbu-
intermittency period, air velocity, and application of multiple lent Prandtl number.
208 J.C. Kurnia et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 42 (2014) 206215

Table 1
Validation of numerical results for various turbulence models with experimental data.

Measurement point (see Parra Distance from mining SpalartAllmaras Standard k-epsilon Standard k-omega Reynolds Stress Model (RSM)
et al. 2006) face (m) (Error, %) (Error, %) (Error, %) (Error, %)
1 4 43 33 63 37
1 12 51 48 90 13
1 18 51 51 81 13
2 4 36 44 56 5
2 12 28 31 60 32
2 18 57 28 66 32
3 4 52 44 93 21
3 12 15 41 14 28
3 18 60 15 27 28
4 4 41 51 66 70
4 12 56 68 35 72
4 18 48 56 35 72
5 4 72 15 37 6
5 12 30 48 47 78
5 18 68 30 43 78
R2 0.95 0.96 0.92 0.89

2.2. Constitutive relations where DPfan is pressure rise across the inlet and Q_ fan is the volumet-
ric ow rate of the fan. It should be noted that the actual fan power
The viscous stress tensor for uid can be expressed as would be different depending on fan efciency.
2
s l lt rU rUT  l lt r  UI qkI; 5
3
2.3. Turbulence model
where l is the dynamic viscosity of the uid, q is the uid density, I
is the identity or second order unit tensor and k is turbulent kinetic
The turbulence model is the key component in representing
energy.
ow behavior in underground environment (Versteeg and
In the tunnel, a ternary species mixture, xi, comprising of oxy-
Malalasekera, 1995). In selecting the appropriate turbulence mod-
gen, water vapor and methane is solved. The interaction between
el, a comparison of ow behavior from various turbulence models,
the species is captured in the mixture density which follows
i.e., SpalartAllmaras, k-epsilon, k-omega and RSM with the exper-
incompressible ideal gas law as
imental data by Parra et al (2006) (see Table 1 for the comparison)
pM was conducted. For sake of brevity, the details of the validation of
q ; 6
turbulence model can be seen in our previous work (Kurnia et al.,
RT
2014a and Kurnia et al., 2014b). Here, the most widely used model
where R is the universal gas constant and M refers to the mixture
in engineering eld, k-epsilon model is chosen as it gives reason-
molar mass given by
able good prediction with R2 between CFD model and experimental
 1
xCH4 xO 2 xH2 O xN2 data of 0.96; furthermore, the interest of the current study is not
M ; 7
M CH4 M O2 M H2 O M N2 detail of the ow in specic location but rather the overall ow
behavior in the mining tunnel for design purpose. In short, k-epsi-
Here, M is the molar mass of species i. Mass fraction of nitrogen is lon model considers two-equation model which solves for turbu-
calculated as lent kinetic energy, k, and its rate of dissipation, e, which is
 
xN2 1  xO2 xH2 O xCH4 ; 8 coupled with turbulent viscosity. This model is given as (Wilcox,
1993)
The molar fractions, xi, are related to the mass fraction, given by
  
xi M @ lt
xi 9 qk r  qUk r  l rk Gk  qe; 13
Mi @t rk
The uid mixture viscosity is calculated by
X xl   
l Xi i with i and j CH4 ; O2 ; H2 O and N2 10 @ lt eG e2
xi Ui;j qe r  qUe r  l re C 1e k C 2e q ;
i @t re k k
j
14
where xi,j are the mole fraction of species i and j and
In above equations, Gk represents the generation of turbulence
h i2
kinetic energy due to the mean velocity gradients, C1, and C2 are
1 li =lj 1=2 Mj =M i 1=4
Ui;j     1=2 ; 11 constants, rk and re are the turbulent Prandtl numbers for k and
8 1 Mi =M j e, respectively, and lt is turbulent viscosity given by
In-line with concentration unit commonly used in the regula-
2
tion/law, methane concentration in this paper is presented in % k
lt qC l 15
v/v. In addition, fan power is calculated as e
Pfan DPfan Q_ fan ; 12 The values of C1e, C2e,, Cl, rk and re are 1.44, 1.92, 0.09, 1 and
1.3, respectively.
 J.C. Kurnia et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 42 (2014) 206215 209

2.4. Boundary conditions

The boundary conditions for the model are summarized as fol-

lows: (i) At walls: the standard wall function is used in all simula-
tions; (ii) inlet: air velocity of 12 m s1 and various intermittent
inlet velocity are prescribed at the duct outlet; (iii) At the mining
face: methane is released at total ow rate of 0.05 m3 s1; (iv) At
the outlet: stream-wise gradient of the temperature is set to zero
and the pressure is set to standard atmospheric pressure (1 bar)
with zero velocity gradient.

3. Numerical methodology

The computational domains were created, meshed and labeled

in Gambit 2.3.16 (Fluent 6.3 documentation). Three different
amount of mesh 5  105, 1  106 and 2  106 were implemented
and compared in terms of local pressure, velocities, and methane
concentration to ensure a mesh independent solution. It was found
that the mesh amount of around 1  106 gives about 1% deviation
compared to the mesh size of 2  106; whereas, the results from
the mesh size of 5  105 deviate up to 12% as compared to those
from the nest one. Therefore, a mesh of around 1 million elements
was sufcient for the numerical investigation purposes: a ne
structure near the wall (with the minimum size of 103 m) and
increasingly coarser mesh (maximum size of 101 m) in the middle
of the tunnel to reduce the computational cost.
The geometry and boundary conditions were solved using a
commercial nite volume solver, Fluent 6.3.26. The equations were
solved with the well-known Semi-Implicit Pressure-Linked Equa-
tion (SIMPLE) algorithm, rst order upwind discretization and
Algebraic Multigrid Method (AGM). On average, each simulation
required around 10003000 iterations for convergence tolerance
of 106 for all variables. It takes around 68 h on workstations with
six core processor, requiring 68 GB RAM. Fig. 3. (a) Cross-section average at 1 m from the mining face and (b) volume
average methane concentration (% v/v) inside the mine tunnel for various
intermittent modes.
4. Results and discussion

Flow behavior and methane dispersion on mine tunnel with following section, various possible conguration of innovative
intermittent ow ventilation system are investigated. In the intermittent ventilation system is presented and discussed.

Fig. 2. Inlet velocity for various intermittent modes.

210 J.C. Kurnia et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 42 (2014) 206215

Fig. 4. Velocity contour (m s1) at height 1 m from the mine oor for intermittent ow 5 min high (12 ms1) 5 min low (6 ms1).

Fig. 5. Methane concentration (% v/v) at 1, 8, 16, 24, 32 m from the mine face for intermittent ow 5 min high (12 ms1) 5 min low (6 ms1).

4.1. Various intermittent modes
To ensure sufcient oxygen supply for the miner and to main-
tain concentration of methane below allowable maximum level,
underground mine ventilation system generally drives excessive
amount of fresh air from the surface to various locations in under-
ground mine. Large underground mines typically utilize large main
fans to drive the ow from the surface which is further distributed
to smaller branches by using auxiliary ventilation system. This
ventilation system is working continuously during mining opera-
tion. While majority of mining operator adopted this approach, it
requires large amount of electrical energy to power the fan. Here,
an innovative way to save energy whilst ensuring safe environ-
ment by introducing an intermittent ventilation system is pro-
posed and evaluated. This approach can be implemented by
installing control valves at the air ow branches distribution to di-
rect fresh air towards one branch while blocking other one, this can
be done alternately so the intermittency can be achieved without
affecting main ventilation fans.
Here, several possible intermittency designs and their perfor-
mance are compared and examined in terms of the methane con-
centration and possible energy saving as compared to that with
steady ventilation ow. A 12 m/s steady ow from the main venti-
lation shaft blows the mining face is compared with three inter-
mittency scenarios: (case 1) 5 min high velocity (12 m/s) and
5 min low velocity (6 m/s); (case 2) 5 min high velocity (12 m/s)
and 10 min low velocity (6 m/s); and (case 3) 5 min high velocity
(12 m/s) and 15 min low velocity (6 m/s), for which the dynamic
inlet velocities are illustrated in Fig. 2.
Fig. 3 shows average methane concentration at the face 1 m
from the mining face (Fig. 3a) and in the whole tunnel (Fig. 3b).
Here several features are apparent: foremost among them is that,
on average, methane concentration is maintained bellow the criti-
cal explosive level of 5.5% v/v. Intermittency leads to dynamic
 J.C. Kurnia et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 42 (2014) 206215 211

Table 2
Maximum methane concentration (% v/v) for various intermittent modes.

Cases Cross-section Time (min)

0 2.5 5 7.5 10 12.5 15 17.5 20
Case 1 1m 3.78 3.75 3.75 3.75 3.76 3.76 3.76 3.76 3.76
Steady ow 5m 1.98 1.97 1.97 1.97 1.97 1.97 1.97 1.97 1.97
10 m 1.71 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70
Case 2a 1m 3.75 3.75 3.75 6.73 6.83 3.79 3.75 6.78 6.80
5 min high 5m 1.97 1.97 1.97 3.60 3.81 1.99 1.96 3.59 3.80
5 min low 10 m 1.70 1.70 1.70 2.98 3.14 1.73 1.69 2.99 3.14
Case 3a 1m 3.75 3.75 3.72 6.74 6.83 6.83 6.81 3.79 3.76
5 min high 5m 1.97 1.97 1.97 3.60 3.81 3.89 3.93 2.00 1.97
10 min low 10 m 1.70 1.70 1.67 2.99 3.14 3.18 3.20 1.74 1.70
Case 4a 1m 3.71 3.71 3.72 6.74 6.84 6.83 6.81 6.75 6.72
5 min high 5m 1.97 1.97 1.97 3.60 3.82 3.90 3.93 3.95 3.95
15 min low 15 m 1.67 1.67 1.67 2.99 3.14 3.18 3.20 3.22 3.24
a
High = 12 ms1 and low = 6 ms1.

Table 3
Energy saving for various intermittent modes.

Cases Description Pressure difference (Pa) Volumetric ow rate (m3 s1) Fan power (Watt) Energy savingb (%)
a 1
Case 1 Steady ow (12 ms ) 89.89 3.39 304.72 0
Case 2 5 min high (12 ms1) 89.89 3.39 304.72 43.51
5 min low (6 ms1) 23.42 1.69 39.58
Case 3 5 min high (12 ms1) 89.89 3.39 304.72 58.01
10 min low (6 ms1) 23.42 1.69 39.58
Case 4 5 min high (12 ms1) 89.89 3.39 304.72 65.26
15 min low (6 ms1) 23.42 1.69 39.58
a
Case 1 is the base case used as reference for energy saving calculation.
b
Power saving is calculated based on 1-h operation.

behavior of ow (Fig. 4) and methane concentration (Fig. 5). The
step changes in ventilation velocity changes the overall velocity
behavior inside the tunnel: when high velocity applies (Fig. 4a
and c), a relatively high ow velocity develops throughout the tun-
nel dispersing methane emission and forcing it to leave the tunnel
(Fig. 5a and c); conversely, when low air velocity applies, air ow
velocity throughout the tunnel reduces signicantly (up to 70% at
the outlet region, see Fig. 4b and d); this is further mirrored by
the rise in the methane concentration up to twice (Fig. 5b and d)
and then reduces back to low methane concentration as the inter-
mittency is periodically applied. It is also noteworthy to mention
that during one period of intermittency, methane concentration
at high velocity becomes slightly increase (10%, see Fig. 5a and
c for detail comparison).
Another important nding is that intermittency duration plays
important role to the methane removal. The results suggest that
shorter intermittency duration, case 1, yields the lowest average
methane concentration as compared to other intermittent scenar-
ios (Fig. 3). This is attributed to the shorter period of methane accu-
mulation during low velocity ventilation which alleviates higher
methane concentration. Looking to the maximum methane con-
centration throughout the tunnel in Table 2, it is noted that the
maximum methane concentration increases to almost double once
the intermittency (reduce air velocity to half) is applied. At the dis-
tance of 1 m from the mining face where the miners typically
works, methane concentration for all cases considered goes up to
beyond its allowable level at some points limit (more than 5.5%)
which may trigger explosion when it mixes with oxygen and spark.
These results indicates that for the mine considered in this study
intermittency by reducing air velocity into half may not be feasible
to maintain the methane concentration bellow its allowable limit.
Despite its inferior performance on handling methane removal,
intermittency offers potential for energy saving as given in Table 3.
It is noted that signicant amount of energy saving can be achieved
up to 43.5%, 58% and 65% for case 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The
amount will even higher when it is translated to the annual oper-
ating cost saving and, to some extent, company can claim for car-
bon emission trading as well. Clearly, it can be deduced that
intermittency has potential to be implemented for energy saving;
on the other hand, an improved intermittency design should be
developed and more studies is required to enhance methane re-
moval and optimize the operating condition.
4.2. Shorter intermittent period and higher ventilation velocity
In the previous section, it is found that the intermittent ow
ventilation tested could not maintain methane concentration at
safe level. Methane concentration jump to dangerous level when
the velocity falls to half indicating higher velocity and shorter per-
iod of intermittence are required. Here, application of intermittent
ow at higher velocity and shorter interval of intermittency are
investigated. Two cases are considered: (case 2) 2.5 min high
velocity (12 m/s) and 5 min low velocity (9 m/s); and (case 3)
5 min high velocity (15 m/s) and 5 min low velocity (9 m/s), as
seen in Fig. 6. Similar to the previous discussion, steady ow ven-
tilation will be used as reference (case 1).
Fig. 7 depicts the average methane concentration at the cross-
section 1 m distance from mining face (Fig. 7a) and inside the
whole tunnel (Fig. 7b). It have been shown earlier in Fig. 3 that
intermittency can maintain the average methane concentration
bellow its explosive limit of 5.5% v/v; this is indeed the case, as
can be inferred from Fig. 7, where the average methane concentra-
tion is maintained bellow its explosive limit. On closer inspection,
it is revealed that the maximum average methane concentration is
lesser (around 1.45% v/v at 1 m distance from mining face and
1.8% v/v for the whole tunnel) as compared to the previous scenarios
212 J.C. Kurnia et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 42 (2014) 206215
Fig. 6. Inlet velocity for intermittent ventilation system with higher velocity and short intermittence period.
Fig. 7. (a) Cross-section average at 1 m from the mining face and (b) volume
average methane concentration (% v/v) inside the mine tunnel for intermittent
ventilation system with higher velocity and short intermittence period.
in Fig. 3 (around 2.2% v/v at the 1 m distance from mining face and
2.8% v/v for the whole tunnel). Now, by focusing at the local max-
imum methane concentration in Table 4, it is found that for all
cases, the maximum methane concentration is maintained below
its explosive level of 5.5% v/v with the maximum methane concen-
tration is about 4.82% v/v for case 2 at the 1 m distance from min-
ing face ve min after intermittency is applied. This indicates that
intermittency is potential to be applied in underground mines due
to its capability for handling methane removal of course further
optimization is required to achieve better performance.
Besides methane removal, energy saving becomes our concern
in this innovative concept; Table 5 shows the potential energy sav-
ing. It is observed that case 2 offers potential for energy saving up
to 28% which shows potential to be implemented in real under-
ground mine due to its ability for methane removal performance
similar to one with steady ventilation. On the other hand, despite
its better performance on methane handling as compare to steady
ventilation, case 3 performs worse in term of energy saving as it
constitutes to a negative saving (more power is required) due to
higher air velocity (15 m/s), which is mirrored by higher parasitic
load. Hence, it can be concluded that case 2 offers balanced perfor-
mance, reduced energy usage while keeping methane below its
explosive level and shows potential for practical application.
4.3. Multiple duct outlet
Thus far it have been shown that intermittency ventilation has
potential to reduce energy consumption whilst keeping methane
concentration below its allowable limit. In this Section, instead of
intermittency by reducing supply air to the mining face, intermit-
tency is introduced by branching the outlet of ventilation duct into
2 (case 2) or 3 branches (case 3) and direct the ow to these
branches alternately, as shown in Fig. 8. The ventilation perfor-
mance will again be compared with the steady ow ventilation
(case 1) as the reference.
Keeping methane concentration at the lowest possible is of
interest in order to ensure safety aspect in the mines. The average
 J.C. Kurnia et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 42 (2014) 206215 213

Table 4
Maximum methane concentration (% v/v) for intermittent ventilation system with higher velocity and short intermittence period.

Cases Cross-section Time (min)

0 2.5 5 7.5 10 12.5 15 17.5 20
Case 1 1m 3.78 3.75 3.75 3.75 3.76 3.76 3.76 3.76 3.76
Steady ow 5m 1.98 1.97 1.97 1.97 1.97 1.97 1.97 1.97 1.97
10 m 1.71 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70
Case 2a 1m 3.75 3.68 4.82 3.68 4.80 3.68 4.79 3.68 4.79
2.5 min high 5m 1.92 1.92 2.56 1.97 2.57 1.97 2.58 1.97 2.58
2.5 min low 10 m 1.61 1.61 2.12 1.67 2.13 1.67 2.13 1.67 2.13
Case 3b 1m 3.00 3.00 4.81 3.02 4.80 3.01 4.80 3.01 4.80
2.5 min high 5m 1.54 1.54 2.55 1.56 2.55 1.55 2.55 1.55 2.55
2.5 min low 10 m 1.30 1.30 2.12 1.31 2.12 1.31 2.12 1.31 2.12
a
High = 12 ms1 and low = 9 ms1.
b
High = 15 ms1 and low = 9 ms1.

Table 5
Energy saving for intermittent ventilation system with higher velocity and short intermittence period.

Cases Description Pressure difference (Pa) Volumetric ow rate (m3/s) Fan power (Watt) Energy savingb(%)
a
Case 1 Steady ow (12 m/s) 89.89 3.39 304.72 0
Case 2 2.5 min high (12 m/s) 89.89 3.39 304.72 28.67
2.5 min low (9 m/s) 51.10 2.54 129.97
Case 3 2.5 min high (15 m/s) 139.00 4.24 589.22 18.01
2.5 min low (9 m/s) 51.10 4.24 129.97
a
Case 1 is the base case used as reference for energy saving calculation.
b
Power saving is calculated based on 1-h operation.

(a) (b)

(c)

Fig. 8. (a) Schematics of mine tunnel with multiple ventilation duct outlet.

methane concentration for the proposed branching ventilation, as case 2 is 1.05% and 1.38% at the distance 1 meter from the mining
shown in Fig. 9, yields better performance as compared to the stea- face and inside whole tunnel, respectively; whereas, methane con-
dy ventilation. It is found that methane concentration is relatively centration for case 3 is slightly about 1020% higher than that of
far below explosive level of 5.5% v/v: the average concentration for case 2. Upon closer inspection, it reveals that case 2 (with two
214 J.C. Kurnia et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 42 (2014) 206215

addition, this design may add complexity to the system as ow

controller, actuator and additional branching duct installation is
required. However, if methane removal is of paramount impor-
tance, e.g. in gassy mines, this design can be a desirable choice to
maintain safety level at high.

5. Conclusion

In this study, a novel and original intermittent airow ventila-

Fig. 9. (a) Cross-section average at 1 m from the mining face and (b) volume
average methane concentration (% v/v) inside the mine tunnel with multiple
ventilation duct outlet.
branches at the duct outlet) is able to maintain the lowest methane
concentration at any given locations inside the tunnel at any given
time among other designs, as listed in Table 6. On contrary, case 3
performs the worst, even as compared to the steady ventilation
case. This may be due to the fact that branching the ow at smaller
alternate time is unable to effectively dilute methane concentra-
tion due to short period of dynamic alternate blowing ow to the
mining face. Clearly, branching ventilation duct into two outlets
enhances methane removal in the underground tunnel which
shows potential application. If one concerns on the energy saving,
however, this design unfortunately does not offer energy saving
(energy consumptions is about the same for all cases) since ow
is only directed to different outlet at the same ow rate. In
tion system is proposed and evaluated via simulation with the goal
of reducing the energy cost whilst maintaining methane level in
the mining face below the allowable level. Parametric studies are
conducted to investigate effects of various factors inuencing the
effectiveness and performance of this novel intermittent ventila-
tion system: intermittency period, air velocity, and application of
multiple outlet nozzles with intermittent on-off apper valves
for air ow control.
The results are promising based on the CFD results obtained to
date for a model underground mine, whereby intermittent ventila-
tion offers over 25% electrical energy savings despite its slightly
inferior methane handling performance (where methane concen-
tration increases by about 28% at some locations) compared to
steady ow ventilation. In addition, for mines where methane is
not a primary issue (non-coal underground mines), intermittent
ow with 5 min high velocity and 15 min low velocity could offer
up to 65% of energy savings. Such energy savings will not only re-
duce expenses in electricity bill but also will result in very signi-
cant savings from carbon tax credits. More parametric studies are
now being carried out to obtain an optimum ventilation design
which could save energy usage and in turn carbon credit tax asso-
ciated with it even more. In addition this study will be extended to
investigate application of intermittent ow ventilation system in
non-coal underground mine where diesel emission and oxygen
depletion are the prime issues rather than methane as in under-
ground coal mine. We are currently seeking designs of real under-
ground mine congurations for prediction of energy savings
utilizing our new design concept without compromising safety of
miners. Since current mine codes are based on steady ows,
changes to local codes will be necessity if this novel idea is to be
implemented widely. This study is conducted in specic under-
ground mine size, parametric study on the effect of intermittency
with regard to the different mining size/geometry will be carried
out in future work.
Acknowledgement
This work was nancially supported by Singapore Economic
Development Board (EDB) through Minerals Metals and Materials
Technology Centre (M3TC) Research Grant R-261-501-013-414.

Table 6
Maximum methane concentration (% v/v) for various blowing duct congurations.

Cases Cross-section Time (min)

0 2.5 5 7.5 10 12.5 15 17.5 20
Case 1 1m 3.78 3.75 3.75 3.75 3.76 3.76 3.76 3.76 3.76
Single duct 5m 1.98 1.97 1.97 1.97 1.97 1.97 1.97 1.97 1.97
Outlet 10 m 1.71 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70
Case 2 1m 3.70 370 3.76 3.64 3.63 3.66 3.72 3.64 3.63
Two duct 5m 1.93 1.93 1.93 1.86 1.86 1.98 1.96 1.86 1.86
Outlets 10 m 1.54 1.54 1.56 1.62 1.62 1.58 1.57 1.63 1.62
Case 3 1m 3.85 3.85 3.89 3.82 3.83 3.80 3.80 3.86 3.87
Three duct 5m 1.88 1.88 1.93 1.98 2.00 1.87 1.87 1.91 1.90
Outlets 10 m 1.53 1.53 1.56 1.64 1.63 1.55 1.55 1.56 1.55
 J.C. Kurnia et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 42 (2014) 206215 215

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