International Joural of Mining Science and Technology 25 (2015) 67-72 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijmst Mining a coal seam below a heating goaf with a force auxiliary ventilation system at Longhua underground coal mine, China Mews Wang Gang *, Xie Jun", Xue Sheng", Wang Haiyang* sae Key Laboratory of Mining Disaster Prevention and Cantal Shandng Unversity of Slence Technol Qi 266590, China CSO Ech Science and Resource Engeeig Keno 469 usa “Shoo of ning Ens Taiyuan University of Tchnaley, Tata 030024, China ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT ‘rice os Received 2 Api 2014 Received in revise form 25 May 2014 ‘Accepted 19 July 2014 ‘valbe tine 7 Febrary 2015 Keywords: Mining under a heating gat Mulpl seams of clase spacing Presse sla 1. Introduction When a coal seam lying not far below a heating goat is, extracted, the fractures both naturally occurred and mining- induced in the interburden between the seam and the goaf may provide migration passages for gases in goaf. And carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO) can flow into the working faces and threaten the safety production. Air in the working faces may also bbe leaked into the goat through passages to intensify the goat heating. Ideally, the goa heating should be controlled or extinguished prior to the extraction of the coal seam below the goaf. However, sometimes the goaf heating can be quite extensive and difficult to be detected, located and controlled, and the cost of controlling the heating cannot be Justified economically [1.2 In these cases, ‘one of practical alternatives is to consider the use of pressure bal- ancing techniques to minimize pressure differential across the area affected [3]. Pressure balancing can be achieved by a number of ‘methods such as reducing airflow and construction of balancing, chambers, which depends on the range and nature ofthe pressure to get balance (4-7), Some fundamental studies have been undertaken inthe extraction of coal below a heating goaf. Numerical modelling and * Goresponting autho. Tel: +61 7 33274118, mal odes jn sisi. ie ap dog 10. 1016smst.2014.1 1.008, Extraction ofa coal seam which lies not far below a heating goaf can be a major safety challenge. A force auxiliary ventilation system was adopted as a control method in successful extraction and recovery of the Panel 30110 of the #3 " coal seam, which is about 30-40 m below the heating goat ofthe #2-2 seam at Longhua underground coal mine, Shanxi Province, China. Booster fans and ventilation control devices such 25 doors and regulators were used in the system. The results show that, provided that a force auxiliary ventilation system is properly designed to achieve a pressute balance between a panel and its overiying goa, the system can be used to extract a coal seam overlain by a heating goa. This paper ‘scribes the design, installation and performance of the ventilation system during the extraction and recovery phases ofthe panel 30110, ' 2015 Published by Elsevier BV. on behalf of China University of Mining & Technology. statistical analyses were used to study fracture evolution in the floor strata ofa heating goaf at Shigefie coal mine. tt was concluded that heating had no significant effect on generation and propaga- tion of fractures and the maximum height of the fractures formed in the floor strata was about 10 m 8,9]. A number of mathematical ‘models have been developed to simulate the multi-component szases flow in the fractured interburden between a mining seam and its overlying heating goaf [10,1]. The use ofa force auxiliary ventilation system in the seam extraction has been attempted as a control method in the prevention of ait/gas flow between the min- ing seam and its overlying heating goaf with mixed results [12.13], ‘This paper describes a force auxiliary ventilation system, which {is adopted in #30110 longwall panel at Longhua coal mine and its performance, The system aims to balance the pressure between the ongwall face and its overlying heating goaf. The system consists of the booster fans, doors and regulators. A number of manometers and CO sensors were installed in and around the panel to monitor the system performance. The panel was successfully retreated and recovered with the system, 2. Site conditions 2.1, Longhua coal mine ‘The Longhua coal mine is located in Yulin city, Shanxi province, China. The mine is a longwall operation which produces about 2095-2586) 2015 Published by Elsevier Bom behalf af China University of Mining & TechnologyWang ea Iteratonloural of Ming Science nd Techno 25 (2015) 67-72 Litholgy ofthe iterburden between the Nos. 5°! and? seams Layer Thickness) 4 Mta. The target seam of economic interest is the No. 3" seam. This seam is about 3m thick and about 90-100 m below the ‘ground surface. The seam lies about 30-40 m below the No, 2 ?~ seam which was mined with the border and pillar method. The goat of tie #2 7 seam undergoes self-heating. Both seams are neat flat and free of major geological structures. The interburden between the seams is dominated by siltstone and finely grained sandstone, Table 1 shows the lithology of the interburden, 22. No. 30110 longwall panel ‘The No. 30110 longwall panel of the #3." seam is 250 m wide, 1979 1m long and 3.1 m high. The U-type exhausting ventilation system (Fig. 1) is used. Field investigations indicated that, close to the panel finish line, there was an extensive heating zone in the goaf of #2 ? seam directly above the panel 30110 and a large [Dep tstow srt soa No.2 cam Main sitsone an inst with vo ayers of modi sin sundslone abot thick, amount of hazardous gases were contained in the goaf. The CO ‘concentration of the goaf was measured to be as high as 1.5%. ‘As the panel started to retreat, the overburden roof units started to deform, fracture and cave. This resulted in the formation of three zones in the roof, ie. caved zone, fractured zone and deformation zone. The combined height of the caved and fractured zones was ‘estimated to be in the range of 41-1-98.9 m [14,15], which was larger than the thickness of the interburden between the panel ‘and heating goaf, indicating thatthe extensive fractures existed in the interburden and the gases of the goaf such as CO could readily flow into the panel. t was proven tobe the case that the CO concen- tration at the return corner of the face often was in the range of 2x 10° to5 x 10° at the initial stage of the panel retreat and CO was identified to be from the goat of the 2 ? seam. Furthermore, the CO concentration at the return corner of the face showed a ‘worrying increment trend as the panel retreat progressed. AL contr AL A soni 2010 punt A | : + fro pAb) Le r*) ’ egy ysl a Senge ssooeryroay|] [fst Seed) pose ieroad gateroad| f a : ee pacer Minas ce a 7 Fig. 1. Layout othe No. 20110 panel and esting zane inthe gs ofthe No, 2® seam.Wg ta international Journal of Mining Scene and Tecnology 25 (2015) 67-72 « 23. Heating in the goaf ofthe No. 2? seam Extensive heating zones in the goaf of the #2 2 seam develop due to two main factors. One factor is a large amount of coal left in the goaf because of a relatively low coal extraction rate with the border and pillar method used in the #2 * seam extraction, and the other is the air leakage getting into the goaf from the {ground surface because of its shallow buried depth (50-60 m below the ground surface). The Longhua coal mine had attempted to control the heating in the goaf with various techniques such as nitrogen inertsation, gel injection, and blockage of air leakage. However, these measures were proven to be ineffective and quite expensive. At the beginning of the panel 30110 retreat, there was still an extensive hot spot zone in the goaf ofthe 2 # seam directly above the panel (Fig. 1) 3. force auxiliary ventilation system {A force auxiliary ventilation system was designed in the panel 301 10 to stop the gas flow between the panel face and its overlying goaf of the 2 ? seam. On the one hand, the system could stop the goaf gases from flowing into the corner, meaning that they will not be able to flow into any points around the face, and on the ‘other hand, it can prevent the fresh air of the Face from leaking into the goaf. The best pressure balance point was designed to be at the ‘middle position between the return comer of the face and the goaf ‘of the 2 # seam as the return corner was the lowest pressure point in the face in the U-type ventilation system. 3.1 System components ‘The force auxiliary ventilation system includes booster fans, doors and regulators. Four booster fans were installed in the #1 cut-through of the panel, and two of them were connected in par- allel and the other two were for backup. Each of the fans has a speed of 2960 t/min, a pressure range of 1100-6000 Pa and a flow rate between 730 and 400 m/min. Two doors were installed in the panel intake gateroad and one regulator (mesh door in this case) ‘was installed in the panel return gateroad. The exact location and layout of the system are shown in Fig. 2 32, Estimate of gas pressure between the face return commer and the goaf {A Ustype water tube (manometer) was installed in the main panel recovery gateroad and was connected to the goaf of the souio SL I 11 cucthroush io ° a Seal wat Rinne ®— Ai doe ign inole Rgulting ti window Naiminake @— Booster an I res Tamim > Ret air i. 2. Foe aury vention system in the pane 20110, No, 2 * seam, The gas pressure in the goaf was estimated by gas pressure at the recovery gateroad and the manometer, as shown in Fig. 3 Prior to the implementation of the force auxiliary ventilation system in the panel, gas pressure in the goaf of the #2? seam ‘was higher than that in the panel face and can be calculated as Pant = B+ Po — pate w ‘where Paris the gas pressure in the goaf of the #2 * seam, Pa; the gas pressure in the main recovery gateroad, Pa; Po the reading, (of the manometer, Pa; p the density of air in the panel, 1.073 kg/ 1m; g the gravitational acceleration, 9.8 N)kg; and h the thickness ‘of the interburden between the Nos. 3 ' and 2 ” seams, 37.6 m. Py and p! were measured to be 230 Pa and 87.98 kPa, respec tively. Using Eq. (1), gas pressure in the goaf of the #2 * seam is calculated to be 87.82 kPa, Let A,B, C, D denote four specific points around the panel, as, shown in Fig. 2. Specifically. A represents the point next to the boost fans, B represents the face return corner. C represents the point just before the regulator, and D is the point just after the regulator. To make gas pressure balance point between the return ‘comer and the goaf ofthe #2? seam at half way of the interburden (h(2),gas pressure atthe return corner (Fx) must satisfy Eq, (2) and ‘was calculated to be 88.41 kPa. Pa ~ Por +3 Peo Pose + 308k 2) 3.3, Bstimate of gas pressure difference acrass the regulator ‘With the force auailiary ventilation system in the panel 30110, the pressure loss from points A to B (fxs) can be calculated as follows (ignoring the panel air leakage): fra = (P—Pa)+ (Bri B88) + (putea — Paste) — Ru?) where Ps isthe gas pressure at point A, Pa; Py the gas pressure at point B, Pa: py the ar density at point A, kg/m py the air density at point B, ksi’: 2a the elevation at point A above sea level. ms ze the elevation at point 8 above sea level, mand Rag the frictional resistance betveen points A and B, kal i the velocity at point, ‘Ams: and vp = 0/5, where Qis the panel air flowrate, mts: and 5, the cross sectional area at point Am’. isthe velecity at point Bans and 4 = Q/Ss, here Ss the cross Sectional area a pint B “The pressure loss from points B to C (fp) cam be calculated as follows: sy Beye za where Pe is the gas pressure at point C, Pa: pe the air density at point C. kgm’; ze the elevation at point C above sea level, m; and Fuc = (Pe — Pe) + RecQ? (4) 2) + (Pee — Pe mC); Main eatery oa Fi 3. Layout of manometer at the sin pel secsvey gato~ Wang ea Iteratonloural of Ming Science nd Techno 25 (2015) 67-72 toe — euro ss un wwe Flos ste saad 13121109 876 54 3gp1|| HAT a A ‘letsllss |[ote Taare may i ie gras Hf Coser ee aeehcerpal | tothe? scam ga Fig 4, Layout of manomsters aed CO sensors aroun the pan 30110 {gc the frictional resistance between points B and C, kglm’. ve isthe velocity at point C, mjs: and ¥e~Q/Se, where Se is the cross sectional area at point C, m. ‘The pressure difference between points C and D (Pca) can be written as APcy = Pe Po 6 Field measurements showed that: Py =88:530Pa, P= 88-410 Pa, Pp =87.960Pa, p= 1.061 kgim’, py = 1.062 kei’. c= 1.062 kgim*, 24% 10944 m, z= 10943 m, "z= 10940m, Sq 128m" Se 6.5 m?, Sc = 149 m, Ray = 0234 kg and Roc= 0086 kel”. Using Eqs. (3)-(5), gas pressure at point C was calculated to be 88,372 Pa and pressure difference from points C to D is 412Pa, That means that in order to ensure the pressure balance point between the 430110 panel face and the goaf ofthe #2 7 seam sat half way of the interburden (h2}. pressure diflerence across the regulator should be ‘around 412 Pa, 4. Adjustment fo the system during its operation To account for actual mining and ventilation conditions in the panel 30110 and to allow for 10% shifting ofthe gas pressure bal- ance position in the interburden, the pressure difference across the regulator was slightly adjusted during the operation of the force ‘auxiliary ventilation system. With the force system in operation, 'ga5 pressure at the #30110 panel face was higher than that in the goaf of the #2 ? seam, Prat =~ Pu pgh 6) Monitored results of CO and pressure ference inthe pane 3010 Date Stem) SP) Pressure deren (Pa) uo 625 23 i010 130, 130 190, woo 13 4 4 620 2875 130 110140 1% 180 go 3103 8 630 2575. 120° 120 140 130 190, go 1 0 5 305 701 2575, M0 120 130130 150. 200 joo 138 1 3 702 2445, 110 110130, 150. 2m gs 2 0 5 0 4 303 2203 M0 120130 1 200 a0 2 0 3 0 6 704 2135 120 100 120 130 40 180 ao 0 2 6 3 6 705 200 H0 110 100110 150. 180, soo 1 3 6 708 150, 00 10 120 150. 190, ao 0 0 0 4 4 70 135, foo 120 120 160 190, yo 20 4 6 3 TAL 1065 The ace cetreating dvectly under a heating zone 80 100 120 10 220 Sodas m3 875 oo 120. 130 0 a0 so 0 4 1 3 6 aie 0 120 120120, 19 180 wo2 023 5 720 The panel cecvery 20 130 150 150 100 mols 22 8 ia tio 130 140 0 10 moa 3022 0 723 120130 Themanometers dismantled due tothe «390-1332 4 724 120130. face recovery wot o1 4 4 4 125 130 wo2 142 6 126 120 130 m3 0 0 4 5 1m 120130 moa 0 5 3 7 728 100 120 moo 5 3 3 6 ‘Note St the distance fom the panel ace othe panel shine ad S2 de iatance om the pel ace othe bonny projected dowaward ta te pana onzon from the overyig eating Zone the gatWg ta international Journal of Mining Scene and Tecnology 25 (2015) 67-72 n Py and p’ were measured to be 180 Pa and 88,360 Pa, respectively Using Ea. (6), gas pressure in the goat of the #2 "seam was calculated to be 87,785 Pa, the gas pressure balance position is allowed to shift by 10% in, the interburden between the face return corner and the goaf of the #2 * seam, then it should be kept within the zone of (2/5, 34/5) and gas pressure atthe face return corner (P=) must satisfy Eq (7). Prot + gh < Py < Pps + EPH a Tt was measured that, with the operation of the force ventilation system, the face flow rate (Q) was 13 m/s, gas pressure (Pe) before the regulator was 88370 Pa and Py was 380 Pa, Thus using Eq. (5). a2 pressure after the regulator was calculated to be 87,990 Pa. Using Eqs. (4) (5) and (7), the range of pressure difference across the regulator (APcp) can be calculated using Ea. (8) to be between 338 Pa and 417 Pa ‘To study the performance of the force auxiliary ventilation system, three sets of key parameters are monitored. These were 42s pressure diffecence between the #30110 panel and the goat Of the #2 seam, gas pressure difference across the regulator, and CO concentration in the panel 30110. Seven manometers(U-type tubes in this case) were installed in the panel. Six of them (#1 to #6) were used to monitor pressure difference between the panel and the goaf of the #2 ® seam and the other one (#7) was to monitor gas pressure difference across the regulator, Five CO sensors (WA, #0, #C, 4D and aE) were used to monitor CO concentration at various positions inthe panel face (Grom the intake corner to return corner). The exact location and layout of these manometers and CO sensors are shown in Fg, 4 The force auxiliary ventilation system became operational on the 21st of June, 2012 when the pane! face was retreated 1346 m from its start-up line The face was retreated directly under a heat- ing zone ofthe goat ofthe #2 * seam on the 10th July. By the 19th of aly the face was retreated to its finish line and this was imme- lately followed by the face recovery phase. On the 29th of uly the face was fully recovered. Monitored results for the petiod from June 21st to July 28th are shown in Table 2 and Figs. 5-8 The pressure difference between the panel face and the goat of the #2 2 seam isan important indicator about the stability ofthe ventilation system, and a cial reference to decide ifthe ventla- tion sytem requires any adjustment. The results from Table 2 and Fig. 5 indicated that the pressure differences at manometers #1. #2 and #3 were kept around 100 Pa for most ofthe monitoring period except for about three days (from the Toth to 12th of july). and a 1 ariee, eae SAPP PF Fig. 5. Pressure erence monitored with manameters #110 #3 Fig. 7. Pressure erence monitored with manometer #7 ns ce we Fig. CO concentration inthe #30110 panel ae. signiticant drop in the pressure dlference (around 80 Pa) was observed, The pressure diference was back o around 100 Pa after the regulator was adjusted. The pressure diferences at manome- ters #4 and #5 were kept around 140-150 a (Fig 6). The results from Fig, 6 also indicated that the readings from monometer #6 were around 190 Pa, and a significant drop was observed after the 14th of July, however, it was again controlled to around 1509 after the regulator was adjusted. No. 7 manometer was used to monitor the pressure diference across the regulator. Fig. 7 indicated thatthe pressure difference ‘was kept between 340 and 360 Pa for most ofthe operation period. This was within the range of 338-417 Pa, as recommended in Sec- tion 3 of this paper. Although the pressure difference across the regulator was dropped slightly below the lower limit ofthe recom- mended range during the longwall recovery phase (on the 23, 26th to 28th of July) it was brought into the safe range through prompt adjustments of the regulator and no adverse effet on the panel operation was resulted, indicating stable running ofthe force auiliary ventilation system. CO concentration was monitored along the panel face with the force auxiliary ventilation system, and the monitored results are shown in Fig. 8 The results from Fig 8 clearly showed that CO con- centration in the face was below 8 = 10 °, well below the maxi ‘mum allowable limit of 24 10 * specified in "Coal Mine Safety Regulations” in China. No incidence of sudden CO rush from the goal of the #2 7 seam into the #30110 panel face occurred withn Wang ea Iteratonloural of Ming Science and Techno 25 (2015) 67-72 the force ventilation system in operation, and the panel was suc- ‘cessfully retreated and recovered. 5. Conclusions Based on the studies in Longhua coal mine, the following con- ‘clusions ean be drawn: (1) A force auxiliary ventilation system was used as an alterna- tive and effective method to control gas flaw between the panel 30110 and its overlying heating goat lying about 30- 40m above the panel. The system consists of four booster fans, two doors and one regulator. The system hazardous gases in the goaf were stopped from entering into the panel ace and the air in the panel face was prevented from leaking into the goaf during the panel extraction. (2) The success in using a force auxiliary ventilation system depends on selection of the best gas pressure balance posi- tion between a panel face and its overlying heating. goat and pressure control at key points of the ventilation system. In the case ofthe panel 30110, pressure difference across the regulator should be controlled around 412 Pa and the pres- sure balance position between the face return corner and the goaf should be half way through their interburden, (3) Seven manometers and five CO sensors were installed to ‘monitor gas pressure difference and CO concentration in the panel 30110. Gas pressure and CO monitoring at some key locations in the ventilation system and prompt adjust- ‘ments of pressure distribution in the system (if required) ‘were an integrated parts ofthe system design, its implemen- tation to ensure safe and effective operation of the system. ‘Acknowledgments “The work was supported by the Scientific Research Foundation ‘of Shandong University of Science and Technology for Recruited ‘Talents and Science Research Innovative Group of Resources and Environment Engineering College of Shandong University of Sci- ‘ence and Technology (No. 2012ZHTD06), the Scientific Research Foundation of Shandong University of Science and Technology for Rectuited Talents (No. 2013RC\JO49), the China Postdoctoral Sci- ‘ence Foundation (No, 2013M541942), and the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education (No. 2013371812013). 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