MINE C L I M A T E 153

the point and the pressure loss between the vessel and the point of
CHAPTER I I I measurement because of flow.
The static pressure indicated above is positive since it is higher
MINE CLIMATE than the atmospheric pressure. If the vessel were evacuated, ins-
tead of being pressurized, to a pressure lower than the atmospheric,
the static pressure in the vessel will be negative.
The S. I . unit of pressure is Pa (pascal=N m- ) which equals 2

3.1 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MINE AIR kg m- s- in basic units. Water gauges are commonly used for
1 1

Mine air is essentially a mixture of permanent gases like oxygen measurement of ventilation pressure in mines and the readings are
and nitrogen, with some water-vapour. At the prevalent tem- generally obtained in mm w.g., 1 mm w.g. being equal to g
peratures and pressures in the mines it behaves as an ideal gas. The (=9.8) Pa.
percentages of cxygen and nitrogen in mine air rarely vary much Pressure is sometimes expressed in terms of head which is the
from the usual, but the moisture content changes substantially height of a column of fluid exerting the pressure at its bottom. If
depending on physical conditions. we consider a column of air of density p and height h, the pressure
P at its bottom is equal to its weight over unit area.
3.2 PRESSURE P = P hg,
Pressure of a fluid on a surface with which it is in contact is the
normal force exerted by the fluid per unit area of the surface. orh = P/pg (3.1)
Pressure can be expressed in absolute measure when it gives the
difference in the pressure of the fluid and that of complete vacuum. K 3.3 BAROMETRIC PRESSURE
Often pressure is expressed with reference to the local atomspheric Barometric pressure or atmospheric pressure of air at any point
pressure as datum in which case it is called the gauge pressure. is the weight of the column of atmospheric air per unit area over
Gauge pressure is in fact the difference between the absolute that point. Thus, it varies with the elevation of the point and the
pressure and the atmospheric pressure. meteorological conditions. Barometric pressure at different depths
Pressure can again be divided into (a) static pressure and or elevations can be determined from the following relation after
(b) velocity pressure the sum of the two being called the total Laplace. 82

pressure. The static pressure of compressed air inside a sealed

vessel is shown on a pressure gauge or manometer connected to Z (1-0.378 e/B) \ + ~r) l 0 g ~T X ( 3 ' 2 )

the vessel at any point. It acts equally on all directions. If a hole

where h = elevation of the upper station in metres,
x
ismadeinthe wall of this vessel, air rushes out with a velocity depend-
h = elevation of the lower station in metres,
t
ing on the static pressure inside the vessel. If the vessel wall is
Z = h -h , x t
thin, the entire static pressure P, is converted to velocity pressure > ^
By = atmospheric pressure (the barometer reading
P given by the expression P =pv*/2 where v is the velocity of flow
t v
after correction for temperature and gravity)
through the hole and p=density of air.
at the upper station in kPa,
On the other hand if the air is let ou; from the pressure vessel
B = atmospheric pressure at the lower station in
t
through a length of narrow pipe, a manometer connected to a
kPa,
normal hole in the wall of the pipe at a certain distance from its
junction with the vessel will indicate a static pressure (a hole normal B J- B
to the direction of flow will record no component of velocity pres- B. = mean atmospheric pressure in kPa= —Li—?,
sure) lower than P, by the velocity pressure of air in the pipe at r = mean radius of the earth = 6367 324 m,
154 MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D VENTILATION MINE C M M A T E 155

T = mean temperature of the air column between amount of tb,is change depends on the relative diameter of the cis-
the altitudes h and h in K.
x 2 tern. If A is the internal cross-sectional area of the tube and A ,
x t

e = mean vapour pressure of the air column in kPa, that of the cistern (excluding the outer cross-sectional area of the
4> = latitude of the station in rad, tail of ihe tube), then a rise of 1 mm in the tube will cause a fall of
K => barometric constant = 18 400 m, A /A mm in the cistern so that the total rise in the barometer rea-
x 2

a = coefficient of expansion of air = 0 003 665 ding will be (A +A )/A mm. Or, in other words, for a barometric
x 2 2

and K and K are constants depending on the shape of the earth

x 2
rise of 1 mm, the level of mercury in the tube will rise by AJ(A + X

and are equal to 0.00/ 64 and 0.000 007 respectively. The above A ) mm. To avoid computation after reading, the scale in such a
2

relationship can be simplified with a reasonable degree of accuracy barometer is graduated in units of AJ(A +A ) standard units so
X t

compatible with mining calculations to that it gives the barometric reading directly. The value of A J (A -\-'. x

A ) is usually kept between 0.95 and 0.99.

2
Z = 67.4 T log (BJBt) (3.3)
Mercury barometer readings have to be corrected for tempera-
At mean sea level at *r/4rad (45°) N latitude and at 273.15 K
ture and gravity in order to get the atmospheric pressure in standard
(0°C) temperature the mercury barometer reads 760mm. Taking
units, i.e. reduced to standard conditions of temperature and
density of Hg = 13 596 kg m - at 273 15 K and g (acceleration
3
gravity (273.15 K and 9.806 65 m s- ). The temperature correction
2
due to gravity) =-9.806 65 m s- , this pressure is equal to 0.76 x
2
is given by the relation
13.596x9.806 65=101.33 kPa - 1013.3 mbar (millibar). Thus
1 mm Hg = 1.333 3 mbar = 133.33 Pa. * ( c c - cc ) (7-273.15)
w 6

The atmospheric pressure is accurately measured by a mercury r r l + oc (r-273.15)

w { i A )

barometer. This essentially consists of a trough of mercury, over where c = temperature correction in kPa,
T

which is inverted a graduated tube filled with mercury. The tube

B = observed barometer reading in kPa,
is sealed at the upper end and the open lower end is under mercury
<x = coefficient of expansion of mercurv
m
in the trough. The pressure of the mercury column in the tube at
= 0.000 1818,
its base then balances the atmospheric pressure, which is read
cc = coefficient of linear expansion of brass
b
directly in terms of the height of the column.
= 0.000 0184,
and T = temperature in K.
3.3.1 Fortin Barometer The gravity correction is given by the equation
This is the commonest type of mercury barometer. It consists
of a .glass tube encased in a brass tube which protects the glass and
c. - (3.5)
carries the graduated scale- The glass tube is inverted over a cistern
* go
containing mercury. The level of mercury in the cistern can be
where c = gravity correction in kPa,
g
varied by an adjusting screw so that the level can always be set to the
gi = gravity at the place of observation,
zero of the scale. This enables the scale on the brass tube to read
B' = observed barometer reading corrected for tem-
the height of the mercury column directly.
perature
and g = standard gravity, i.e. average gravity at m.s.l.at
0

3.3.2 Kew-pattern Barometer n/4 rad (45°) N latitude

This, on the other hand, has a fixed cistern where the level of = 9.806 65 *L 9.81ms- . 2

mercury in the cistern can not be adjusted. So, when the level of gi can be measured or calculated from the relation
mercury in the tube changes due to variation of barometric pressure gi = go (\2 64 cos 2<f>+0.000 007 cos* 2<f>)
there is a change in the level of mercury in the cistern also. The - 3.086 x H M A (3.6).
ll
 MINE ENVIRONMENT A N D VENTILATION
156 M I N E C L I M A T E
157
where <f> is the latitude in rad and h, the altitude of the place above The error due to creep depends on the amount of change of press! ure
mean sea level in metres. and the time allowed before taking the reading. For accurate re ad-
ing, sufficient time commensurate with the pressure change sho uld
Example 3.1 be allowed before taking a reading with an aneroid.
A Fortin barometer installed at a mine reads 99.72 kPa. (b) Set. Sometimes a major change in temperature or press ;ure
Calculate the atmospheric pressure at the mine, if the mine is located may cause a permanent set in the distortion of the chamber 1 hhus
at an altitude of 330m from the mean sea level at 0.337 rad necessitating frequent checking of the instrument against a stanc lard
control instrument, particularly when working over a large xz inge
(19°-20') N latitude. The thermometer on the barometer records
of temperature and pressure.
a temperature of 294.15 K.
Correction for temperature from equation 3.4 (c) Variation of Temperature. This can affect the reading of the
aneroid substantially if the change in temperature is la Lrge.
99.72 (0.000 1818-0.000 0184) (294.15-273.15) Normally, aneroids are suitably compensated for temperatun ; by
1+0.000 1818 (294.15-273.15) -0.34 kPa. incorporating a bimetallic link in its design or by leaving a cei -tain
volume of gas inside the collapsible chamber, but even with tem-
Value of g from equation 3.6 perature-compensated aneroids, it has been, found that a varici ition
= 9.806 65 {1-0.002 64 x cos (2x0.337) of temperature of 14 K can cause an error of 66.6 Pa. ..This < jrror
+0.000 007 x cos (2 x 0.337)} - 3.086 x 10- x 330
2 6
again varies with pressure. Thus, it is necessary to correct the 1 >aro-
= 9.785 45 m s- . 2 meter reading in accordance with the calibration of the instru ment
Correction for gravity=(99.72 -0.34) (9.785 45 -9.806 65)/9.806 65 at known temperatures.
= -0.22 kPa.
Paulin Aneroid and Askania Statoscope. Both of these (the 1 latter
So, corrected barometer reading or the atmospheric pressure
covering a small range of pressure) try to avoid the error di je to
=99.72-(0.34+0.22)=99.l6 kPa.
creep. Mere, the distortion of the diaphragm is brought ba< |;k to
3.3.3 Aneroid Barometers
Mercury barometers have an accuracy of ± 0.025 mm Hg or POINTER

± 3.33 Pa, but are not very portable or sturdy in construction.

Hence for mining purposes, aneroid barometers are commonly
used. The aneroid (Fig. 3.1) consists of a concentrically corrugated,
evacuated chamber normally kept from collapsing by a spring in-
side it. It, however, collapses or expands under increasing or de-
creasing atmospheric pressure, the distortion being transmitted
through a sensitive spring and a series of levers and chains to a pointer
moving on a graduated scale. The distortion is thus magnified
about 200 times and can be easily read. The accuracy of aneroids is
of the order of ± 6.66 Pa. In more sensitive instruments measuring
smaller ranges of pressure, the accuracy has been improved to
±3.33 Pa.
However, the aneriod is subject to errors due to the following:
METAL SPRING -CORRUGATED
(a) Creep. This is the reading of the barometer lagging behind
DIAPHRAGM
the actual pressure when there is a considerable change of pressure.
Fig. 3.1 Aneroid barometer (diagrammatic)
 MINE ENVIRONMENT A N D VENTILATION MINE C L I M A T E 159
158
of a series of evacuated chambers which increase their sensitivity
zero by varying the tension on a sensitive spring. Hence the dia-
so that the distortion can be utilized to work a marker pen on a
phragm is always kept at the null position and the reading of
continuously moving chart that records the barometric pressure.
pressure obtained from the amount of adjustment to the spring.
Fig. 3.2 shows an Askania statoscope. When the collapsible cham-
ber D is acted upon by pressure (say high pressure) the pointer P 3.3.5 Hypsometers
moves down the scale S which has a range of only 66.6 Pa. Hypsometers are not used for mining purposes as accurate
By adjusting the knob K, the tension of the spring can be suitably temperature measurement is not possible underground. It should
varied so as to bring back the pointer to the zero position. The be noted that a change in pressure of the order of 100 Pa changes
turning of the knob is recorded on the scale S' which is directly the boiling point of water by only 0.03 K.
graduated in the units of barometric pressure. As a rough rule barometric pressure is taken to rise at the rate
of 10.9 Pa per metre depth.
3.3.4 Barographs
These are used for continuous recording of the atmospheric 3.4 TEMPERATURE
pressure. They utilize the same principle as the aneroid and consist Temperature of mine air is commonly measured by a mercury
thermometer. Alcohol thermometers, though more sensitive be-
cause of the coefficient of expansion of alcohol being six times as
high as that of mercury, are much less accurate. Alcohol has, how-
ever, a lower freezing point of 173 K as compared to about 233 K
of mercury and alcohol thermometers find more suitable use in
low-temperature ranges. Normally, temperature of mine air refers
to the dry-bulb temperature. To get a correct reading of the dry-
bulb temperature of the air the thermometer should be held at least
315 mm away from any surface so that the reading is not affected
by the heat radiated to or from the surface. The bulb of the thermo'
meter should also be perfectly dry. The sensitivity of thermometers
commonly used in mines varies from 0.2 to 0.5 K as the thermo-
meters of higher sensitivity usually cover a smaller range of
temperature.
Sometimes in the assessment of the environment in a narrow
space underground where radiation of heat from the rock walls is
significant it may be necessary to measure the radiant temperature.
This may be done by covering the thermometer bulb by a black
globe.

3.5 SOURCES OF HEAT I N MINE AIR

3.5.1 High Temperature of Surface Air
Surface air entering the mine can carry with it some heat if the
V///W/////MM»'>'/S'' A / / / / /'7777 surface temperature is high compared to the underground
Fig 3.2 Askania statoscope. temperature.
 MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D VENTILATION
MINE C L I M A T E 1.61
160
the shaft resulting in a pressure drop. The whole process can then
3.5.2 Heat due to Auto-compression be considered as frictional adiabatic, a combination of reversible
As the air descends the downcast shaft, it gets compressed by adiabatic compression from P to P resulting in a rise in tempera-
x z

the weight of the shaft air-column approximately at the rate of ture from 7\o T coupled with an irreversible adiabatic expansion
9

1.1 kPa per 100m depth and its potential energy is converted to at constant temperature T fromP to P , P -P
v 2 z 2 being the shaft
a

heat energy. Provided no work is done by the air descending the pressure drop.
shaft, (i.e. the flow is frictionless and non-accelerative) and no heat Taking g=9.81 m s-* and C =1005 J kg- K - in equation 3.8,
p 1 1

or moisture is lost or gained by the air, the compression of air in it is seen that the *-ise in the dry-bulb temperature of air due to auto-
the downcast shaft will be reversible adiabatic following the compression is 0.976 K per 100m depth.
relation The wet-bulb temperature of air also rises with depth, though
at a lesser rate depending on the surface dry-bulb and wet-bulb
temperatures. For prevalent summer conditions in India the wet-
bulb temperature may rise at the rate of 0.3 to 0.25 K for every
100m depth. The above rates of rise in air temperature hold when
where T = temperature in K, there is no addition of moisture in the shaft, but with the evaporation
y = C / C . = 1.404 for dry air (y varies slightly with the
p r of moisture in the shaft, the rate of increase in the dry-bulb tem-
moisture content of air, but for mining purposes it perature with depth falls sharply. In such cases the adiabatic index.
can be taken as equal to 1.4), y in equation 3.7 may be replaced by a variable polytropic index n.
V = specific volume (volume of unit mass of air), In dry shafts n approaches y, but in wet shafts n can be equal to 1
P = barometric pressure and subscripts 1 and 2 indicate (isothermal compression) or even less than 1 because of evaporation
the state of air at the shaft-top and -bottom of water in the downcast shaft which lowers the dry-bulb tem-
respectively. perature. Observations at a very wet Indian mine (Chinakuri No.
The rise in temperature due to auto-compression at any depth 1 and 2 pits) give a value of n=0.905 in November and 0.709 in
April in the downcast shaft. This is because there is a fall in the
can be determined from equation 3.7 by finding the barometric
dry-bulb temperature of the air as it descends from the surface to
pressures at the shaft-top and at that depth (the latter can be found
the pit-bottom owing to excessive evaporation, even though the
from equation 3.2) or from specific volumes (or densities, since shaft is fairly deep (611m).
density P = -^-) at the two points. Under similar assumptions, the In the upcast shaft however, n has a higher value of 1.25,
rise in temperature due to auto-compression can also be obtained by since the upcast air is almost saturated with water so that its
equating the potential energy with enthalpy change (see the general temperature is not affected by evaporative cooling. For similar
energy balance equation 4.1. Under the assumptions made dQ=0 reasons, the polytropic index is lower in summer, when the air,
as no heat is transferred, dW=0 as no work is done and dKE=0 being at a higher temperature, is able to evaporate more moisture
as the flow is non-accelerative so that dH— —dPE) in the shaft.
hg=AH=C AT p (3.8) It must be remembered that in wet downcast shafts, though
there may be only a very small rise (there may even be a fall in very
where = rise in temperature in K, wet shafts) in the dry-bulb temperature, there is indeed a substantial
&H = change in enthalpy, J kg- 1
amount of latent heat added to the mine air. The rate of rise in
h = depth of shaft in m wet-bulb temperature remains the same irrespective of the amount
and C = specific heat of air in J kg- K- .
p 1 1
of moisture added in the shaft, unless of course there is heat transfer
The rise of temperature with depth by auto-compression as given from the strata in addition to heating due to auto-compression.
by tquations 3.7 and 3.8 does not change when there is friction in
 MINE C L I M A T E
162 MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D VENTILATION
163

In old rock formations like those of the Kolar Gold Field the gold mining districts. The geothermic gradient at any place is thus
geothennal gradient is flat so that the rise in rock temperature with the rate of rise in temperature above this temperature.
depth almost equals the rise in air temperature due to auto-com- Table 3.1 gives the geothermic gradient in some mining districts
of the world, although a range varying from I K / l l m to 1K/I40m
pression, so that the heat transfer from the strata in the downcast
has been recorded.
shaft is insignificant compared to the heat of auto-compression.
But in the coal fields where the geothermal gradient is steep, there
may be substantial heat transfer from the strata as the depth in- Table 3.1 : Geothermic Gradient in Various Mining
creases. This will cause a steeper rise in the wet-bulb temperature Districts of the World
so that intolerable wet-bulb temperatures may be obtained at the
downcast shaft-bottom at relatively shallower depths compared to Mining district Geothermic gradient
the Kolar Gold Field.
Similar to the heating of air due to auto-compression in the Lancashire coalfields, U.K. lK/34m
downcast shaft, adiabatic expansion and consequent cooling take Hollinger and Mclntyre, Canada IK/122.4 m
place as the upcast air ascends to the surface. However, since most
mine workings are concentrated at the bottom levels, the cooling Witwatersrand, S. Africa 1K/100.8 m
through adiabatic expansion compensates for only a small fraction
of the heat gained by adiabatic compression. On the Witwaters- Kolar Gold Field I K 91 1 m
rand Gold Field this compensation was about 16.7% at a depth Indian coalfields lK/38.4m
of 1829m and only 11.1 % at a depth of 2743m.

3.5.3 Heat from Rock Geothermic gradient is determined by observing the virgin-rock
Heat flows out of the hot core of the earth at almost a constant temperature at various depths in a mine. For obtaining accurate
rate of 0.05 W m~* over most of the earth's surface. As a result, virgin-rock temperatures, readings should be taken at the bottom
the rock temperature is found to rise as we go deeper down the of boreholes where the temperature of the rock is not affected by
earth's crust. The rate of increase of temperature with depth is ventilating air-currents. The depth of the borehole required for
called the geothermic gradient. The geothermic or geothennal gra- accuracy depends on the time for which the rock face has been
dient varies from place to place and is dependent on the physical exposed. On the Witwatersrand Gold Field it has been found that
properties of the rock such as thermal conductivity, specific heat the minimum depth of boreholes required for accuracy is 9m. It
and density which govern the rate of heat transfer in the rock. The can be reduced to 6m in case of freshly exposed rock surfaces, but
geothermic gradient is steeper, or the rise in temperature with depth for good results, a hole of 15-30m depth is recommended. The
faster for rocks of lower thermal conductivity such as coal-measure United States Bureau of Mines,* on the other hand, observes that
3

rocks than for rocks of higher thermal conductivity. Other minor the virgin-rock temperature can be measured approximately
factors which affect the geothermic gradient are the age of the accurately by inserting a 250mm long psychrometric thermometer
rock and the presence of dykes, sulphide ore bodies etc. nearby. mounted in a groove on a 19mm diameter wooden rod into
The surface air temperature at any place varies during the a 1.5-1.8m deep drillhole at a rapidly advancing face. An allowance
course of the year, but the ground temperature at a depth of about of one hour after the drilling is made for the dissipation of the heat
15m from the surface remains constant throughout the year. This of drilling in the rock. Ten minutes are sufficient for the thermo-
temperature is usually the average annual temperature at the surface meter to pick up the rock temperature and the fall of temperature
and hence varies from place to place depending on the climate. It on withdrawal of the thermometer from the hole is very slow so that
is 301.5 K on the Kolar Gold Field but only 277.6 K in the Canadian a quick reading gives the rock temperature with a reasonable
164 MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D V E N T I L A T I O N MINE C L I M A T E 165

accuracy. The rate of cooling of the thermometer can be further thermocouple or thermister head is embedded in a short metallic
reduced by covering the bulb of the thermometer with a heat insula- cylinder which is inserted into a borehole in the rock with the help
ting material such as rubber. The accuracy is, however, much ham- of a mounting rod or tube. Digital quartz thermometers which
pered if cooled air circulates at the face at a high velocity. Similar give a digital indication of the temperature down to 0.001 K can
results have been obtained at North Staffordshire Colliery, U.K., 64
also be used for rock temperature measurement. They utilize the
where 1.2m long and 44mm diameter blastholes in coal were change in resonant frequency of quartz crystal with temperature
sufficient to record the virgin-rock temperature satisfactorily pro- and give a linear temperature characteristic They are not affected
vided the rate of advance of the heading was maintained at 0.9m by noise and cable resistance. /
day- . It was found that at a depth of 0.9m, the strata temperature
1
In virgin areas deep prospecting boreholes are commonly used
was not affected by the air temperature over a period ranging from for the measurement of the virgin-rock temperatures at regular
2 to 17 hours of exposure, as long as the difference between the depth intervals with the help of suitable temperature probes.
strata temperature and the air temperature did not exceed 10 K. Heat Transfer from the Rock to the Mine Air. This is mainly
The measurement of temperature in this case was done with a sensi- through direct heat transfer from the exposed rock surface to the
tive thermocouple. air. Wh^n the rock surface is dry, the heat transfer is mainly through
The South African practice is more accurate and uses a finely
43
convection and raises the sensible heat of the air, but when the rock
graduated maximum thermometer inserted in a groove on a 32mm surface is wet a substantial amount of water evaporates into the
diameter wooden rod (Fig. 3.3). The thermometer is chilled in an air thus leading to both sensible and latent heat transfer.
ice box before inserting in the hole which should be 38mm in dia- In very wet mines where a lot of water may flow out of the strata,
meter. The bulb and the portion of the stem where the thermometer a substantial amount of strata heat is transferred to the air through
is to be held by fingers are covered by rubber sleeves in order to the strata water flowing along the airways to the pit-bottom sumps.
insulate them against sudden rise of temperature. The borehole The strata water oozes out almost at the virgin-rock temperature
should be properly cleaned. A dry hole is preferred to a wet hole. and by the time it reaches the sumps, it may attain a temperature
The thermometer is inserted at the bottom of the hole by screwing equal to or slightly higher than the return air temperature so that
in the required number of extension rods to the one holding the the heat transfer through strata water equals C ( r , - 7 1 (where
p w

thermometer and pushing it inside the hole. It is left inside the hole C =specific heat of water, T =virgin-rock temperature and
pw v

for at least 48 hours (sometimes even for four days) before it is 7=temperature of water entering the sump) per unit mass of water
taken out, chilled and read. flowing out.
Direct heat transfer from the rock to the mine air is governed
ll-mmOEE* RECESS FC*
^WOOOtN ROD THERMOME1ER RECESS J RUBBER MHO rMOMll
by the rate of heat transfer within the rock mass and the heat
/ I .' / COUfUNO transfer from the rock wall of the excavation to the mine air. The
7TI—nr»T^ / ^TT- rate of sensible heat transfer from the rock wall to the air is a linear
function of the difference between the temperature of the rock wall
l?7«M» »| and the mean air temperature as well as the coefficient of heat
transfer
Fig. 3.3 Wooden rod for inserting maximum thermometer in boreholes for q=«(T -T )
s a (3.9)
measurements of virgin-rock temperature.
where q = rate of heat transfer, i.e. the amount of heat flow
Copper-constantan thermocouples connected to microvoltiueters per unit area per unit time,
or thermisters connected to a suitable bridge circuit can be usea a = coefficient of heat transfer and T and T are teh
t a

instead of thermometers for rock temperature measurement. The rock-wall and air temperatures respectively.
166 MINE ENVIRONMENT A N D VENTILATION MINE C L I M A T E 167

The coefficient of heat transfer or the thermal emmisivity is a The trierma I diffusivity of a rock is given by the relation
complex function of the properties of the rock surface, the mois-
ture content, temperature and ve ocity of air as well as the size of i - ~ (3.12)
the airway.
Quasi-emoirical relations based on Reynolds' analogy ha-e where d = thermal diffusivity of the rock,
been developed for predicting values of a for turbulent, flow in k — thermal conductivity of the rock,
pipes and the:-: can be used for mine airways for accurate estima-
tion of a. One ?uch relation due *o Colburn is as follows : 87
C — specific heat of the rock

/ and p — density of the rock.

st.pr--T (3.io)
8 Coefficient of thermal conductivity or simply thermal conducti-
vity is defined as the amount of heat-flow through a unit thickness
where St = Stanton number
of material over an unit area per unit time for a unit temperature
difference and is given by the equation q=k.4t. dT/l,
CG p C, P.v where q — amount of heat flowing,
C = specific heat of air at the mean air temperature.
p

A — area,
G = mass velocity = v P , a

t = time,
P mi average density of air,
a

v = average velocity of flow, dT = temperature difference

Pr = Prandtl numbe- and / = thickness of material.
Thermal conductivity depends on the isotropy of the rock
(anisotropic rocks have different coefficients of thermal conducti-
- m , •
vity in different directions : as for example, the conductivity along
ka — thermal conductivity of air, bedding planes in sedimentary rocks or cracks and cleavages in
ii = viscosity of air, other rocks is more than that across them), temperature and pres-
/ » Darcy-Weisbach resistance coefficient of the air- sure of the rock and the nature of the rock. The coefficient
way and subscript F denotes the values of the fluid properties at of thermal conductivity is the highest for metals and the lowest for
the arithmetic average of the surface and mean air temperatures often gases. For rocks, it depends to a large extent on the pore space,
referred to as the film temperature. the more porous rocks having less thermal conductivity. Table 3.2
For prevalent temperatures in mine airways Pr can be taken gives the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity for various
equal to 0 72 «o that equation 3.10 reduces to rocks.
Increase in temperature causes decrease in thermal conductivity
_ L p S
C p (3.11) to the tune of 0.225-0.306% per K for most rocks except for coal
a ~ 6.4 where there is an increase of thermal conductivity at the rate of
The rate of heat-flow in the rock is a complex function of the 0.1-04% per K. Pressure increases thermal conductivity and it has
thermal diffusivity of the rock, the difference in the rock and the been found that the rate of increase of thermal conductivity with
air temperature, thermal emmisivity of the rock surface, the dis- pressure for fine-grained sandstone is of the order of 1% per
tance from the rock wall and the time of cooling. 6.9 MPa.
 MINE C L I M A T E 169
168 MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D V E N T I L A T I O N

time t the temperature T of the surface of the airway at the en-

7

Table 3.2 : Thermal Conductivity and Thermal trance will be given by the equation
Diffusivity of Rocks s
i ; -T =(T,-TJ4(x,y)
a (3.13)
Thermal conductivity. Thermal diffusivity, where (x, y) is a function of x and v,
Rock (kJ m- s- K- ) x 1CH
1 1 1 (m* s- x 10- )
1 7
kt roc
x =••-•• — , and y — —.—
Granite 18.84-27.21 9.0-13.0 C r* p k 7

and r = radius of the airway.

Diorite 23.03 12.0
0.8 y -0.2
Gneiss 22.19 12.0
Quartzite 37.26-75.78 16.0-33.0
Limestone 18.00-28.89 8.0-13.0
y -2.3
Sandstone 20.93-28.89 10.0-14.0 y »s-o
y-io-o
Shale 7.95-19.26 4.0-9.6
Siltstone 15.91 7.8 C/>r
Fig. 3.4 Value of tf> (x, y) for various values of x and y
Coal 3.56-4.61 2.2-2.8 (after Hitchcock and Jones).
Sand 2.60 2.4
3.3
0 - 7 5
_ —1
Broken shale 1.88
Broken coal 0.71-1.05 1.6-2.3
O

When a fresh opening is made in a mine, there exists a large

difference of temperature between the rock wall and the air as a
result of which heat flows into the air at a very high rate and the k n
y-o-5
rock, in turn, is cooled to a certain distance. With time, the rock i
i
gets cooled to a greater distance and the rock-wall temperature ! y • i . 0
j
falls so that the rate of heat-flow decreases. In active mines there- y = 2-o
fore, the maximum amount of heat is transferred from the rock to 4 /.-lo-o
the mine air in stopes where large virgin-rock surfaces are con-
tinually exposed to the air-current. Roadways have a fairly high I kt \
3\
rate of heat transfer initially but the rate falls with the ageing of the
airway. Fig 1,5 Value of <j> {x, y) tor various values of x and y
Heat Transfer in Mine Airways. Let us, as an ideal case, consider (after Hitchcock and Jones).
a mine airway to be a hollow circular cylinder surrounded by an
infinite homogeneous mass maintained at a constant temperature Figr, 3.4 and 3.; how the value of <f> (x, v) = (T,-T )l(T -T ) a v 0

T (virgin-rock temperature). If now a current of air at temperature

¥ for various values of x and y as computed by Jaeger and Hitchcock
T enters the cylinder, it can be shown mathematically that at any
m
170 MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D VENTILATION MINE CLIMATE 171

and Jones. It will be seen from the figures that with increase of
65
development, the volume of air circulating in the drive was much
time, T falls at first rapidly and then slowly so that after the lapse
t
smaller (only 2.3m s- producing an air velocity of only 0.15 m s )
8 1 J

of an inifinitely large time, T approaches T when the heat-flow

s a
than when through ventilation was established in it.
from the strata to the air ceases. The rate of heat transfer q from Also we see that in deep and hot mines, it is desirable to conduct
the strata to the air at any time at the entrance of the airway is the air to the face in the shortest intake with a minimum cross-
given by the equation sectional area so that the surface area through which heat transfer
q = ctr.-rj takes place is minimized. Smooth airway surfaces reduce heat
= «(T-T )<f>(x,y)
a (3.14) transfer and hence are desirable for intakes. The high power cost
As the air moves along the airway it picks up heat from the strata of ventilation through an intake of reduced cross-section can be
and its temperature rises. I f we consider a small length of airway partly compensated by increasing the size of the return airway or
dL in traversing which there is a rise of dT in the temperature of having multiple return airways. This causes greater heat transfer
air, then in the return airways which is rather desirable, since it aids natural
qpdL=Qp C dT e p (3.15) ventilation by heating up the return air.
The above considerations apply to dry airways only. If, however,
where p = perimeter of the airway moisture evaporates from the surface of the airway, it considerably
and Q = quantity of air flowing per unit time. increases the rate qf heat transfer by extracting the latent heat of
Combining equations 3.14 and 3.15 we have evaporation from the rock. As a result, the circulating air picks
dT pky<j>(x,y)dr
up a greater amount of heat.
T-T " QP C r a p
The combined sensible and latent heat transfer in wet airways
where T is the air temperature at any point along the airway. is given by the relation 68

The air temperature T at any time t at a distance L from the

L
q = *(T,-T)+f l 9 <{e{T,)-e} (3.18)
entrance of the airway is given by integrating equation 3.16 between
the limits 0 and L . where T = dry-bulb temperature of air,
Or, f = fraction of airway surface that is wet,
m

pky j (s, y) L / = latent heat of evaporation of water,

T,-T -<J,-T*.
L Q"° > C r ( 3 1 7 )
c = coefficient of mass transfer,
e (T ) = saturation vapour pressure at T which can now be
t t
This equation has been found by Hitchcock and Jones to 66
considered as an overall surface temperature for
satisfactorily predict air temperatures along an experimental dry both dry and wet portions of the rock
airway. Equation 3.17 shows that as the distance increases, the
temperature of air rises rapidly in the beginning and then slowly and e = vapour pressure of air.
until T approaches T, when L tends to infinity. Again it is seen
L At commonly prevalent temperatures in mines (290-310 K) e'(T ) t

that the greater the value of Q, the less is the value of T , which sug- L can be given by the approximate relation
gests that circulation of a large quantity of air through an airway e'{T.)'=aT* +bTt + c (3.19)
of a certain length helps in keeping the air temperature down.
where a, b and c are constants having values of 0.002 133,
Hitchcock and Jones found that the temperature at a point in x —1.121 64 and 147.83 respectively with T in K and e'in kPa.
t

drive fell to 300.9 K after two years of development, the virgin-rock e is given by the relation
temperature being 302.9 K ; but after only 6 days of completion of
e « 461.9 x 10-* m' T kPa (3.20)
the drive and establishment of through ventilation in it, the tem-
perature fell to 297.4 K. This is because of the fact that during where m'm absolute humidity in g m- . 4
 MINE C L I M A T E

MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D VENTILATION
173
172
the ratio P„JB can be taken equal to unity in which case equation
The coefficient of mass transfer is a similar function of. flow para- 3.23 reduces to
meters as the coefficient of heat transfer.
The Stanton number in equation 3.10
Nu
S t= -Re-* ' C3.21) In terms of the heat transfer coefficient,
a D
where Nu = Nusselt number = —^—,
D = airway diameter
-%)fefe)[(-^)(^)r «
The variation in the dry-bulb temperature along the airway can
and Re = Reynolds number of flow
now be obtained from equation 3.15 which can be rewritten as
v D P. poc {T,-T) dL = P C QaT a p (3.26)
Similarly the rise in the absolute humidity of air along the air-
A similar group to the one on the right hand side of equation way can be written as
3.21 i.e. Shl(Re. Sc) can be used to correlate the mass transfer f P • [e'(T )-e]
m t dL = Q dm'x 10-* (3.27)
coefficient. or,/ p < [a T* + bT,+c-461.9X
w 10-* m'T]dL = Qdm'x 10-"
Similar to the Colburn heat transfer equation 3.10 we can write (3.28)
for mass transfer substituting the values of e' (T,) and e from equations 3.19 and
3.20 respectively.
The solution of the above differential equations needs the esti-
mation of T, at different times. This can be done by adopting the
S H . Sci = L (3.22) standard solution given by equation 3.13 provided a notional value
of T is adopted taking into account both sensible and latent heat
a

transfer. This can be done by combining equations 3.9 and 3.18,

so that
9RTP D m
r . « r - -LlL[e'(T,)-e) (3.29)
where Sh = a
R — Sherwood number
gas constant for air= = 287.1 —r
J kg- »Kr* 1
Evaluation of T from equation 3.13 assuming current value of
ScT == Schmidt number =
temperature of air (mean),
t

air temperature for T ignores the cooling history of the airway.

a

P*m = logarithmic mean partial air pressure Starfield" developed the following approximate relation based on
(B-e)-(B~e') Duhamel's theorem for taking into account the cooling history of
the airway which can be solved numerically :

B = atmospheric pressure,
e' = saturated vapour pressure at the temperature of
+1 £ fa T m \[ + {x,y) _i-
H + {x y) \)
t M
the evaporating film of water, / = 0 \
e = vapour pressure of air flowing
where the subscript n denotes the value of a variable at a time n it
and D = mass diffusivity of water-vapour into air
m
after the opening of the airway, 8t being a given interval of time.
- 0.092 m ' h - at 298 K.
1

Since values of e' and e are relatively small compared to that of B,

 MINE C L I M A T E 175
174 MINE ENVIRONMENT A N D VENTILATION

For the same moment of time equation 3.29 can be written as T -T '
s S = T- T (3.35)

T = T -Lall
a n \aT\ bTi +c-46l.9xl0-«m;7v/| (3.31) An equation similar to 3.26 can be written as
Thus T for any moment of time (say, the present) can be built
a pec [(T,-T) (l-/JHT;-T)f ] w dL=P a C Q dT
p (3.36)
up from equations 3.30 and 3.31 at the start of the airway where
L = 0, if the air temperature and humidity at the time of commis- T, in the above equation can be obtained from equation 3.13 which
sioning of the airway is known. can be written as
For variations along the airway let us denote the value of the T=T+<f>(x,y)(T -T) ¥ (3.37)
variables at a distance 6X from the start of the airway by an
asterisk, e.g. T *. Assuming the variations to be nonlinear, the
m Combining equations 3.36 and 3.37, we have
following equations can be written for the values of T * and m * : n
dT pa* (x,
r..-r. + j«(jg- igl) + (3.32, dL P C, f
a [ ( r '- r ) ^ ( r - r ) ] (3 ' 38>

The mixing ratio gradient is given by the relation

and m - = m - . + i * £ ( ^ + ^-*) (3.33)

These equations in conjunction with equations 3.26 and 3.27 as well

as equations 3.30 and 3.31 with and without asterisks lead to the
solution of r *, m' * and T * at L=8L. Similarly values of these
m n where a = convection heat transfer coefficient and is given by the
variables can be built up for other values of L along the airway. relation
The method of solution is obviously very lengthy and needs the
help of a digital computer. However, it is quite versatile in as much Nu = a c ' ° =0.023 Re - 0 6 . Pr°* (3.40)
as it can incorporate variations in the values of f (i.e. wetness of w

the airway), the quantity of flow Q and the virgin-rock temperature

T (this can occur along inclined airways) both along the airway
¥
/ T O - 0.6105 e x [ P 1 7 - y:^
2 5 3 1 5 ) ]kPa (3.41)
as well as in time. Variations in input air temperature and humidity
can also be accounted for. Addition of heat from other sources,
0.6105 e x p [ 1 2 ^ y p > ] k P a (3.42)
such as auto-compression, machinery etc. can betaken into account
by modifying equation 3.26 as follows
{pa {T,-T)+q} dL=P C QdT a p (3.34) f in this set of equations as also in the equations of Starfield
w

where ?'=rate of addition of heat from other sources over the is an imponderable, difficult to estimate from visual observation
length dL. of the roadway. It is best determined experimentally from heat
transfer studies in actual roadways.
Somewhat simpler relations have been suggested by Ramsden
for heat and mass transfer along wet roadways from which dry- Heat Transfer in an Advancing Stope. A stope differs in shape
bulb temperature and mixing ratio gradients along the roadway from an ordinary airway and keeps on advancing into virgin rock.
The rate of heat transfer in it depends on the rate of stope advance
can be predicted. A wet roadway has been considered to have a
and time apart from the shape and size of stope and the rock and
portion of its surface dry with a surface temperature T, and the
air characteristics. However, with a given rate of face advance,
remaining portion wet having a surface temperature T' which are t
a 'recurring state' will be reached in the stope, characterized
approximately related to the dry- and wet-bulb temperatures of
by a cyclic repetition of thermal gradient around the stope
air (T and T' respectively) by the relation
176 MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D VENTILATION
MINE C L I M A T E
177

after each blast, a certain time after the start of the stope in (ii) T -*-T (xl)the virgin-rock temperature as x->-oc and
v

(iii) T ,o) — T(X4.l,i)> where L=length of face advance in each

(x
virgin rock.
cycle (condition for recurring state).
A simplified method of calculation of the rate of heat transfer
in such a recurring state has been given by Starfield by consi- 68
With faster rate of face advance q (t) achieves a maximum F

value q (t) given by the relation

max
dering a short length of an idealized stope where the total amount of
heat transferred has been taken as the sum of heat transferred from *««(') - rVkth(T~T )f(h 0 Vdl) (3.45)
the face AB, hanging wall A D , footwall BC and the broken rock <*
where h =•
at the face (see Fig. 3.6). No heat transfer is assumed to take place
beyond a certain distance from the face ( A D = / ) which approxi-
mately corresponds with the position of the scatter wall. The function /has been calculated and plotted by Starfield in Fig.
3.7. He has also calculated the value of q (t)/q (t) for different F max

rates of face advance and plotted it in Fig. 3.8 against two dimen-
sionless parameters L / y/d~t and h d.t so that q (/) can be cal- 2 F

HANGING WALL
culated from ( 0 obtained from equation 3.45.
Heat transfer from hanging wall which is similar to that from
foot wall is a two-dimensional problem and hence more difficult
to solve even on a computer. A simplified approach has been given
FOOT WALL
by Starfield who divides the stope width / to N sections each of
_ J length L so that JV=-^-and considers heat transfer from each sec-
Fig. 3.6 Heat transfer model of an advancing stope. Li
tion to be independent of the other.
The total flow of heat q (/) from a unit length of face over the
F
In the recurring stage the total heat transfer from the hanging
cycle time t is given by the relation wall over a period /, q (t) is given by the relation
H

dt (3.43) fe(0-f jGM)

M \- )
3 46

0
where q (Nt) can be estimated from equation 3.45 by subs-
nax

where W=height offace=AB, tituting Nt for t so that

x — distance ahead of face in the rock
A f t - * 'HT-T )f(h 0 VTdlJL) (3.47)
ahd T =rock temperature.
The above expression can be evaluated with the help of a digital f(h V / d. t\L) can be obtained from Fig. 3.7 by reading
computor by solving the rock heat conduction equation ^ h Vjd. tJL in place of h \/ d.t-
P - i . ? (3.44) The maximum amount of heat that can be transferred by'broken
dx* d dt rock at the face (for the condition where all the heat is transferred
• from the broken rock to the ventilating air before the former is
^yed from the face) is the difference between the heat content
subject to the conditions
face rock (of a volume WL) and that transferred from the
dT it a period t.
(i) — = a(T—T ) 9 at x=0, where T — temperature of air
t
W fmk WLi. ~T )ld~q {t)
T 0 F (3.48)
ox
entering the stope,
178 MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D VENTILATION

1.0 i

0-9

\ f Cu)" u erfcCi

0.8
for h iqher vo ues o f i
1.(28 1
• \ fCu>" u
"*?
0-7
\

0-3
•

\
•

02

O'l

i i . .i
2.0 3-0 4-0 5-0 6-0
1.0
u = h

Fig. 3.7 f(hVd.t) vs AvV.r (after Starfield).

whereq (t)= maximum possible heat transfer from the broken

R

rock.
The total heat transferred per unit length of face over the cycle
time / is thus given by
(3.49)
 MINE C L I M A T E
181

where q «= heat pick-up in kW per 100m length of airway. Note

r

that it is independent of the air-flow rate in the airway,

though strictly speaking a higher flow rate leads to an
increased heat pick-up from the rock, partly because
of increased value of a (see equation 3.11) and partly
because of slower rate of temperature rise of the air
along the roadway.
fw - wetness factor = zero for dry airways and 1 for
very wet airways. For a wet floor and dry roof
and sides f can be taken equal to 0.25.
w

n = age of roadway in years,

k = thermal conductivity of rock, kW m- K - , 1 1

P = perimeter of the airway, m,

T, - virgin-rock temperature, K
and T = dry-bulb temperature of air, K.
For stopes, Whillier recommends the following
1 3 4

equation ;
0.11 (1+0.05 W) (T-T) ^ . k * ? £ (3.59)

^ where q heat pick-up from the rock in the stope in kW per

s

m of face length,
W = stoping width, m,
average monthly face advance, m,
Is - stope span (average distance from centre gully
to stope face,
p = density of rock, kg m - 3

and C = specific heat of rock, kJ kg- K- . 1 1

In both the above equations, the dry-bulb temperature of air, T

has to be estimated (at least every 100m or so in roadways). While
stope wetvbulb temperatures can be fixed at tolerable limits or
somewhat less than that and the dry-bulb temperature taken as
< ( J 1

t "v2r2 K higher than the wet-bulb temperature, in roadways the dry-

bulb temperature has to be estimated, say, from equation 3.38. In
finished stopes, the heat pick-up is estimated by assuming L =\. m

The rate of heat pick-up at a development end (up to 50m behind

the face) in a drive or tunnel is higher and can be estimated from
the equation 135

(3.60)
182
MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D VENTILATION MINE CLIMATE 183

where q = rate of heat pick-up in the vicinity of the develop-

f engine-powered machinery in a mine appears as heat at one stage
ment end, kW or the other.
and L = daily rate of face advance, m.
lt
"Almost all the work done by face machinery for cutting, drilling,
loading and transport is frictional except for that part of the work
3.5.4 Heat from Men done against gravity in lifting material, as may sometimes happen in
Heat is produced by men through the process of metabolism. loading or conveying. Hence, most of the power input to such
Even a man at rest produces quite an appreciable quantity of heat ^ Machinery is converted to heat partly in the machine itself (equiva-
by basal metabolism. Weeks" estimates the heat produced by lent to the inefficiency of the machine) and partly through
basal metabolism (when food is withheld for a specific length of frictional work. Most of the heat produced by the face machinery
time) at 46.5 Wm- of body surface. Du Bois gives the following
2 43
goes to raise the temperature of the air at the face.
formula for calculating the body surface of a man. In hoists or pumps, work is done mainly against gravity. Here,
only that part of the power input which is spent up in the motor or
A = 0.2024m - X 0 425 (3.61)
engine and gearing as well as in doing frictional work appears as
where A = area of the body surface in m , 2
heat. A 2000 kW internal hoist running at 60% overall efficiency
m = mass of the body in kg will add 800 kW of heat to the mine air at the site of the hoist in
and h = height of the body in m. addition to the heat produced by frictional work in the shaft. Assu-
Average men have a body surface of 1.8-1.9m so that they 2 ming 10% of the work output of the hoist to be spent on overcoming
have a basal metabolic rate of 84-88 W. friction, a further 120 kW of heat is added in the shaft. On the

f
When doing hard work, however, the heat produced by the ther hand, a haulage engine pulling tubs on level ground converts
body is much more than that produced by basal metabolism and^~ B of its power input to heat, a part of it being put into the air at
sometimes it may be as much as ten times the latter. The heat- the engine and the rest as frictional heat in the haulage road. It
engine efficiency of the human body, i.e. the ratio of the work done is a good practice to dispose of heat from large hoists, pumps or
by the man in a certain time to the amount Of heat produced by haulage engines directly to the return air by ventilating the engine
him in excess of that due to basal metabolism in that time is found rooms by a separate split of air-current. The frictional heat in
to be only 20%. Assuming the above heat-engine efficiency of the haulage roads can be prevented from getting at the face by installing
human body the heat produced by an average man doing moderate haulages in the return, a fact worth considering in deep mines.
work of 45 W is of the order of 310 W or about 165-170 W m - of 2
This becomes all the more important for locomotive haulage where
body surface. Wyndham gives the following typical metabolic heat all the heat is added to the air in the haulage road.
rates for different rates of work : Diesel locomotives, being much less efficient than electric
locomotives of either trolley-wire or battery type, produce more
Nature of work Light work Moderate work Hard work
heat for the same power. It must be borne in mind that the heat
(e.g. winch (e.g. sweeping, (e.g. tramming,. ;
JJproduced by diesel locomotives is equal to the heat content of the
driving) fitting) shovelling) V
fuel consumed. The heat content of normal diesel fuel is about
Metabolic heat 44 MJ kg- . A diesel locomotive consumes about 0.26 kg of fuel
1

rate, W m - of 2
per kWh so that the heat generated is 2.93 kW per kW of locomo-
body surface 90 180 270
tive power. However, since the locomotive does not work all the
time, the average heat generated by a diesel locomotive is of the
3.5.5 Heat Produced by Machinery order of 1 kW per kW of rated engine power.
This can be a large source of heat particularly in highly Almost all the work done by a fan is converted to heat except
mechanized mines. Most of the power input to electric- or I.C for the part used for increasing the kinetic energy of air as the air
 185
undergoes adiabatic compression. The same is the case with com-
pressors. There is an increase in the air temperature of 0.826 K T, and T are temperatures in K of the compressed-air pipe
2

for every kPa pressure developed by the fan. That is the reason at the shaft-top and shaft-bottom respectively,
why it is better to locate booster fans on the return and to install / = latent heat of evaporation of water in J kg- 1

exhaust fans rather than forcing fans as main mine ventilators at and h = depth of shaft in m and m and m are moisture
x %

the surface. contents in g kg- of dry compressed-air at

1

Compressed-air machinery add no heat to the mine air. Comsi the top and bottom of the shaft respectively.
pressed-air machines like rock drills which do frictional work add Example 3.2
heat to the rock face equivalent to the work done, but this is fully
compensated by the expansive cooling of the exhaust air. A fan ventilating a heading through a duct of 600mm diameter
circulates 4 m s- of air at the face. Calculate the heat added to
s 1
Assuming the air velocity at the drill inlet and exhaust to be
the air by the fan, if the input power of the fan is equal to 2.9 kW.
the same and neglecting the work of feed thrust on the drill, the
general energy balance equation (4.1) yields Cross-sectional area of the duct = — (0.6) =0.283m .
2 £

-dW = dH=C dT p (3.62) 4

where dW = work done, 4
dH = change in enthalpy of compressed-air between ,*. Velocity of air in the duct = = 14.13m s-'.
drill inlet and exhaust, 0.283
dT = change in temperature of compressed-air Kinetic energy of air leaving the duct
between drill inlet and exhaust -y»iv W 2

and C = specific heat of compressed-air.

p

When a compressed-air machine does work against gravity, ^4xl-2x(14.13) _ 2 4 ? 9 w

however, there is a positive cooling of the mine air. It is for this 2

reason that compressed-air hoists are often preferred to electric
hoists inside deep and hot mines even though the latter are more where m = mass or air in kg flowing per second,
efficient. v = velocity of air in m s- 1

On the other hand compressed-air in pipes does add a certain and the density of air is assumed to be equal to 1.2 kg m- . 5

amount of heat to the mine air. Compressed-air is often generated Energy input to the fan converted to heat
at fairly high temperatures if proper after-cooling arrangement is = 2900-479 = 2421 J
not there. This hot compressed-air further gains heat due to auto- 3.5.6 Heat from Lights
compression in the pipe range in the shaft. As the compressed-air
goes down the shaft, it gives up heat to the ventilating air as a result This becomes significant i f carbide lamps are used. Cooke ' 4

of which some of the moisture in the compressed-air condensi estimates that a carbide lamp consuming 156g of carbide per shift
thus generating heat. The overall heat addition to the mine produces 96.5 J of heat per second although according to Jeppe,**
from compressed-air rs thus given by the relation, its power may be as high as 204.7 W when the lamp burns at full
brightness. A candle produces 25-35 J, an electric cap lamp (two-
cell type), 2.6 J and an ordinary electric bulb, 40 J every second
i=M{c;(T -Tj+-^m -mj+k)
l l
depnding of course on the current and voltage.
where q = heat lost by compressed-air in W, 3.5.7 Heat due to Oxidation
M = mass flow rate of compressed-air in kg s- , 1

C — specific heat of compressed-air = 1005 J kg- K - \

f 1
This is a major source of heat in coal mines, particularly in
seams liable to spontaneous heating. In coal mines, 80-85% of the
186 MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D VENTILATION MINE C L I M A T E

I Cll

heat added to the air can be traced to this source. Neglecting the Table 3.3 : Distribution of Heat from Various Sources in a Mine
amount of oxygen consumed by men and flame lamps, i.e. assuming
all the oxygen consumed in a mine to be utilized in the oxidation Source Heat produced Heat produced
of coal, Haldane states that a fall of 0.1 in the percentage of oxygen in MW in % of tola]
in the air between the intake and return airways produces enough
heat to raise the air temperature by 7K. Auto-compression 2.42 21
It may be noted here that in coal mines desorption of methane Human beings 1.58 14
from coal produces a certain degree of cooling by extracting Carbide lamps 0.90 7
835-1025 kJ of heat per m of methane desorbed.
s
Power 1.32 12
Heat due to oxidation is not usually appreciable in metal mines Rock and other sources
where a small quantity of heat may be produced by the oxidation (by difference) 5.34 46
of timber. But in some mines producing sulphidic ores, spontaneous
heating of the sulphides may add a considerable amount of heat to Total 11.56 100
the air. Heat due to oxidation of coal is 8.79 MJ m- of O absorbed 3 a

while that for oxidation of pyrites is 18 MJ m- .

1 3
A more recent study by the author in one of the highly
mechanized copper mines of Zambia producing about 15 OOOt
3.5.8 Heat due to Blasting per day from a depth of 600 to 900m from the surface shows that
This can be of considerable magnitude. Ewing and Egan 43 46.65% of the total heat picked up from the mine is produced by
estimate the heat produced by blasting in a mine milling 101 600 diesel and electric machinery (including electric lighting), 12.05%
tonnes per month to be 316.5 MJ h- on an average, but since the
1 by auto-compression and 40.12% is from rock of which 68% is
blasting is confined to an hour or so per day, the actual heat pro- from stopes and the rest, from development openings. Only
duced in that hour is of the order of 5.3-6.3 GJ. However, this 1.18% is produced by men and their cap lamps. The proportion
heat is dissipated away by the ventilating current before men return is estimated to change at greater depth where the heat from rock
to work after blasting. and auto-compression will increase.

3.5.9 Heat Caused by Rock Movement Example 3.3

Moss has shown that the actual heat addition to the air on
43

account of the movement of strata in coal mines is only 1 % of the A downcast shaft is 300m deep. The barometer reads 102 kPa
total heat added to the air, although theoretically it should be of at the shaft-top. The surface air temperature being 295 K, cal-
culate the air temperature at the bottom of the shaft assuming
the order of 9% in consideration of the rock masses involved. This
the temperature of the air to be affected by auto-compression
is believed to be due to most of the heat being dissipated in the only.
broken rock mass itself.
The relative importance of the various sources of heat in a metal As a rough estimate, the rise in the temperature of air due to
mine is evident from the following example. A section of a mine auto-compression
on the Witwatersrand ' had 4500 men, each with a carbide lamp.
4 = 0.96x3=2.88 K.
The number of electrical units consumed were 822 000 kWh per Therefore, the mean temperature of the air column
month and the quantity of ventilating air was 151m's- . The depth 1
=295+1.44= 296.44 K
to the top of the section was 1524m and the total heat taken up by
Let B=barometric pressure at the shaft-bottom.
the air as calculated from the air temperature was 11.56 MW. The
distribution of heat was as given in Table 3.3. .". 300 =67.4x296.44 (log £ - l o g 102)
or B =105.6 kPa.
13
 MINE CLIMAT?.: 189
MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D VENTILATION
188
3.6.1 Vapour Pressure
Now let T =temperature ai the shaft-bottom in K. This is the partial pressure of water-vapour present in a certain
(l.4-l)/l 4 volume of air or space. When a gas or mixture of gases such as air
is confined in a given space in a container it exerts a certain pressure
on the walls of the container. When another gas or water-vapour is
- 297.99K. allowed to diffuse into it and occupy the same space, the pressure
on the container walls is the sum of the partial pressures (the pres-
Using the relation given in equation 3.8, the rise in temperature sure exerted by the individual gas if it occupies the container alone)
= 300X9.8 U 2 9 3 K
of the component gases.
1005 Since at a certain temperature and atmospheric conditions the
barometric pressure does not change, addition of water-vapour
Therefore, r=295+2.93=297.93K. to dry air reduces its partial pressure and hence its density. Again,
water-vapour has a lower density than dry air. Hence the overall
3.6 MOISTURE CONTENT OF MINE AIR density of air is reduced by the addition of water-vapour. The
Mine air always contains some amount of moisture. There is a vapour pressure is the maximum when the air is saturated at a
maximum quantity of moisture which can be contained in any certain temperature. It should be noted that the saturation vapour
space of gas, air or even vacuum at a certain temperature. When presswe varies with temperature only and is independent of the
the air at a particular temperature contains the maximum amount presence of other gases and vapours. The saturated vapour pres-
of water-vapour it can hold, it (or rather the space) is called satu- sure of air for various temperatures have been experimentally
rated and can pick up no more water-vapour at that temperature. determined and are given in Table 3.4. Empirical relations
fl2

On the other hand, i f the air can still pick up some more water- (equations 3.19 and 3.41) have been fitted to these data and can
vapour at the prevailing temperature, it is called unsaturated. The be used for the calculation of saturation vapour pressure.
capacity of air for containing water-vapour increases with tem-
perature and hence if saturated air is heated up without adding any 3.6.2 Saturation Deficit
extra moisture to it, it becomes unsaturated. Conversely, if un- This is the difference between the saturation vapour pressure
saturated air is cooled, its degree of saturation increases until it is at the temperature of observation and the actual vapour pressure
fully saturated at a certain temperature. If the cooling proceeds and is measured in any pressure unit.
beyond this temperature, the air gives up water-vapour which con-
denses into mist or dew. This temperature at which the air attains 3.6.3 Relative Humidity
saturation is called the dew point. This is the ratio of actual vapour pressure to the saturation
Saturated air at a certain temperature holds a fixed amount of vapour pressure at the temperature of observation (dry-bulb tem-
moisture. This quantity remains the same i f the temperature is perature) expressed as a percentage. For temperatures prevalent
raised without further addition of moisture. I f on the other hand in mines, this can be taken equal to the saturation ratio which is
moisture is added as the temperature rises, the air picks up more the ratio of the mass of moisture per unit mass of dry air to the
moisture until it gets saturated at the higher temperature. mass of moisture required to saturate the air at the temperature
Moisture content of air can be expressed in the following terms: of observation.
(a) vapour pressure, (b) saturation deficit, (c) relative humidity, (d)
d€w point, (e) specific humidity, ( f ) mixing ratio and (g) absolute
humidity. Each of the above units except the relative humidity Saturation ratio = ^ — ) / (Xv) = Jjf^e' ( 3 6 4 )

specifies-the moisture content completely, the relative humidity (see later)

alone requiring the temperature to be given in addition.
 MIME E N V I R O N M E N T A N D V E N T I L A T I O N MINE C L I M A T l
188 189

Now let T = temperature at the sfuift-bottom in K. 3.6.1 Vapour Pressure

(1.4-0/1 4 This is the partial pressure of water-vapour present in a certain
... T = 2 9 5
volume of air or space. When a gas or mixture of gases such as air
is confined in a given space in a container it exerts a certain pressure
on the walls of the container. When another gas or water-vapour is
-= 297.99K.
allowed to diffuse into it and occupy the same space, the pressure
Using the relation given in equation 3.8, the rise in temperature on the container walls is the sum of the partial pressures (the pres-
sure exerted by the individual gas if it occupies the container alone)
= 300x9.81 sa2 9 3 K
of the component gases.
1005
Since at a certain temperature and atmospheric conditions the
Therefore, 7 = 295 + 2.93 = 297.93K. barometric pressure does not change, addition of water-vapour
to dry air reduces its partial pressure and hence its density. Again,
3.6 MOISTURE CONTENT OF MINE AIR water-vapour has a lower density than dry air. Hence the overall
Mine air always contains some amount of moisture. There is a density of air is reduced by the addition of water-vapour. The
maximum quantity of moisture which can be contained in any vapour pressure is the maximum when the air is saturated at a
space of gas, air or even vacuum at a certain temperature. When certain temperature. It should be noted that the saturation vapour
the air at a particular temperature contains the maximum amount presswe varies with temperature only and is independent of the
of water-vapour it can hold, it (or rather the space) is called satu- presence of other gases and vapours. The saturated vapour pres-
rated and can pick up no more water-vapour at that temperature. sure of air for various temperatures have been experimentally
On the other hand, if the air can still pick up some more water- determined and are given in Table 3.4. Empirical relations
62

vapour at the prevailing temperature, it is called unsaturated. The (equations 3.19 and 3.41) have been fitted to these data and can
capacity of air for containing water-vapour increases with tem- be used for the calculation of saturation vapour pressure.
perature and hence if saturated air is heated up without adding any
extra moisture to it, it becomes unsaturated. Conversely, if un- 3.6.2 Saturation Deficit
saturated air is cooled, its degree of saturation increases until it is This is the difference between the saturation vapour pressure
fully saturated at a certain temperature. If the cooling proceeds at the temperature of observation and the actual vapour pressure
beyond this temperature, the air gives up water-vapour which con- and is measured in any pressure unit.
denses into mist or dew. This temperature at which the air attains
saturation is called the dew point. 3.6.3 Relative Humidity
Saturated air at a certain temperature holds a fixed amount of This is the ratio of actual vapour pressure to the saturation
moisture. This quantity remains the same i f the temperature is vapour pressure at the temperature of observation (dry-bulb tem-
raised without further addition of moisture. I f on the other hand perature) expressed as a percentage. For temperatures prevalent
moisture is added as the temperature rises, the air picks up more in mines, this can be taken equal to the saturation ratio which is
moisture until it gets saturated at the higher temperature. the ratio of the mass of moisture per unit mass of dry air to the
Moisture content of air can be expressed in tht following terms: mass of moisture required to saturate the air at the temperature
(a) vapour pressure, (b) saturation deficit, (c) relative humidity, (d) of observation.
dew point, (e) specific humidity, ( f ) mixing ratio and (g) absolute
humidity. Each of the above units except the relative humidity c, . / 622e \ 622e' \
specifies. the moisture content completely, the relative humidity Saturate ratio = ( — ^ = (3 .64)
alone requiring the temperature to be given in addition.
(see later)
 0.8 0.9
0.6 0.7
0.4 0.5
0.3 0.640 0.645
Temperature 0.1 0.2 0.635
0.0 0.626 0.631 0.689 0.693
in K 0.617 0.622 0.679 0.684 0.745
0.613 0.669 0.674 0.734 0.739
0.605 0.609 0.664 0.729 0.799
273 0.659 0.719 0.724 0.788 0.794
0.650 0.655 0.714 0.782 0.857
274 0.708 0.771 0.777 0.845 0.851
0.698 0.703 0.766 0.839
275 0.755 0.761 0.828 0.833
0.750 0.816 0.822 0.913 0.919
276 0.810 0.906
0.805 0.894 0.900 0.978 0.985
111 0.888 0.971
0.875 0.881 0.958 0.965 1.048 1.055
0.869 0.945 0.951 1.034 1.041 1.129
0.863 0.938 1.026 1.121 If!
278 0.932 1.019 1.114 Z
0.925 1.013 1.099 1.106 1.199 1.208 <
279 0.999 1.006 1.091 1.191
0.992 1.077 1.084 1.175 1.183
280 1.069 1.167 Z
1.062 1.160 1.283 1.291 z
281 1.144 1.152 1.274
282 1.136
1.249 1.257 1.266
1.362 1.371 1.380 m
1.474
1.224 1.232 1.240
1.335 1.344 1.353
1.455 1.464 -
283 1.216 1.318 1.326
1.426 1.436 1.445
1.553 1 563 1.573 >
1.300 1.309 1.417 1.543 1.679 Z
284 1.408 1.523 1.533 1.657 1.668 0
1.389 1.398 1.513 1.646 <»
285 1.503 1.625 1.636
1.483 1.493 1.615 1.790 r
286 1.604 1.767 1.779
1.584 1.594 1.756 1.908
287 1.733 1.744 1.884 1.896
1.723 1.860 1.872 2.020 2.032
1.701 1.712 1.848 2.007
1.690 1.825 1.836 1.982 . 1-995 2.151 2.164
288 ' 1.813 1.969 2.137
\.802 1.945 1.957 2.1U 2.124 2.289 2.304
289 1.932 2.098 2.275
1.920 2.072 2.085 2.246 2.261
290 2.059 2.233
2.045 2.205 2.219
291 2.191
292 2.178

4-
Table 3.4 (Contd.)—Pressure of Aqueous Vapour over Water in kPa

Temperature
in K 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0 9

293 2.318 2.332 2.347 2.361 2.376 2.391 2.406 2.421 2.436 2.451
294 2.466 2.481 2.496 2.512 2.527 2.543 2.558 2.574 2.590 2.606
295 2.621 2.637 2.653 2.670 2.686 2.703 2.719 2.736 2.752 2.769
296 2.786 2.803 2.820 2.837 2.854 2.872 2.889 2.906 2.924 2.941
297 2.959 2.977 2.995 3.013 3.031 3.050 3.068 3.086 3.105 3.123

298 3.142 3.161 3.180 3.199 3.218 3.237 3.257 3.276 3.295 3.315
299 3.335 3.354 3.374 3.394 3.414 3.435 3.455 3.476 3.496 3.517
300 3.538 3.558 3.579 3.600 3.622 3.643 3.664 3.686 3.707 3.729
301 3.751 3.773 3.795 3.817 3.839 3.862 3.884 3.907 3.930 3.953
302 3.976 3.999 4.022 4.045 4.068 4.091 4.115 4.139 4.163 4.187

303 4.211 4.235 4.260 4.285 4.309 4.334 4.359 4.384 4.409 4.434
304 4.460 4.485 4.510 4.536 4.562 4.588 4.614 4.641 4.667 4.693
305 4.720 4.747 4.774 4.801 4.828 4.855 4.883 4.910 4.938 4.966
306 4.994 5.022 5.050 5.079 5.107 5.136 5.165 5.194 5.223 5.252
307 5.282 5.311 5.340 5.370 5.400 5.430 5.461 5.491 5.522 5.553

308 5.584 5.614 5.645 5.676 5.708 5.740 5.771 5.803 5.835 5.867
309 5.900 5.933 5.965 5.998 6.031 6.064 6.097 6.130 6.164 6.198
310 6.232 6.266 6.300 6.335 6.369 6.404 6.439 6.474 6.509 6.544
311 6.580 6.615 6.651 6.687 6 723 6.760 6.797 6.834 6.871 6.908
312 6.945 6.982 7.020 7.057 7.095 7.133 7.172 7.210 7.249 7.288
 MINE C L I M A T E
179
MINE ENVIRONMENT A N D VENTILATION
192
\fl rt ffi 1 M — r-l r* >n oo oo
X O n 5> I - Os f£ o O- —
O '— ^ ^ ^ Cs TT; O O —• OO
r-' oo oo oo <T> OS O — — Ci r-l

- r- « i n
«.-> O T OO oo tt m
ON "* 3v V) — •—•
t » eo oo oo a> j! O 6 - N N

v-i oo O r » m O H l£ 0> OO p i
O —• m © r - r-. oo H oo r - o>
\ O •* 0~ t*j oo i»i o> * O '*
r- oo' 00 ON I > ^ © © — fS fS

e ^ io io * l~- Os It © (N 00 Os
NO r~ O m «N _ m r~ i»i — r-»
« ^ 03 m oo ^ oc " t O «
r-' r~ oo oo o< O d - r-i rsi

u
> <t ^ N o o- os — m m oo r~
o M >0 - r- so oo — r~ m so
IA * w cc r ) i s oo rt o; 1
r—' r-' oo" oo' o> os ©' o —' ~- r i
r3
>
3
5 »T r4 oo m —
os oo — oo op m
_ N -C - 9> o
V
OO W - VO ^ t— <s r - oo m
3 ^ oo in r- N ON' © d —' —' «S*
cr i— t— oo oo os
<

r-
»-i O * I*I
T T m r » —« oo
o o «3\>
r. 2
1^ N * T
' t oo N r - ON O 3.0
r - r - oo' oo Os
i
C Os m- m m O ~*
—. <s m © oo oo Fig. 3.8 q {t)\q
f max (f) vs Lly/Zi ( a f t e r Starfield).
o \ — vo r-t r-_
U CO <S vO —
r » oo oo os and that over unit time,
<7f(0 +2<7w(0 +9* (Q
(3.50)
sD OO OO Os Os m 3- 00 N o q = ;
so so oo r* op r- Os C-) rN
n h - 'O O O m «— r - f >
r-' r - oo oo os CN o©
In cut-and-fill method of stoping filling follows face advance.
The fill face will release a certain amount of sensible and latent
heat. For computing this the fill face can be assumed to be at the
q !- SO SO *T <N same surface temperature as the last section of the hanging wall.
d r j n * oo J
e*\ «ni O The heat transferred from the last section of the hanging
I oo oo ^
s

wall over time t

c3
I (3.51)
oo o\ - j r { £>
6* r-i m so r - _ - N (S M N
r»i m f> f> r*1 r*1 r ' l «*> <*>
180 MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D VENTILATION MINE C L I M A T E 193

The heat transfer from unit area per unit time tfio
saturation ratio ( (B—e')e ") // e \
' ' relative humk
Q HN= YW K
where B = barometric pressure, e=vapour pressure and
e' = saturation vapour pressure.
The surface temperature of the hanging wall T, can now be deter" Since e and e' are too small in comparison with B, B—e and
mined from the relation B—e' can be considered to be equal and hence saturation ratio
can be taken equal to relative humidity.
Taking the same surface temperature for the fill face, the sensible
heat transfer from the fill face over the period t will be given by 3.6.4 Dew Point
For any vapour pressure e, a temperature T can be found d

at which the saturation vapour pressure is equal to e. T is calledd

so that the total sensible heat transfer per unit length of stope face
the dew-point temperature.
per unit time

q T ^ q (t)+ZlH0)+<I*
F (0+g«,(0 (3.55) 3.6.5 Specific Humidity
The specific humidity is defined as the mass of water-vapour
present in a unit mass of air (mass of air includes that of dry air as
Let this cause a rise in the dry-bulb temperature of the air of A X
well as of moisture). The specific humidity is related to vapour
Then q =C T p P Q &T
a (3.56) pressure by the relation
where Q = air-flow rate along the stope.
At the end of the unit length of face the dry-bulb air temperature s - 6 2 2 B = h m ( 3 6 6 )

now becomes T +AT. This air temperature can now be used for
0
where 5" *• specific humidity in g kg- . 1
calculating the heat transfer from the next unit length of the face
It is assumed that water-vapour has a density equal to 0.622
and the process continued till the dry-bulb air temperature at the
times that of air at the same temperature and pressure.
return end of the stope face is obtained.
The change in the absolute humidity and hence in the wet-bulb
3.6.6 Mixing Ratio
temperature along the face can be similarly obtained by solving the
equation This is a quantity similar to the above and is defined as the mass
W* (e'(T,)-e} = Q A m x 10-* (3.57) of water-vapour per unit mass of dry air,
where Am' = change in the absolute humidity of the air, for
or, m = 622 ~ - (3.67)
each unit length of face.
The above methods of computing heat addition in wet roadways
where m — mixing ratio in g kg- . 1
and stopes in mines are highly complicated and need substantial
amount of digital computation. Simplified empirical relations
3.6.7 Absolute Humidity
have been developed in South African gold mines for estimation
of heat transfer in roadways, stopes and development ends. This unit is less commonly Used nowadays. It is defined as the
Ramsden developed the following relation for wet airways :
188
mass of water-vapour per unit volume of air and is given by the
/ » \ 0 . « 7 / „ \_0.147/ £ \8
relation
10 e9
,,-5.5 (/. 0.255)<r,-7}(iL)
7 + (_) k^)^
m " 46L9T ( 3 6 8 )
 MINE C L I M A T E 195
194 MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D V E N T I L A T I O N

and wet-bulb temperatures rise (the latter at a slower rate) and its
where m = absolute humidity in g m- , 3 relative humidity falls, but the dew point of the air remains cons-
T = temperature in K tant. If water is evaporated into unsaturated air its dry-bulb
and e = vapour pressure in kPa. temperature falls by evaporative cooling, the wet-bulb temperature
remains constant and the dew point rises until it reaches the wet-
3.6.8 Measurement of Humidity bulb temperature at the point of saturation. At such a point the
There are several methods for the measurement of humidity. dry-bulb temperature is equal to the wet-bulb temperature.
They are listed below in order of their use. The vapour pressure can be calculated from the dry- and wet-
(1) Thermodynamic method (the psychrometer). bulb temperatures using the following relations:
(2) Methods using hygroscopic substances (the hair hygro-
meter etc.)
(l)e=e'-0.00125 {T-T) (*+ ^""Iffi^) (3.69)
for an air velocity of 0-0.5 m s- 1

(3) Condensation method (the dew-point hygrometer).

(2) -0.0008 B {T-T) ^1 + r - 2 7 3 . 1 5 ' (3.70)
(4) Absorption methods : 610
(a) Chemical (volumetric and gravimetric) for an air velocity of 1-1.5 m s- 1

(b) Electrical (change of resistance, change of dielectric T-273.15

N
(3) e-=e'-0.000 656 5 ( r - r ) ^ 1 + (3.71)
constant). 610 ;
(5) Diffusion methods. for an air velocity > 3 ms- 1

where T dry-bulb temperature in K,

(6) Optical methods.
7" = wet-bulb temperature in K,
Of these, the thermodynamic method is the only method used in e = vapour pressure of the air,
mines and will be discussed here. e = saturated vapour pressure at temperature 7"
Psychrometers record the dry-bulb and the wet-bulb tempera- and B = barometric pressure in the same units as e and e'.
tures of the air from which the vapour pressure or the other units For temperatures between 274 K and 322 K and pressures
of humidity can be calculated. between 85 and 115 kPa the following relation is accurate within a
limit of variation of 1.1% and hence can be suitably used for
3.6.9 Wet-bulb Temperature mining calculations.
This is the temperature recorded by a thermometer whose bulb e=<?'-0.000 66 B (T-T) (3.72)
is covered with a thin cotton gauze which is dipped at the lower The moisture content of mine air can also be obtained from
end into water so that the surface of the bulb is kept moist by capil- psychrometric tables or charts.
lary action. I f such a thermometer is placed in unsaturated air, Fig. 3.9 gives a psychrometric chart for an atmospheric pressure
the latter will pick up moisture from the bulb of the thermometer. of 101.33 kPa. The chart shows the vapour pressure, moisture
As a result, its temperature in the vicinity of the bulb will fall owing content (mixing ratio), specific volume and relative humidity for
to the loss of the latent heat of evaporation until the air gets satu- various dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperatures. In addition, enthalpy
rated. Once the air is saturated there will be no further evaporation of moist air is also plotted on the chart.
and cooling of the thermometer when it will show a constant tem- The chart even though drawn for a barometric pressure of
perature. This temperature is the wet-bulb temperature. 101.33 kPa, can be used for easy calculation of the tehrmodynamic
Thus the wet-bulb temperature, in conjunction with the dry- state of mine air with a tolerable degree of accuracy. However,
bulb temperature, gives a measure of the degree of saturation or for greater accuracy, the vapour pressure e read from the chart can
the relative humidity of the air. If the temperature of saturated be corrected for any barometric pressure B by the relation
air is raised without further addition of moisture, both its dry-bulb
 196
MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D V E N T I L A T I O N
MINE C L I M A T E 197
e{B) = e+0.000 66 f T - r ) (101.33-5) (3. a) 72
Example 3.5
where e(B) = vapour pressure at barometer B
Air at 302/292 K is cooled by chilled water at 277 K in a shell-
Cha ngeof state of air for different thermodynamic processes such
and-tube-type heat exchanger. The temperature of water leaving
as heating cooling etc. can be directly marked on the psychrometric
the exchanger is 288 K and the rate of water circulation is 2 kg s- . 1
chart as illustrated in Fig. 3.10.
Find the wet- and dry-bulb temperatures of cooled air if air cir-
culation through the heat exchanger is 8 m s- measured at the 3 1

inlet. What will be the temperature of cooled air if the rate of

water circulation is increased to 4 kg s- ? 1

Assume the heat exchanger to be 90% efficient.

Heat extracted from the air by the circulating water=
(288-277)x2x4.19x0.9=82.96 kJ s- for a water circulation 1

rate of 2 kg s- and = (288-277)x4x4.19x0.9 = 165.92 kJ H

1

for a circulation rate of 4 kg s- taking specific heat of water 1

= 4.19kJ kg- K - . 1 1

Air at 302/292 K has a specific volume

=0.868 m kg- of dry air (from psychrometric chart).
s 1

g
.-. dry air-flow rate «= =9.22 kg s- . Q g 6 g 1

Enthalpy of air at 302/292 K (from psychrometric chart)

=53.21 kJ kg- of dry air. 1
DRT-BUIB T I M P f c H f l TUK t ( K >
Enthalpy extracted from air by circulating chilled water
Fig. 3.10 Thermodynamic processes illustrated on a psychrometric chart.
Example 3.4 = = 9 kJ kg- of dry air for a water-flow rate of 2 kg s-
1 1

From the psychrometric chart determine the change in the mois- 165.92
ture content of air evaporatively cooled to saturation from 304 K and — r= = 18 kJ kg- of dry air 1

d.b. (dry-bulb) and 297 K w.b. (wet-bulb). Also show that 'evapora- for a water-flow rate of 4 kg tr . 1

tive cooling' is actually a process of heating. .'. Resultant enthalpy of cooled air
Referring to Fig. 3.9, air at 304/297 K on being evaporatively =53.21-9=44,21 kJ kg- of dry air for 1

cooled, will proceed along the wet-bulb line until it meets the a water-flow rate of 2 kg s- 1

100% relative humidity line when it will be saturated at 297 K. and = 53.21 - 1 8 = 35.21 kJ kg- of dry air for 1

At 304/297 K moisture content of air = 15.75 g kg- of dry air. 1 a water-flow rate of 4 kg tr . 1

At 297 K saturated, moisture content^ 18.75 g kg- of dry air. 1 The moisture content of air remains unchanged on cooling in
.'. Change in moisture content a shell-and-tube-type heat exchanger until it gets saturated at the
= 18.75-15.75=3 g kg- of dry air.
1
dew point after which the air will give up some condensed water
and follow the 100% relative humidity line on further cooling. It
Enthalpy at 304/297 K=71.6 kJ kg- of dry air. 1
must be noted here that in contrast to this, moisture content of
Enthalpy at 297 K saturated=72.0. kJ kg- of dry air. 1
air increases due to evaporation of water when the cooling is done
This clearly suggests that there is an addition of heat in spray-type coolers and the air follows the wet-bulb temperature
=0.4 kJ kg- of dry air.
1
line until it is saturated at the wet-bulb temperature when it follows
 MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D VENTILATION MINE C L I M A T E 199
198

the 100% relative humidity line on further cooling. If cooling pro- For this mixing ratio and a dry-bulb temperature of 299 K the
wet-bulb temperature^297.5 K (from psychrometric chart).
ceeds to a sufficiently low temperature the ultimate state point is
When the proportion of the two mixing air-streams is reversed,
the same no matter what the method of cooling is (compare the
275x6 + 307x2
paths ACD and AGD for cooling of air from A to D in Fig. 3.10).
the weighted average dry-bulb temperature = g
Mixing ratio of air at 302/292 K
=9.5 g kg- of dry air.
1
= -283 K
For this mixing ratio and an enthalpy of 44.21 kJ kg- of dry air 1
The weighted average mixing ratio = (23.5 x 2+4.5 x6)/8
the air has a dry-bulb temperature of 293.5 K and a wet-bulb tem- =9.25 g kg- of dry air. Since this is higher than the maximum
1

perature of 289 K (from psychrometric chart), but for an enthalpy possible mixing ratio of 7 g kg- of dry air at 283 K, some water will
1

of 35.21 kJ kg- of dry air, the air gets cooled beyond the dew point.
1
condense out of the mixed air which will be saturated at 283 K.
From the intersection of the enthalpy line (35.21 kJ kg- of dry air) 1
3.6.10 Instruments for Measuring Relative Humidity of Mine Air
and 100% relative humidity line, the temperature of cooled air is
read as 285.5 K saturated. The Fixed or Non-ventilated Hygrometer. This is fixed at a sui-
table place in the mine so as to be well ventilated by the
mine air-current. It consists of two thermometers mounted side
Example 3.6
by side, the bulb of one being exposed to the air and that of the
Air at 307/302 K mixes with air at 275 K saturated in the pro- other covered with a thin gauze of muslin, the lower end of which
portion of 6 :2 by mass on dry air basis. Find the temperature and is dipped in a container filled with water. Distilled water or rain
humidity of the mixed air. What will be the temperature and humi- water (not mine water) should be used in the container as impurities
dity of the mixed air if the mass ratio of the two streams of air in water affect its rate of evaporation. The surface of the muslin
were reversed? should be clean and the muslin should be changed from time to
When the two air-streams mix, heat will be given up by the hotter time. Care should be taken to wipe all dirt and moisture from the
stream of air and taken up by the cooler stream until their dry-bulb surface of the dry bulb. When taking readings underground, the
temperatures become equal. This will be the dry-bulb temperature, lamp should not be held too close to the hygrometer. It should
of the mixed air. There will be no change in the total moisture preferably be held on the leeward side of the hygrometer so that the
content or enthalpy until and unless the mixture is cooled beyond heat given out by it does not affect the thermometers. This instru-
the dew point when condensed water will separate out of the mixed ment reads the dry-and wet-bulb temperatures from which the humi-
air thus reducing its moisture content and enthalpy (that removed dity can be obtained by referring to psychrometric tables or
by the condensed water). The mixed air will then be saturated at the charts.
weighted average dry-bulb temperature. Whirling Hygrometer or Sling Psychrometer. A defect of the
The weighted average dry-bulb temperature of the two streams fixed hygrometer is that unless it is placed in an air-current with a
of air velocity of 3 m s- or more, the moisture evaporated from the wet
1

. 307x6+275x2 m bulb surrounds both the dry and wet bulbs, thus affecting the read-
= 299 K ings slightly. Besides, the evaporative cooling of the wet bulb may
when they mix in proportion of 6:2. This will be the dry-bulb also affect the dry-bulb temperature with low air velocity. That is
temperature of the mixed air. why the whirling hygrometer is commonly used in mines for better
Mixing ratio of air at 307/302 K accuracy. This (Fig. 3.11) consists of a dry- and a wet-bulb thermo-
=23.5 g kg- of dry air
1
meter as in a fixed hygrometer and is provided with a handle for
and at 275 K saturated = 4.5 g kg- of dry air.
1
whirling it at a rate of 20 rad s- (—200 r.p.m.) which produces a
1

Resultant mixing ratio of the mixed air relative air velocity of 3 m s-1

= (23.5 x 6+4.5 x 2)/8 = 18.75 g kg- of dry air.

1
 MINE CLIMATE 201
r AND VENTILATION
M 1 N E ENVIRONMENT AND
mine* so as to maintain the mine atmosphere (wet-bulb tem-
200 perature and air velocity or effective temperature) within statutorily
permissible limits. It is generally carried out by whirling hygro-
meters, the survey proceeding in a regular manner from the top of
the downcast shaft to that of the upcast shaft. Readings must be
0 0 taken at all splits, points of leakage, haulages, compressors etc.,
0 ^ cor ROTATING
rllh before and after wet sections of roadways and in fact at all places
where the temperature and humidity of the mine air are to undergo
a marked change. Psychrometric readings should be accompanied
. o f t Y - ote
6 THERMOMETER
by measurements of pressure and quantity of air flowing.
When psychrometric survey results are to be used for heat
transfer studies in the mine, it is necessary to note the time of the
. W [ T - 0 U L B THERMOMETER psychrometer reading. Simultaneously a control psychrometer
is read at the surface at regular time intervals so that the survey
readings can be corrected for variation of temperature and humidity
of surface air with time.
3.7 DENSITY OF AIR
.MUSLIN OtUGE
Density (mass per unit volume) of air varies with its temperature,
pressure and moisture content. Within the range of temperatures
and pressures met with in mines, air can be considered as a perfect
gas so that the ideal gas law can be applied to it. Let us first con-
. W A T T B CONTAINER sider dry air.
PVQ = RT Q ( 3 7 3 )

where P = pressure of air in Pa,

V = volume of 1 kmol of air in m ,
0 3

F i g . M l Whirling ,gron«.«.. h
T — temperature of air in K
and Ro = universal gas constant= 8314.4 J kmol- K- . 1 1

Assmann Psychrometer. This is an aspiration psychrometer Taking air to have the composition by volume as given in Table
with the bulbs of the thermometers ventilated by a fan operated 1.1, and molecular masses of O , C0 , N and Ar (including other
z 2 2

by a clock-type spring. The bulbs of the thermometers are covered rare gases) as 32,44, 28 and 40 respectively the molecular mass of air.
with metal sleeves whose outer surfaces are bright chromium-plated = 2 32+0.03x44+78.09 x 28+0.93 x 40
0 9 5 x

in order to prevent radiation from surrounding surfaces affecting 100

the readings of the thermometers. For the same reason it is desirable =28.955
to hold the psychrometer away from the body of the observer and .'. characteristic gas constant of air
other surfaces. The fan should be run for three minutes before
taking a reading. For accuracy, an occasional checking and con-
trol of ventilation speed is essential. Equation 3.73 can be written as follows in terms of characteristic
gas constant of air :
3.6.11 Hygrometric Surveys W - (3.74)
Hygrometric survey in mines is normally carried out to check
and control the environmental conditions at various parts of the
 MINE C L I M A T E 203
202 MINE ENVIRONMENT AND VENTILATION
Specific Weight of Air. The specific weight of air which is defined
as the weight of air per unit volume is given by the relation
where V = specific volume of air
y=Pg N m - 3 (3.79)
(volume per unit mass) in m* kg- . 1
with P in kg m- and g in m s- . 3 2

Using the value of R in equation 3.74, we have

a
It is obvious that while density does not change with change of
V= 287.1 TjP (3.75) gravity, specific weight does.
Or, P. (density of dry air in kg m- ) = #7287.1 T
3
Specific Gravity. The specific gravity of any gas or mixture of
= 1000 5/287.1 T (3.76) gases generally refers to the ratio of the density of the gas or mixture
where B = barometric pressure in kPa. of gases to that of air at the same temperature and pressure (usually
For moist air the density depends on the amount of moisture standard temperature and pressure). Since 1 kmol of any gas
(ideal) at a given temperature and pressure has the same volume
in the air or the vapour pressure. Consider 1 m* of moist air. Both
(1 kmol at STP has a volume of 22.4137 m ), the specific gravity 3
dry air and moisture occupy the same volume. The mass of dry
of any gas is then the ratio of its molecular mass to the molecular
air and moisture in this volume will depend on their partial pres-
mass of air.
sures, B—e for dry air and e for water-vapour.
For example the specific gravity of water-vapour
CA 1000 (B-e) .
Mass of dry air = „ \ kg — = 0.622-
287.1 T 28.955
1000 e . Specific gravity of solids, however, is the ratio of the density
and mass of water-vapour = -j — j r K B of solid to that of water at 277.15 K ( = 1000 kg m- ). The specific 3

gravity therefore numerically equals the density expressed in t m- . 3

wher. R = characteristic gas constant for water-vapour

w

=461.9 J kg- K - 1 1 (3.77) 3.18 SPECIFIC HEAT

and e is in kPa. The specific heat of air is the amount of heat required to raise the
Total mass of moist air temperature of a unit mass of air by one kelvin. The specific heat
_\000(B-e) 1000 e at constant volume C is less as the heat here is required only to
r

287.1 7" 461.9 T raise the temperature (internal energy) of the air. But the specific
heat at constant pressure C is comparatively more since in this
p

J L 2 ™ ± ) 10. kg case the heat has not only to raise the temperature, but also to do
V 287.1 T ) 6 work for the expansion of the air. For ideal gases C —C =R p t ai

Since this is the mass of 1 m* of moist air, the density of moist air but for real gases C —C >R since there is not only external work
p r a
(3.78)
I J--0.378 e \ 10 kg m-
3
of expansion but also internal work done to overcome intermole-
cular cohesion when the air expands at constant pressure. For
> ""V"l87TT"y
air C is roughly equal to 1005 J kg- K - while C is roughly equal
p 1 1 r

to 712 J kg- K- . 1 1
Example 3.7
Specific heat varies with temperature and can be given by the
Calculate the density of air at a barometric pressure of 101.325 following simple relations for the range of temperatures commonly
kPa and dry- and wet-bulb temperatures of 299 and 296 K res- met with in mines.
pectively. (a) C,„=995.68+0.029 T J kg- K - (3.80)
1 1

From equation 3.72 vapour pressure e m 2.6 kPa. (b) C = 1553.7+0.645 T+35 169/r J kg- K
p (3.81) 1 J

If P = density of air, then from equation 3.78

(101.325-0.378 x 2.6) 1000 , 14
287.1x299 ' 4
204 MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D V E N T I L A T I O N
MINE C N M A T E 205
where C =specific heat of air,
pa
temperatures between 273 and 373 K the following relation can
C ~specific heat of water-vapour
pv
be assumed to hold good with reasonable accuracy.
and 7 = temperature in K. / = 3.1636xl0«-2428 T J kg- (3.88) 1

The enthalpy of water-vapour at any particular state is constant,

3.9 ENTHALPY
whatever way the change in state might have been achieved. In
Enthalpy (sometimes called total heat) is defined by the equation other words, the enthalpy in the above case will be the same in the
H = U+PV (3.82) two different hypothetical cases, i.e. if (a) the water were vaporized
where H = enthalpy, completely at 273.15 K and the vapour then raised to T K or (b) it
U = internal energy, were raised to the temperature T K in the liquid state and then vapo-
P — pressure (absolute) rized at that temperature. In the former case the value of / in
and V = specific volume. equation 3.87 is that corresponding to 273.15 K and those of C pa

Differentiating the above equation, we get and C corresponding to the average temperature (273.15+7")/2 K
pr

dH = dU+PdV+VdP (3.83) (more correctly the value of C (T— 213.\) in equation 3.87 should
p

From the First Law of Thermodynamics

dq = dU+PdV (3.84) be/=J C dT.. In the latter case the equation will be
\5 /
where dq = amount of heat exchanged. H= (T-273.15)+0.001 mC {T-273.15) +0.001 ml (3.89) pw

Combining equations 3.83 and 3.84, we have where C = specific heat of water in liquid form
pw

dq = dH-VdP (3.85) = 4820.5 -2.18 r J k g ^ K - , 1

For incompressible flow in an open system, as in a mine, there / = latent heat at TK

is no change of pressure on heating. Hence the change in enthalpy and C and C correspond to (273.15+T)/2 K.
pa pw

equals the amount of heat added to the air. Generally however, fair accuracy is achieved by using equations
Enthalpy is a function of the state of the air and hence a change 3.87 or 3.89 with the following values of /, C^, C and C for pf pw

in enthalpy is dependent on the initial and final states and not on the range of temperatures commonly met with in mines :
the process of change. For an ideal gas change in enthalpy is given / = 2.5x10* J kg- , 1

by the relation - 1005 J kg- Kr , 1 1

dH = C dT
p (3.86) C = 1860 J kg- K - ,
pt 1 1

Normally enthalpy of air at 273.15 K (0°C) is assumed to be and C = 4186.8 J kg- K .

pw 1 J

zero and the enthalpy at any particular state is given by the sum of Enthalpies of moist air as calculated on the above basis are plotted
the sensible heat of dry air, the latent heat of water-vapour and the in Fig. 3.9.
sensible heat of water-vapour. Let us first consider unsaturated In case of supersaturated air where there is some water existing
air. If 1 kg of dry air contains, say m g of water vapour at T K, the in liquid form in saturated air, the enthalpy will be given by the
relation
enthalpy will be given by the relation
//=C (7'-273.15)+0.001 m C ; (r-273.15)+0.001 ml kJkg-*
po p
//=C (r-273.15)+0.00'l m' C (T-273.15)+0.001 ml
pa m

of dry air (3.87) +0.001 m" C (r-,273.15) kJ kg- of dry air

pw (3.90) 1

where = specific heat of dry air, kJ kg- K - , 1 1 where m' = amount of water-vapour in the saturated air in
C = specific heat of water-vapour, kJ kg- K - ,
pr 1 1 g kg- of dry air 1

and / = latent heat of evaporation of water, kJ kg- . 1 and m" = amount of liquified water-vapour in g kg- of dry 1

We have said that C varies with temperature. The latent heat

p air, so that
of evaporation of water / also varies with temperature. For m'+m* = total moisture content of air.
206 MINE ENVIRONMENT AND VENTILATION MINE CLIMATE 207

3.10 EFFECT OF HEAT AND HUMIDITY Table 3.5 : Rise in Body Temperature with Wet-bulb Temperature
ON THE MINER
It has been said earlier that the human body produces a lot of waste
heat by the process of metabolism which has to be dissipated into Wet-bulb temperature Rise in body temperature
the surrounding mine air. inK in K
The major part of the heat produced by the body is dissipated
from the surface of the skin by radiation, convection and evapora- * Up to 302.15 0.11-0.66
tion of sweat, though a very small part is dissipated from the lung 302.65 - 304.85 . 0.33-0.77
through exhaled air. The heat transfer from the inner parts of the
body to the skin is through the blood circulatory system, although 305.35-307.65 0.66-1.55
conduction accounts for a minor part. Above 307.65 1.44-1.90
When the temperature of the atmosphere is 298 K or less, the
normal blood .circulation of the body along with conduction is
sufficient to transfer the heat from the inner parts of the body to Various authorities have given different tolerable limits of wet-
the surface of the skin.. The heat transfer from the skin to the bulb temperature. Haldane puts it at 304.3 K for partially accli-
43

ambient air at these temperatures is mainly by convection and radia- matized men at rest in still, saturated air. With a high dry-bulb
tion. But above 298 K, the heat transfer to the skin has to be faster. temperature, however, this value could be somewhat more. Caplan
Here, the vaso-motor control comes into operation, dilating the reported that with the prevalent high dry-bulb temperatures in the
size of blood vessels and thus ensuring larger blood circulation to y -^Kolar Gold Field of the order of 316-322 K, cases of heat stroke
the skin. As the temperature rises above 302 K, the sweat glands ~y "*rvere frequent at wet-bulb temperatures of 307.5-308.5 K but were
start functioning and now the heat transfer from the skin is rare below a wet-bulb temperature of 305.5 K. A study in South
mainly by the evaporation of sweat. Africa revealed that the probable risk of heat stroke rose sharply
When the dry-bulb temperature of the mine air exceeds the body when the wet-bulb temperature exceeded 305.15 K, but was low
temperature (310.05 K) the body can give away heat to the surround- when the wet-bulb temperature was between 300.15 K and 304.15 K.
ing atmosphere by the evaporation of sweat only. Fatal heat stroke risks were negligible below 302.5 K w.b. and non-
fatal heat stroke risks were negligible below 300.15 K .
3.10.1 Effect of High Wet-bulb Temperature
' The rate of evaporation of sweat depends on the moisture con- 3.10.2 Acclimatization
tent of the ambient air and the air velocity. Though the relative
Acclimatization plays an important role in the human tolerance
humidity of air is specified by the difference in the dry-bulb and
of high wet-bulb temperatures. The first physiological response
wet-bulb temperatures, it is the wet-bulb temperature, that greatly
^ f the human body to very hot and humid atmosphere is the dila-
influences the rate of evaporative cooling of the human body.At £
-%on of the blood vessels i n the skin, but the volume of the fluid in
high wet-bulb temperatures the rate of cooling gets reduced. As
the blood circulatory system does not immediately increase as a
a result, the body temperature rises as shown in Table 3.5.
result of which the heart-rate shoots up to 160-180 beats min- . 1
The rise in the temperature of the body varies from person to
After two to three days of acclimatization, however, the circulatory
person and depends on the degree of acclimatization. A moderate
volume builds up and consequently the heart-rate falls to 120 beats
rise in the body temperature of the order of 1.4 K is not harmful,
min- . In addition sweating begins earlier and the rate of sweating
1
but when the body temperature rises above 312 K and/or the heart increases.
rate exceeds 140 beats min- heat intolerance, that may ultimately
1
A system of acclimatization has been satisfactorily adopted in
lead to heat stroke, appears.
South African gold mines where the worker is made to work at a
208 M , N E ENVIRONMENT AND VENTILATION
M I N E C L I M A T E
209
controlled rate for four hours a day in a chamber with a saturated becomes hot, dry and gritty ; the pulse becomes fast and irregular
air temperature of 305.15 K. and an air velocity of 0.5 m s- . The 1 and the respiration, stertorous. At 314.25 K unconsciousness occurs
work rate is gradually increased to a maximum (rate of oxygen con- and the skin turns blue due to cyanosis. If no measures are taken
sumption = 1.41 min- ) on the last day over a period of eight days.
1
to reduce the temperature, death occurs due to asphyxia at
316.5 K.
This system has been claimed to satisfactorily acclimatize Bantu
miners for the following combinations of work and wet-bulb People having constipation and alcoholics are more prone to
temperature : heat stroke. People in febrile conditions having an initial body
(a) Light work (0.65 1 min- oxygen consumption) at 307.15 K.
1
temperature above the normal develop very high temperatures
under heat stroke conditions. It has been observed in South African
(b) Moderate work (0.95 1 min- oxygen consumption) at
1
mines that workers with low body weight who normally have low
305.15 K work capacity fall an easier prey to heat stroke. Gross overweight
(c) Hard work (1.45 1 min- oxygen consumption) at 304.15 K .
1 with low work capacity also makes the worker prone to heat stroke.
Worse wet-bulb temperatures can be tolerated by these acclimatized Older men (over 45 years of age) are more liable to heat stroke than
workers at reduced work rate, higher air velocity of 1-1.5 m s- 1
younger men.
or with the use of a micro-climate cooling system. The patient suffering from heat stroke should be stripped naked
It must, however, be noted here that the capacity for acclima- and laid down. Cold water should be poured over the body accom-
tization varies from person to person and some persons never really panied by vigorous fanning. The hair should be cropped short and
get acclimatized. Besides acclimatization is a temporary pheno- ice bag applied to the head until temperature comes down to 312 K
menon and the effect is lost if the worker is taken out of the hot and when the body should be covered by a thin blanket. Utmost
humid conditions for about a month or so. caution is necessary for a day or two as the symptoms of heat stroke
3.10.3 Effect of Air Velocity are likely to relapse.
Higher air velocity aids evaporative cooling, by removing the
saturated air from the immediate vicinity of the body surface. 3.10.5 Changes in Cardio-vascular System
However it has been seen that though an increase in air velocity Under hot and humid conditions, more blood is supplied to
up to 1 m s markedly affects the comfort condition, the effect is
_1 the skin and hence the cardiac rate and output increase so much that
less felt above this velocity and is negligible beyond a velocity of beyond the critical temperature cardiac failure may result. This
3 m V . On the other hand, velocities greater than 2 m s- are un-
1 1 leads to decreased blood pressure which causes less blood circula-
comfortable as they raise dust. High velocities of the order of 3m s- 1 tion. As a result, heat exhaustion symptomized by fatigue, nausea,
or more, when coupled with a high dry-bulb temperature of the giddiness and headache occurs leading under more severe condi-
order of 322 K and a low relative humidity, cause burning sensation tions to vomiting and blurred vision. The ultimate stage is heat
and a rise of body temperature by too rapid evaporation of sweaty a .fl, collapse which results in unconsciousness. In severe cases of
and may ultimately result in heat stroke. collap&e, the skin becomes cold and clammy and the pulse cannot
be felt. It is however less severe than heat stroke though the condi-
3.10.4 Heat Stroke tions producing it are the same.
' Heat stroke results from the breakdown of the temperature
regulating mechanism of the body when the body temperature 3.10.6 Changes in Water and Chloride Metabolism
shoots up. In the early stages, it is characterized by mental excite- There is a great loss of water from the body when there
ment followed by restlessness, intolerance and delirium. Vomiting is excessive sweating. At 307 K a resting man may sweat at the
:- • »uaial ftympjonii^ Muscular cramps and loss of body fluid occur rate of 120 cm per hour though when doing hard work the sweat
8

warntnre rises above 313 K, the skin irate may increase to 850 cm h- . Beyond this however, the sweat
8 1
 MINE CLIMATE

210 MINE ENVIRONMENT AND VENTILATION

^ w o r k w E f f l c i e n c y a t V a r , o u s W e t , u i b T c m p e r a t ; ; ;
r
output decreases due to fatigue of the sweat glands. Hal-
dane states that there have been cases where a man produces as
much as 2.94 kg of sweat per hour when doing hard work in a very Wet-bulb temperature in K Working efficiency (%)
hot atmosphere, though the average sweating rate of acclimatized
men varies between 0.45 and 0.7 kg h- . The loss of sweat is usually
1
306.8 75
made up by drinking water, but the maximum a man can drink at 308.2 50
hot temperatures is estimated at 700 cm h- . Drinking in excess
3 1

of this may result in vomiting and the water may not be able to get 310.1 • 25
into the body and the circulatory system owing to the lack of suffi-
cient blood supply to the alimentary canal. Excessive loss of water F'g- 3.12 gives the working •
causes dehydration of the body characterized by sunken eyes and go.d mines a, various wet b u f f Z Z Z l ''" °
S «
U t h A f r i c a

inelastic skin, high body temperature and may lead to the failure output a. 300..5K b e ^ ' » m g e - i s of work
of blood circulation.
Man has enough sodium chloride reserve in the body (28g in
blood and 57g in the tissues) and this is normally replenished by
the usual daily intake of 14 to 24g. The loss of sodium chloride
in 100 cm of sweat amounts to 0.5g only. Hence an occasional
3

excessive sweating cannot deplete the chloride reserve of the body

to any^appreciable extent unless there is heavy sweating over a long
period aided by further chloride loss through vomiting or diar-
rhoea. The effects of chloride depletion are fatigue, nausea, vomiting
and cramps.

3.10.7 Mental Fatigue

This is the outcome of continued undersupply of blood to the
brain which causes mental depression, neglect of work and a rebel- WET - BUIB. TEMPERATURE K
lious attitude that may lead to strikes. Carelessness 4.uc to mental 3-12 ^ - ^ 1 . ^ , . ^ ^ , , ^ ^

fatigue is a potential cause of accidents. I t is interesting to note

that after the installation of the air-conditioning plants at the Kolar 3.11 COOLING POWER OF MINE AIR
Gold Field there was a sharp fall in the number of accidents The cooling power of mine air depends mainly on the wet-bulb
underground. temperature and the air velocity. The dry-bulb temperature affects
the cooling power only a little except in cases of high dry-bulb tem-
3.10.8 Fall of Working Efficiency perature coupled with low wet-bulb temperature and high air
The working efficiency of man falls with increasing temperature velocity. So, the cooling power of mine air on the human body
and humidity of the ambient air. Caplan and Lindsay state can be expressed in terms of wet-bulb temperature and air velocity
that at the Kolar Gold Field the efficiency of workers in a and in fact, in most of the mines the wet-bulb temperature alone
3-hour shift (jn a high dry-bulb temperature) starts falling at a can be taken as a fair measure of comfort conditions. Other
slow rate when the wet-bulb temperature exceeds 301.5 K. measures have, however, been developed to define the cooling
Beyond 305 K, the fall is rapid as would be evident from power of mine air more exactly.
Table 3.6.
212 MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D VENTILATION
MINE CLIMATE 213
3.11.1 Kata Thermometer
v = velocity of air in m s- 1
The kata thermometer developed by Hill et al, as early as ,1916 and 7" = wet-bulb temperature in K.
is a glass thermometer (Fig. 3.13) with a 40mm long and 20mm It has been said earlier that a moderately working man produces
diameter bulb filled with coloured alcohol con- about 165 W m-* of waste heat which has to be dissipated. In other
nected to a 200mm long stem having two words, a kata value of 165 W m- should be sufficient for cooling
2
smaller bulbs or reservoirs at the top and the a moderate worker, but it has been found that the rate of cooling
38°cC3"K) bottom ends. The stem has two marks at 308 &t the kata thermometer is much faster compared to the human
and 311 K in between the two bulbs. When body, i.e. the cooling air is not 100% efficient for the human body
taking a reading with the kata thermometer, as compared to a kata thermometer. This is due to the fact that the
the bulb is first heated by dipping it in hot kata thermometer is much smaller compared to the human body
water so that the liquid rises to the top reser- and has a smaller volume to surface area ratio. Also, the convec-
voir. The bulb is then taken out of water, tion coefficient of a kata thermometer is twice as high as that of a
j|-35 c(308K)
0 vvjped i t h a dry cloth and is allowed to cool
w
nude body. The body surface is rarely completely sweat-covered
in the mine air. The time taken by the thermo- as the wet kata. Because of clothing, air cannot get access to the
meter to cool from 311 K to 308 K is noted. whole body surface. Besides, the factor of acclimatization of the
The kata cooling factor which gives the amount human body too contributes to the difference between the cooling

i thermometer
8
of heat lost per cm* of the surface of the bulb
in cooling from 311 to 308 K is usually written
on the kata thermometer. This factor divided
by the time taken for the cooling gives the rate
O I * *
n e a t ^
o s sthermometer.
T o m t n c

The dry-kata reading gives an estimate of

a t a
effect of mine air on the kata thermometer and the human body.
Many authors put the kata cooling efficiency of air at only 20 %
hich means that for comfortable working, the minimum wet-kata
jwhic
ing should be 165x5=825 W m- . Bedford and Worner
8

give the following work output for various wet-kata readings

(Table 3.7).
43

the heat loss from the surface of the bulb due to radiation and
convection and hence is of little importance, particularly under Table 3.7 : Variation of Work Output with Wet-Kata Reading
hot and humid conditions where most of the heat loss from the
human body is through evaporation. All the same Hill advocates Wet-kata reading, Rest time in Relative work
a dry-kata reading of not less than 250 W m - for good working 8
W m-» min h - 1 output (%)
conditions. 778.7 7.3 100
The wet-kata reading is obtained by covering the bulb of the 611.3 6.7 94
kata thermometer by a wet muslin. The idea is to make it resemble 540.1 9.0 91
the human body which loses heat by radiation, convection as well 452.2 10.0 82
as evaporation. The wet-kata cooling power is related to the wet- 376.8 11.1 81
bulb temperature and the air velocity by the following relations.
268.0 22.4 59
K = (14.65+35.59 v ) (309.65-7") 1/s (3.91)
for air velocities < 1 m s- 1 Orenstein and Ireland also give the lower limit of wet-kata
and K = (4.19+46.05 v ' ) (309.65—7") 1 8 (3.92) cooling power for comfortable working condition as 628 W m- . * 1

for air velocities > l m s J However, the kata cooling power is not always consistent. The
where K = kata cooling power of air or the heat loss kata factor varies with temperature. A variation of 10% occurs
if the air temperature changes from 2 8 3 to 3 0 3 K . Moreover, with
in W m - \
low air velocities and large differences between dry- and wet-bulb
214 MINE ENVIRONMENT A N D VENTILATION MINE C L I M A T E
215
temperatures, the wet-kata cooling power has a considerably low
value. This is due to the fact that in an unventilated or poorly
ventilated wet-bulb thermometer (which the kata is in a way) the
moisture evaporated surrounds the bulb and hence the thermo-
meter gives a higher reading for the wet-bulb temperature than the
true value. Because of this higher estimation of the wet-bulb tem-
perature by the kata thermometer, the cooling power shown by.it
is less. This is illustrated by the following example. At a wet-bulb
temperature of 306.5 K and an air velocity of 0.51 m s- the kata
1

readings were 159, 130 and 71 W m-* for differences between dry-
and wet-bulb temperatures of 0, 5.56 and 16.67 K respectively
whereas for the same wet-bulb temperature and with an air velocity
of 5.1 m s- the kata readings for all dry-bulb temperatures re-
1

mained constant at 159 W m- . Thus it will be seen that the kata

2

thermometer overestimates the effect of air velocity anu underesti-

mates that of temperature and humidity of the mine air as regards
its cooling power.
WET-BULB TEMPERATURE
It is for these reasons that the kata thermometer offers no
better measure of the cooling power of mine air than wet-bulb Fig. 3.14 Effective temperature scale for men stripped to the waist.
temperature, hence its use has long been discontinued in many parts •
of the world.
However, the effective temperature is subject to the feeling of
warmth by men which not only depends on the individual but also
3.11.2 Effective Temperature
his immediate past experience or extent of acclimatization. It is
In 1925 Yaglou developed the effective temperature scale. This also subject to the following criticism :
scale reduces any environmental condition of dry- and wet-bulb (a) It gives insufficient weight to the deleterious effect of low
temperatures and air velocity to a thermo-equivalent condition of air velocities below 0.5 m s- in hot and humid environ-
1

still, saturated air at a certain equivalent temperature called the ments.

effective temperature. In other, words, the feeling of warmth of a
(b) It exaggerates the effect of high dry-bulb temperatures at
worker under the condition of the said dry- and wet-bulb tempera-
air velocities in the range of 0.5-1.5 m s- . 1
tures and air velocity is the same as at the equivalent temperature
(c) It underestimates the harmful effect of high air velocities
in still, saturated air. The scale is computed by subjecting men to
above 1.5 m s- at extremely high temperatures exceeding
1
a certain air condition (dry- and wet-bulb temperatures and air M 322 K.
velocity) in one room and then letting them into another adjacent
(d) Climates of similar physiological severity as assessed by
room where the air is still and saturated. The saturated temperature rectal temperature, heart rate etc. do not always have the
at which the feeling of warmth by the man is the same as at the given same effective temperatures, especially In severe heat
air condition, is the efFective temperature. Fig. 3.14 gives the effec- stress.
tive temperature scale for men stripped to the waist.
Like wet-bulb temperature, the effective temperature gives an
This scale was held by the British Royal Commission on Safety assessment of the cooKng power of the environment irrespective
in Coal Mines to be superior to wet kata estimation under extreme of the working rate of man. Different limits of effective temperature
conditions of heat and humidity. could be set for different work rates but such limits would have to
 MINE ENVIRONMENT A N D VENTILATION MINE C L I M A T E
216 217

engaged in sedentary occupation . 100

Effective temperature, K 80

Season optimum upper limit

Lower limit
-60
294 299
291 2.0 ms
Summer 290 296
288 ~~ 4.0 m s "
Winter o 40
z

cr
For men acclimatized in tropical conditions, the upper limit rises § 20
to 300 K which can also be taken as the upper limit for mine
L _ L _ l _ -i-A . J -
workers. 294 296 298 1 1 I \ J J .J ±
30? 304 306 308
Carrier gives the following working efficiency for industrial 310
EFFEC TIVE 'TEMPERATURE, K
workers at different effective temperatures :
R'' W O r k i n « ' «™y
m « « m ^ . u ( . f , c r Wyndhan,,
r e

Table 3.8 : Working Efficiency at Different

Effective Temperatures temperature of air, wet-bulb temperature of air, radiant tempera-
, — • ' ture, air velocity, rate of work, nature of clothing. The method is
Effective Working A claimed to be very reliable, but even here, errors may creep in due
Effective ' Working ?, % 1

temp., K. to variable work output and physical fitness of different men. Be-
temp;, K. sides, the calculation is complicated and involves the measurement
308 50 of several factors. It is perhaps because of this reason that P SR 4

294 100 has found little acceptance in mines.

311 30
300 90
305 70 3.11.4 Specific Cooling Power

The specific cooling power of mine air is defined by Mitchell

Fig. J . U givsa ».«. . and Whillier " as the maximum rate of heat transfer from 1 m* of
1

various effective temperatures. 4^the human body surface to the surrounding air under any environ-
mental condition defined by dry-bulb temperature, wet-bulb
3.11.3 Predicted Four-hour Sweat Rate (P SR) 4 temperature, velocity of air, radiant temperature, atmospheric
A physiological index of comfort in a certain environment called pressure and the skin temperature. The following empirical rela-
the 'predicted four-hour sweat rate' was developed by the Medical tions were developed from extensive studies for different modes of
Research Council of Great Britain on the basis of large-scale tests heat transfer :
in London and Singapore between 1947 and 1953. The predicted
four-hour sweat rate can be read from nomograms prepared by the R = 17x 10-« (0.5 7V+154.1)» (T,-T ) R (3.93)
Council from the various variables affecting the index : dry-bulb C = 8,3 (B/10 1.3)°-» v°« (T,-T.) (3.94)
 ;1 «
2ia MINE ENVIRONMENT A N D VENTILATION MINE CLIMATE
219
i 1
and E = '-Li— (5/101.3)°- v - (e' -e)
8 0 6 t (3.95)

where /?, C and £ are maximum rates of heat transfer by radiation,

convection and evaporation respectively in W m- , 2
\
4Co

\
Ml -
B = barometric pressure in kPa,
T = radiant temperature, K,

\
r , -

T = dry-bulb temperature of air, K,

a 1 e
T, = temperature of the skin, K, tt
X \
e = vapour pressure of air, kPa, ' 300
\ \ \
o
e, = saturated vapour pressure at the skin temperature, 270
tt ) ——\
kPa,
O

and .v = air velocity, ms- . 1

a
13

Z 20!
o
V\
The specific cooling power of the air = /?-f-C+£" (3.96) >
S i«o

This specific cooling power should equal or exceed the metabolic

heat .ate for any work rate in order to dissipate all heat produced
•
by the human body. However, to avoid excessive heat strain, thqw 3
skin temperature has to be maintained at a certain level. It has been^*" 90
seen taat acclimatized men in equilibrium in hot environments
showing only a mild heat strain have mean skin temperatures close ' N
to 308.2 K irrespective of air temperatures, humidity, air speed or
work rate. I t i l l 1 1 1 1 IN
•i i n
Taking 308.2 K as the acceptable skin temperature, and with jwv JUS «»
WET - BULB TEMPERATURE.K
the approximations of T =T , 5=100 kPa and|r =r'-f-2 where
r m a
Fig. 3.16 Specific cooling power of air at different wet-bulb temperatures
\T' is the wet-bulb temperature of air, a chart (Fig. 3.16) was pre- and air velocities (after Wyndham).
pared giving specific cooling power as a function of wet-bulb tem-
perature and air velocity. For most mine environments where the 3.12 METHODS OF IMPROVING THE COOLING POWER
OF MINE AIR
difference between | T and 7" is small (taken here as 2 K), these
m

charts will give a good estimate of the cooling power of air. The As surface air enters a mine through a downcast shaft, its
chart also provides the design comfort environment (dry-bulb a temperature rises due to auto-compression. Strata heat may also
wet-bulb temperatures and air velocity) for any work rate for the add to the air temperature in deep mines. The latter will, however,
purpose .of the calculation of cooling load when air cooling becomes vary from season to season depending on the surface air temperature.
necessary. As the air travels from the downcast shaft-bottom to the working
For example, for hard work (metabolic rate of 270 W m- at 2 face, its temperature will further rise due to heat added from the
a place with a prevalent air speed of 0.5 m s-\e tolerable wet-bulb rock. While the rate of temperature rise will be somewhat slower
temperature will be 300.5 K (the dry-bulb temperature being in the intake airway, it will be higher across the workings which on
302.5 K). If, however, the air speed could be raised to 2.5 m s- ,- 1 advancing continuously expose virgin-rock faces to the air-current.
the tolerable wet-bulb limit will rise to 305 K. The air, however, rarely acquires the virgin-rock temperature (v.r.t.)
15
220 MINE ENVIRONMENT A N D VENTILATION MINE C L I M A T E
221
at the face except in relatively shallow and poorly ventilated mines.
If the temperature of air is less than the v.r.t as it leaves the wor-
kings, there will be a further rise in its temperature in the return
up to the upcast shaft-bottom (assumed to be at the same elevation
as the downcast shaft-bottom) though at a very slow rate owing to
the small difference in the rock and air iemperatures. However,
in bidirectional system of ventilation, there may actually be a fall
in the air temperature along the return owing to leakage of cooler
air from the intake. As the air rises in the upcast shaft, there is a
fall in its temperature due to auto-expansion, but it has a tempera-
ture still higher than that of the atmosphere except in very shallow
mines where the rock temperature may be lower than the surface
air temperature so that there is heat transfer from the air to the
rock.
The above is the case in dry mines. But in wet mines (most
mines are wet), there may be very slight rise in the dry-bulb tem-
perature of the air (in fact there may be a fall in extremely wet shafts)
at the downcast shaft-bottom. But the wet-bulb temperature rises
substantially increasing the relative humidity of the air. Strata heat
addition in the intake raises the dry-bulb temperature, but lowers
the relative humidity so that the air is capable of picking up more
moisture if the intake roadway is wet. In relatively dry faces there
is a rise in saturation deficit owing to rapid addition of strata heat.
In the return airway however, addition of moisture may decrease this heat is given up in the upcast shaft so that the total
the dry-bulb temperature while raising the wet-bulb temperature heat removed from the mine=93.7 (89.60-52.35)x 10- =3.49 3

so that the air is nearly saturated as the upcast shaft-bottom. Auto- MW.
expansion in the upcast shaft cools the air often below the dew There is an addition of 93.7 (14 — ll)=281.1g of moisture per
point causing water to condense in the upcast shaft. In deep and second in the downcast shaft, while total addition of moisture up
wet mines, the condensed water literally pours down the upcast to the upcast shaft-bottom is 93.7 (26.8-11)= 1480.5 gs- . Of 1

shaft. this 93.7 (26.8—24)=262.4 gs- condenses in the upcast shaft and
1

Fig. 3.17 illustrates the air temperature variation in a deep and is carried back into the mine. It is significant to observe that the
highly wet coal mine in India (Chinakuri No. 1 & 2 pits) while ventilating air acts as a water pump in the mine, removing in the
Fig. 3.18 illustrates the annual variation of the upcast and downcast above case 93.7 ( 2 4 - l l ) x 3 6 0 0 x 10-«=4.385 t ( o r m ) of water
8

pit-bottom temperatures at the same mine. in an hour. The quantity would be higher with higher air-flow
Fig. 3.17 also gives the variation in the enthalpy and moisture rates.
content of the air as it traverses the mine. With an intake of The methods of improving the cooling power of mine
80 m s as measured at the downcast shaft-bottom (specific volume
8 _1
air include (a) increasing the quantity of ventilating air,
=0.854 m' kg- of dry air) the dry air-flow rate is 93.7 kg tr . The
1 1 (b) circulating drier air and (c) cooling or refrigeration
heat added to the air between the downcast shaft-top and upcast of the circulating air (including the use of devaporized
shaft-bottom is 93.7 (99.65-52.35)x 10- =4.43 MW. A part of
3 compressed-air).
222 M I N E E N V I R O N M E N T A N D V E N T I L A T I O N

"T
301 -

J0> -

so* -
SOS -

JO* -

w
*J0J
«
-

= J0I -

wJOO -
B
*>2tt -

to
2*1 -

l»» -

0*»-»U(.i ItM»tB«TU»t
296 -
WCT-»UI» UMPlKATtme
2*1 -

2*1 -
UI6.
1975 re*.
1976
Fig. 3.18 Annual variation of temperatures at d.c. and u.c. shaft-bottoms
at Chinakuri No. 1 and 2 pits (1975-76).

3.12.1 Increased Quantity of Air

This should be the first to be tried for improving hot and humid
conditions in mines. The increased quantity of air not only dilutes
the heat produced in the mine but also produces a higher air velo-
city which improves the cooling power of mine air. There is a
minimum quantity of air required for a mine for supporting men
and flame lamps and for diluting dust and gases to a safe concen-
tration. In shallow mines this quantity is usually sufficient for
dealing with the heat also. However, in deep mines an extra
quantity may be necessary for suitably dealing with the beat pro-
duced in the mine. It is difficult to assess the exact quantity of air
required because of the fact that a variety of factors such as the
temperature of the air entering the mine, the quantity of heat
auJition from different sources, the wetness of the mine and the
efficiency of air distribution underground affect it and many of
these factors are variable. All the same a fair estimate of the heat
addition in a mine from different sources should be made and the
quantity requirement for the dilution of this heat evaluated before
MINE CLIMATE 223

deciding on any additional measure for improving the cooling

power of mine air.
Taking a minimum air velocity of 0.5 m s- in any part of the
1

mine and considering provision of comfortable environment for

hard work (metabolic rate of 270 W m- ), the maximum allowable
2

wet-bulb temperature in any part of the mine will be 300.5 K (see

Fig. 3.16).
It would be advisable to design the ventilation system on the
basis of this wet-bulb temperature even though the wet-bulb tem-
perature permissible by law is.higher, i.e. 303.5 K in India. The
allowable enthalpy of air then corresponds to the wet-bulb tem-
perature of 300.5 K and dry-bulb temperature of 302.5 K. It may
be noted here that the enthalpy of air is primarily dependent on the
wet-bulb temperature (see the psychrometric chart—Fig. 3.9 and
mark the near parallelism of the wet-bulb line and the enthalpy
line) and even if the dry-bulb temperature were somewhat more or
less than 2 K higher than the wet-bulb temperature, in any part of
the mine, the error introduced by the above assumption of the dry-
bulb temperature will be negligible.
If q is the amount of heat added in any part of the mine per
unit time (kW), then for heat balance
M-H^q+MHt

^ t ^ K F E P * * *
1 ( 3 9 7 )

where M — mass flow-rate of dry air, kg s- , 1

= QP\
Q = quantity of air flowing, m s- , 3 1

p' — apparent density, kg of dry air per m of moist air, 3

H = allowable enthalpy of air, i.e. at 300.5 K wet-

a

bulb and 302.5 K dry-bulb temperatures, kJ kg- 1

of dry air
and H, = enthalpy of in-flowing air, kJ kg- of dry air. 1

At one mine on the Witw iterstrand Gold Field the quantity of

air was increased from 40.6 m s- to 135 m s- and a refrigeration
J 1 3 1

plant was installed simultaneously to improve conditions of tem-

perature and humidity in the mine. The total heat extracted by the
increased quantity of air was 3.49 MW, nearly twice as much as
extracted by the refrigeration plant alone (1.55 MW). The wet-kata
reading improved from 289 to 523 W m- with a 30 % increase in
2

the production efficiency. There was a reduction in the cases of heat

 MINE C L I M A T E 225
224 MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D VENTILATION

concre e with suitable drain pipes installed in it to drain off the

f

stroke by two-third and a considerable reduction in the rates of water from behind the lining and thus prevent moisture evaporating
accident and sickness. into the mine air. Covering up of water drains goes a long way in
However, the increase in volume has its limitations. In very minimizing evaporation of moisture into the mine air.
hot and humid mines where an increased air velocity produces little
bodily comfort, an extra volume of air will be of no help. Moreover 3.12.3 Refrigeration
mine airways should be large enough to take the extra quantity of Refrigeration of mine air is necessary when its temperature
air without causing excessive frictional pressure loss and excessive becomes excessive so that no further increase in the quantity
air velocity. High pressure loss increases the power cost of ventila- of air would improve environmental conditions. Refrigeration
tion and high air velocity raises dust in the roadways. Hence both plants are usually designed to produce tolerable environmental
of these are undesirable. conditions throughout the year at the working places in the mine.
We have seen earlier that the wet-bulb temperature of air Normally, the air is cooled and dehumidified so that it is saturated
entering a downcast shaft rises steadily with depth. At a certain at 275 to 278 K. It is then conducted to the working faces as such
depth therefore the wet-bulb temperature may reach a level which or after mixing with a stream of uncooled air so as to obtain the
will lead to the face wet-bulb temperature exceeding the tolerable desired face temperatures. Hence a refrigeration plant should be
limit. In such cases ventilation alone will not be sufficient to alleviate designed to have a capacity, sufficient for cooling the farthest face
the face environmental conditions. under the worst surface-temperature conditions as may occur in
the summer. The refrigerators installed on the Witwatersrand
3.12.2 Drying of Mine Air have usually a heat extracting capacity of 3.7 MW per 100 m s- 3 1

It has already been said that a fairly high dry-bulb temperature of air entering the mine. They cool the surface air at 292.5 K dry-
can be tolerable if the relative humidity or the wet-bulb temperature bulb and 289.5 K wet-bulb temperatures to 274.8 K saturated.
is low. That is why in deep and hot mines where the air temperature The first refrigerator installed in India at Oorgaum mine cooled air
is high, maintaining the air dry helps a great deal in improving the from 296 K wet-bulb to 277.5 K. saturated, the refrigerator capacity
working conditions. There is no economical process of drying the being approximately 5.58 MW per 100 m s- of air (the actual
3 1

air as such except by refrigeration. Drying of mine air by passing amount of heat extracted was 3.95 MW from 71.4 m s- of air
3 1

it over dessicants like calcium chloride, magnesium chloride or flowing through the mine).
silica gel becomes very costly and the advantage gained by drying Calculation of Cooling Load of a Refrigerator. The cooling load
is greatly compensated by the heat produced by absorption which of a refrigeration plant for any part of the mine is calculated so as
raises the temperature of air. However, care can be taken to see to provide comfortable environmental conditions (300.5 K w.b.
that the air does not pick up moisture in the mine and hence is and 302.5 K d.b.) assumed earlier for ventilation requirement cal-
maintained dry. This is done by adopting dry mining. Although culations. Heat-flow into the mine air from different sources has
dry mining is harmful from the point of view of dust hazard, it is been discussed earlier. On the basis of this study an estimate of
worthwhile to find out suitable dry dust-collecting means rather the total heat (both sensible and latent) added to' the mine air in
than to use water for dust suppression in very hot mines. However, this part q is made. The required cooling load q is then given by
c

if the strata ooze out water, it is very difficult to control the humidity the heat balance equation
of the mine air. Spraying of fuel oil over the surface of airways has f.-f+Q^m-IWkW (3-98)
been found to considerably reduce evaporation from the surface. .. The heat content of the air flowing into the mine varies from
Experiments with a roadway-surface sprayed with fuel oil and then season to season and the cooling load should be calculated for the
with water showed that it took the water one whole shift to evapo- maximum heat content of the in-flowing air (occuring in the sum-
rate whereas ordinarily it would have evaporated in 10 to 15 minutes. mer). However, it is necessary to determine the cooling load for
Sometimes it may be economical to line the major airways with
226 MINE ENVIRONMENT AND VENTILATION
MINE CLIMATE

different seasons, particularly when the variation is large, so that 227

the refrigeration plant can be designed in multiple units. While shows the evaporation represented by the line 2-3. The line 3-4
the entire plant may work in the worst conditions, a part of it may shows the compression of the refrigerant vapour. It is not isentropic
be shut down during colder seasons. (3-4*) because of lost work in the compressor. The line 4-1 gives
In working mines, the heat content of the air reaching the the condensation of the refrigerant and 1-2, the throttling process
workings gives the sum of the heat content of the ambient air enter- which cools the refrigerant. Both evaporation and condensa-
ing the mine and the heat added in the mine so that the cooling load tion are isothermal. In the process of throttling or expansion, a
is estimated by deducting from it the heat content of the air desired part of the liquid refrigerant evaporates drawing the latent heat of
to be circulated at the face. However, it must be noted here that evaporation from the liquid refrigerant so that its temperature falls,
while a spot cooler designed to cool the air at any particular face but as a result this part of the liquid refrigerant looses its ability
to extract heat in the evaporator.
will handle the air supplied to that face only and hence will have a
lesser total cooling load, a surface refrigeration plant will have a
larger cooling load depending on the quantity of air entering
the mine.
Refrigeration Process. The commonest type of refrigeration plant
used at mines is of the vapour-compression type. In this type a CRITICAL POINT
liquid refrigerant is allowed to evaporate and extract the latent
heat of evaporation from the mine air. To achieve this at tempera-
tures as near the atmospheric as possible, the refrigerant is
compressed. For example, liquid ammonia evaporates at 239.8 K
absorbing a latent heat of evaporation of 1.37 MJ kg- of liquid
1

ammonia at atmospheric pressure but at an absolute pressure of

406 kPa the evaporating temperature is 272.04K. and the latent heat
1.27 MJ kg- . For economy, the refrigerant is used in a csclic sys-
1

tem where it is condensed after evaporation and reused. Thus a

complet evapour-compression refrigeration system comprises an
evaporator where the liquid refrigerant evaporates by extracting'the
latent heat from the air it cools, a compressor for compressing the
refrigerant vapour in order to raise its temperature of condensation
and a condenser to turn the vapour refrigerant into liquid again. In
addition, a receiver for storing the liquid refrigerant and an expan- F '8- 3.19 Vapour-compression cycle.
sion valve for reducing the pressure and controlling the flow-rate
of the refrigerant are needed. In order to increase the coefficient of performance in actual
The theoretical vapour-compression cycle is shown in Fig. 3.19 refrigerators, the refrigerant may be sub-cooled in the condenser
to 1' and superheated in the evaporator to 3' before being com-
which gives the P-H (pressure-enthalpy) diagram for the cycle. pressed.
Constant temperature lines are vertical in the liquid phase and
horizontal in the liquid+vapour phase. Usually a dry compression The heat absorbed during evaporation
(where the compression is in the vapour phase—the line 3-4 in Fig. ?, = //,- H kJ kg- of refrigerant
t 1 (3.99)
3.19) is preferred for better life of the compressor even though it has where H is the enthalpy and the subscripts refer to the points
on Cx P-H diagram. The amount of heat rejected during
a little less coefficient of performance. A reference to Fig. 3.19 condensation is given by
 228 MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D VENTILATION

( R = H i ~ #1 kJkg-
c (?.I0O)
1

H — H since no work is done during the throttling process

x 2

and only sensible heat is converted to latent heat.

The work of compression W is given by the relation
W=q -q = H - H kJ k g '
c f (3.101)
4 3

assuming no heat gain or loss during compression.

The cooling load or rating of the refrigerator is the rate of heat
removal in the evaporator in kW. It is often expressed in refrigera-
tion tonne (Rt) which is equal to a rate of heat removal of 3.5 kW.
The mass of refrigerant required to be circulated
1
M = — — kg s- for every kW of cooling load
T 1

3.5
= _ kgs-'perRt
H i H x (3.102)
The theoretical compressor volume (piston displacement) is
obtained by multiplying the mass of the refrigerant circulated by
the specific volume of the refrigerant which can be obtained from
the pressure-enthalpy (Mollier) diagram of the refrigerant (see Fig.
3.20 for such a diagram for Freon 12). Hence theoretical piston
displacement

= „ 1 „ • r.m'kW- 1 (3.103)

The power consumption of the compressor

= -77—TT kW for every kW of cooling load

3

= 3 5 J 7 / 4 "r L ) kW Rt- 1 (3.104)

The coefficient of performance _ heat absorbed in evaporator
of the refrigeration plant ~ net work supplied
H —H t x

(3.105)
Heat removed through condenser which is theoretically equi-
valent to the heat absorbed in the evaporator plus the work
of compression
IT 11

=
Compressor. —TT-F o rkW perlarge-capacity
most kW cooling ofmine
loadrefrigeration(3.106)
plants,
reciprocatingHt compressors
— Hx or centrifugal compressors are generally

— —
 MINE C L I M A T E 231
230 MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D V E N T I L A T I O N

of the refrigerant with minimum drop of pressure as well as ensure

used. Rotary compressors are limited to small sizes only (fractional- efficient removal of heat from the medium being cooled.
tonnage refrigerators). Reciprocating compressors used in refri- The design of evaporators and condensers is based on the rate
geration plants are generally electrically driven, of high speed (up of heat transfer. The mass flow-rate of cooling water M in the w

to 370 rad s- or 3500 r.p.m.) and are usually air or water cooled.
1
condensers is given by the relation
Centrifugal compressors of single to eight stages have been used.
They have higher speed than reciprocating compressors That is
why they are more compact. There are no rubbing parts like valves, M " ° 4.1868 ( 7 W , ) k g S -' <- >3 ,07

piston rings, etc. and hence the efficiency is maintained over the where q = the rate of heat removal in kW
whole life of the plant and also the gas is delivered in a steady stream
which does not come in contact with contaminating lubri- =
ff—7p x cooling load, (3.108)
cating oil. 3 "1
Refrigerant. A good refrigerant should have a large latent T is the temperature of water at the condenser outlet and T
T LT

heat of evaporation and should evaporate and condense as near that at the condenser inlet in K.
atmospheric temperature and pressure as possible. Ammonia and The surface area of heat transfer, from which the number and
fluorinated hydrocarbons like Freon 11, 12 etc. are suitable size of tubes (in case of shell-and-tube type condenser) can be
refrigerants. Although carbon dioxide can reduce compressor size calculated, is given by the relation
because of its low specific volume, it is not suitable for use at mines, q = ocA &T kW m (3.109)
because of its low critical temperature (304.5 K) and toxicity. where A = the surface area of heat transfer in m , 2

Ammonia has the largest latent heat of evaporation and is LT = the log mean temperature difference in K
m

cheap, but is toxic and corrosive for brass and copper. However,
= _A7*i —A7*, AT^-Ar,
leakage of ammonia can be easily detected by smell and corrosion
MATVAn) 2.3 logL&TJATI) l * I I U J
can be avoided by selecting suitable material for construction of the
refrigerator. That is why it is commonly used in surface refrigera- A7\d AT = difference of temperature between water and
2

tion plants. On the other hand, Freon is a non-toxic refrigerant refrigerant at the inlet and outlet of the con-
and is therefore commonly us*ed in underground air-cooling plants denser respectively,
even though it is costlier than ammonia. Freon 11 (trichloro- and a = the overall heat transfer coefficient in
monofiuoro-methane) is generally used in centrifugal compressors kJ m- s- K- . 2 1 1

while Freon 12 (dichloro-difluoro-methane), in reciprocating com- a is usually calculated from test data on the type of condenser
pressors. as well as the water-refrigerant system.
Condensers and Evaporators. Condensers are generally of the a A can, however, be estimated from the relation
shell-and-tube type. Evaporative condensers, where the hot
i l + 1 + r + 1
refrigerant vapour passes through finned tubes on which water is (3.111)
sprayed by circulating pumps and there are fans to blow air over a A «, A lm ocf A( kA m aQ A„
the condenser tubes, are generally restricted to smaller plants not
exceeding 350 kW (100 Rt) in capacity. Such condensers do not where a, = heat-transfer coefficient at the inner surface of the
need any further cooling of condenser water. But for larger plants, • u < ^- a 21.4(r -206.48)v o» m ir
tube (convective) at. • — LJS.—
Do.i
the heated water from the condenser has to be cooled either in spray
ponds or cooling towers. Wm K J J (3,112)
Evaporators are similar to shell-and-tube type condensers in
construction. Their design should be such as to allow the boiling
232 MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D VENTILATION MINE CLIMATE
233

Aj = area of the inner surface of the tubes, m , 2

solutions are the common brines used as they remain liquid under
D ( = inner tube diameter, m, all temperatures they are subjected to, are non-corrosive, have a
T m = mean water temperature, K, relatively high specific heat and are fairly stable.
v w = velocity of flow of water in the tubes, m s-\ Generally two types of coolers are used in mine refrigeration
0L
f = heat-transfer coefficient because of scale deposit plants, spray type and pipe-nest type. In the spray-type cooler, the
chilled cooling medium from the evaporator is sprayed through
on the inner surface of the tube. — called the nozzles along a chamber through which the air passes. The mois-
ture from the air in this case condenses and contaminates the brine.
fouling factor can be taken equal to 0.0001 Besides, the particles of liquid moisture and brine get carried into
m K W- for clean tubes, 0.0002 m K W- for
2 1 2 1
the mine with the air-stream, so that one has invariably to use a
dirty tubes and 0.0005 m K W- for very dirty 2 1
scrubber to separate as much of these particles as possible. That
tubes, is why spray coolers are seldom used when brine is the cooling
r = thickness of tubes, medium since a part of the brine is always lost and the rest gets
k — thermal conductivity of tube material diluted by water condensed from the air needing a concentration
*= 380 W m- K~ for copper and 44 W m- K - for
1 l 1 1 plant, even though they have the distinctive advantage of cheapness
cupronickel (90 : 10), and low resistance to air-flow.
A = mean heat transfer surface area, m ,
m 2
The pipe-nest type of cooler keeps the brine out of physical
A = area of the outer surface of tubes, m
0 2
contact with the air and hence from contamination. But such
and a = heat-transfer coefficient at the outer surface of
0
coolers are costlier and offer substantial resistance to air-flow (as
the tubes (condensation). This has to be obtained much as 1000 Pa may be lost in the cooler). However, there is no
from test data. ioss of brine. On the other hand, water condensed from the air in
Equation 3.109 can also be used for designing the evaporator. the cooler is pure and can be used as make-up water in the cooling
The mass flow-rate of brine or cooling medium M is computed c
tower or spray pond.
from the relation A suitable practice would be to have two coolers placed in
series ; one of the spray type using water as the cooling medium
^ = c ^ r y k g s " ' ( 3 " 3 ) and the other of the pipe-nest type using brine as the cooling
medium. The air passes through the spray-type cooler first. The
where q = rate of heat transfer in the evaporator or the water in this cooler is not chilled to a very large extent so as to avoid
coolmg load, kW, any chance of freezing. Such a combined cooler is cheaper than a
C is the specific heat of the brine in kJ kg- K - 1 1
simple pipe-nest cooler and offers less resistance to air-flow while
and T —T is the fall of temperature of the brine
t x
avoiding the disadvantage of the spray cooler.
in the evaporator. The rate of heat transfer from the cooling liquid (brine or chilled
Coolers. The cooling of the air can be direct or indirect. Direct water) to the air q is given by the relation
cooling where the air flows directly over the evaporator tubes is q = M c C(T -T ) co ci

adopted only in small units such as spot coolers. In the indirect = M (H-H )-0.00l
a o MC (m -w )(r -273.15)kW
a pw / 0 w

system an intermediate cooling medium like brine or water is used. (3.114)

This medium is cooled in the evaporator and in turn, cools the air
in the cooler unit. Brine is preferred to water when the air is cooled where M a = massflow-rateof dry air, kg s- , 1

to a fairly low temperature (near about the freezing point of water) T and T
ci co = temperature of cooling liquid at the inlet and
because brine has a lower freezing point, and hence is less likely to outlet of the cooling coil respectively, K ,
freeze in the pipelines. Calcium chloride and sodium chloride
 MINE C L I M A T E 235
234 MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D VENTILATION
the mine. Fig. 3.21 gives some installations of this type.
/Y, and H = enthalpy of air entering the cooling chamber
0
Occasionally a horizontal spray chamber may be used with
and leaving it, kJ kg- of dry air, 1
induced draft.
m,- and /?;„ = mixing ratio of air entering and leaving the
cooling chamber, g kg- of dry air, 1

Cpw specific heat of condensed water, kJ kg- K -

= 1 1 OfC AST
' / ^jN //y V O N /// ^ /f \ ///vo> /r/t s a ^ /VS
and T = ternpe&iture of condensed water, K.
w0
HOT
For spray-type-cooling chambers using chilled water, an WATER

equation similar to equation 3.114 can be written.

From the energfi bnlance principle N
a M //, + A/., C „ (7^-273.15).
'/ SPRAYS STOPPING W1TH>
= M H + M C (7^-273.15)
a 0 wo (3.115) pw
I REGULATOR
and from conservation c mass f

wlM = M - 0.001 M (m, - m )

wo (3.116)
a 0

• here M and M are the mass flow-rate of water into and

wl wo

COOLING' CONCRETE
t of the chamber and C = specific heat of water.pw
TOWER '/ SP-L INING
Hence q = M C (T -TJ
wi pw W0 \

-' M (H,-H )-0.00\ C„(m -m )(T -273.lS)W

m o m l 0 wo
Sag ass
(3.117)
The Jesign of the cooling chamber is subject to the limitations
of the second law of thermodynamics :
(a) the wet-bulb temperature of air leaving the cooling chamber •\\ \.» //f \*. /•/ *
cannot be lower than the temperature of cooling liquid en- COLO WATER SUMP
(a)
tering the chamber,
•o- ,/r" V>.V S/S >•>•»/ / \
. (b) the temperature of cooling liquid leaving the chamber can-
not be higher than the wet-bulb temperature of air entering
the chamber.
SPRAYS
The design of cooling coils, i.e. the total pipe-nest surface area
required can be done with the use of equations 3.109 and 3.110
where A 7 \d &T can be approximately taken as the difference
2

between the wet-bulb temperature of air and the temperature of the

cooling liquid at the inlet and outlet of the cooling coil respectively.
Cooling Towers. Heated condenser water has to be cooled for
reuse in a cyclic system. At the surface, spray ponds or cooling
towers of standard design may be used, but underground cooling
towers have to be properly located and designed depending on the
amount of heat to be extracted, and temperature, humidity and
\
ilow-rate of air available for cooling. Most spray towers are located (b) s u M P

in parts of shafts or winzes where the condenser water is sprayed

Fig. 3.2! Underground cooling towers.
at the top and works its way down through sets of screens, with
the cooling air flowing upwards under the ventilating pressure of 16
236 MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D VENTILATION
MINE C L I M A T E 237

The limitations of the second law of thermodynamics that the A very suitable system is the divided installation (of tlv refri-
water cannot leave the tower at a temperature lower than the wet- gerator and the cooler) which incorporates the advantages of both
bulb temperature of the entering air and the wet-bulb temperature surface and underground plants.
of the air leaving the tower cannot exceed the temperature of water The first surface refrigeration plant was installed at the Morro
entering the tower should always hold in designing these cooling Velho Mine, Brazil in 1920. In 1929, the same mine installed the
towers. Equation 3.117 used for coolers can also be used for first underground refrigeration plant. The first mine air-condi-
cooling towers, though the heat transfer in this case is in the opposite tioning plant in India was installed in 1936 at the Oorgaum Mine,
direction (i.e. from water to air). Kolar Gold Fields. The surface refrigeration plants at mines today
Cooling towers are usually designed to cool condenser water are mostly of the ammonia type although at the Robinson Deep
by 7 to 9 K. Air velocities in cooling towers vary between 2.5 to Mine, South Africa there is a Carrene plant on the surface.
7.5 m s- , the higher velocities giving greater retention time for
1
Champion Reef Mine, K.G.F., India. A typical ammonia plant
the droplets of water, but velocities greater than 9 m s- are 1
installed on the Gifford Shaft at this mine is illustrated in Fig. 3.22.
undesirable as they tend to carry away a large amount of water The plant has a capacity of 3.7 MW (1060 Rt) cooling 70.82m s- 3 1

droplets. of air from 294.25 K wet-bulb to 277.5 K saturated.

Mine Refrigeration Plants. Mine refrigeration plants are of three Here, ammonia is first compressed by a reciprocating com-
types depending on their location : surface plants, underground pressor driven by a 300 kW, 31 rad s- (300 r.p.m.) motor. The
1

plants (centrally located) and spot coolers. It is very essential for compressed gas then passes through the oil separator which extracts
economy to maintain a high positional efficiency of the refrigeration any oil picked up from the compressor cylinder. The oil-free gas
plant. Obviously spot coolers which are located at the face have — n o w cooled to liquifaction in the condenser by circulating cold
the maximum positional efficiency as they supply the cooled air "rtater by three 22-kW pumps each having a capacity of 6.06
directly to the face, but they meet with the difficulty of disposing of m min- . The cooling water extracts the heat of compression of the
3 1

the heat extracted from air at the face. This heat can best be
disposed of if a direct return airway (not ventilating any other
district) is available nearby. Otherwise the heat extracted from one
face may be carried to another face or even recirculated to the refri-
geration plant in which case the effect of cooling at the face will
be reduced. Spot coolers are used generally for cooling remote
development headings, engine houses etc. They are semi-portable
and have small capacity. Reciprocating compressors are commonly
used. Both direct and indirect cooling (usua'ly with water as
a cooling medium) are used depending on the size. The quantity
air-flow through the spot cooler should not exceed half the quantitjjf
passing through the airway in order to prevent recirculation of air
through the cooler.
Surface refrigeration plants are of relatively large capacity
running into megawatts. For deep mines, however, their positional
efficiency falls where it may be more profitable to have central
underground refrigeration plants. Undeiground refrigeration plants
are generally of smaller capacities and face the problem of suitably 'g 3.22 Schematic diagram of the surface air-conditioning plant at
disposing of the heat extracted from the air. Champion Reef mine, K . G . F .
238 MINE ENVIRONMENT A N D VENTILATION
MINE C L I M A T E 239

gas as well as the latent heat of evaporation of ammonia. The liquid propeller fan of 2400mm diameter. The brine, after cooling the air
ammonia is then fed through the float regulator to the evaporator. gets warm and has to be cooled again by the vaporization of liquified
The float regulator so adjusts the flow that a constant level of liquid ammonia in the evaporator.
ammonia is maintained in the evaporator. The compressor in its An underground refrigeration plant has also been installed at
backward stroke causes a partial vacuum in the cylinder, as a result this mine. This was necessary because the south section workings
of which a part of the liquid ammonia in the evaporator is vapo- had 329.8 K d.b. and 306.5 K w.b. temperatures in spite of the
rized and drawn into the cylinder to be compressed again. After surface cooling plant. The plant is situated at a depth of 2318m
the extraction of heat from ammonia the cooling water gets warm from the surface and has a capacity of cooling 9.44 m s- at 305.9 K
3 1

and is cooled again in a spray pond. The condenser and evaporator d.b. and 293.2 K w.b. to 276.5 K saturated. The plant consists of
are of the shell-and-tube type. a three-cylinder compressor with Freon 12 (dichloro-difluoro-
A weak calcium chloride brine solution (sp. gr. 1.22) is methane, CCI F ) as refrigerant. The condensing water is cooled by
2 2

circulated through the evaporator by three brine circulation pumps spraying it in an upcast shaft. Fig. 3.23 gives the layout of the
each having a capacity of 4.9 m min- . The brine on leaving the
3 1 plant.
evaporator gets cooled and the cold brine is then circulated through Robinson Deep Mine, S. Africa. The principle of operation of the
the cooler which consists of a large coil of 38mm bore steel pipes. Carrene plant on Turf shaft at the Robinson Deep Mine, S. Africa is
Air to be cooled is blown over the cooler pipes by a 2-stage similar except that here centrifugal compressors are used to com-
press the refrigerant, Carrene No. 2 (trichloro-fluoro-methane,
CFCI ). It has been found that for the same capacity, centrifugal
3

3 compressors take less space than reciprocating compressors. The

cooler is different from the one described above. Here, the cold
306.2 K / 304-3 K
brine, instead of being circulated through tubes on the path of the
CONDENSER COOLING CONDENSER WATER
air-current, is sprayed into the air.
WATER 308.9 K COOLING SHAFT
36 m
The whole plant consists of three Carrier centrifugal refrigera-
tion circuits leading from a common spray pond. Each of these
three units can be operated singly or together to cool the air
in stages. Each unit consumes 112 kW in the two-stage centrifugal
M A K E UP
WATER .
compressor. The brine pumps are 250mm centrifugal ones, each
consuming 112 kW at 153 rad s- (1460 r.p.m.) and delivering 10.5
1

35-8 k g <f'
U P - C A S T AIR
m min- against a head of 41.2m. The cooling water pumps are
3 1

80 LEVEL
200mm centrifugal ones driven by 56 kW motors running at
303.9 K
154 rad s- (1470 r.p.m.) and delivering 9 m min- against a
1 3 1
AIR 321.2 K/300.5K
CONDITIONING \ head of 26m. There are two fans circulating the air. Each of the
PLANT
WATER CONDENSED fans is driven by a 75 kW motor running at 76 rad s- 1

F R O M AIR
(725 r.p.m.).
, 1 FAN
Surface Plants vs Underground Plants. Surface plants have the
*za.
advantages of (a) simplicity, (b) convenience of operation and ins-
21.4 kQ S~' V£>. 30Q. 3 K / 2 9 0 - 5 K _
3 0 7 . 3 K/ 2 9 3 - 9 K —
TO OSBORNE S H A F T
pection, (c) safety, (d) cheapness (as they use cheap refrigerants like
ammonia) and (e) ease in the disposal of waste heat into the air.
Fig. 3.23. Schematic diagram of the underground air-cooling plant at Besides, surface refrigeration plants aid in producing a large natural
Champion Reef mine, K . G . F . ventilating pressure because of the large difference in the downcast
 MINE CLIMATE 241
240 MINE E N V I R O N M E N T A N D VENTILATION

laterally over 1000m away from the bottom of the downcast shaft
and upcast air temperatures so much so that in deep mines, mecha- (where the underground refrigeration plants are usually situated),
nical ventilation may become unnecessary after the installation of the positional efficiency becomes unsatisfactorily low. In such cases
surface air-conditioning plants. the plant has to be located nearer the face.
On the other hand, underground refrigerators may slightly Underground refrigeration plants have the following disadvan-
reduce the natural ventilating pressure. The main disadvantage of tages: (a) They have to use non-toxic refrigerants like Freon which
surface refrigerators is their low positional efficiency which is costs four times more than ammonia, commonly used in surface
defined as the ratio of the effective cooling units produced at the plants. Also, it is difficult to prevent the leakage of refrigerant and
working face, i.e. the difference in the heat content of the face air Freon, being odourless, is less likely to be detected if leaking in a large
before and after the installation of the refrigerator to trie total quantity. Moreover the non-toxic refrigerants are less commonly
cooling units produced by the refrigerator. Positional efficiency of available, (b) The problem of dissipating the heat extracted from
surface plants increases with time, since the rock through which the air is difficult and heavy pumping expenses might have to be
the cooled air is carried to the face gets progressively cooled. How- incurred. Sometimes if suitable underground positions for spray
ever, the rate of increase of positional efficiency decreases with time cooling of water are not available, the water may have to be pumped
so much so that after a certain time the increase in positional to the surface for cooling thus involving a high cost of pumping.
efficiency can be considered as negligible. The positional efficiency Besides, spray cooling of water in upcast shafts or airways increases
in surface plants usually varies from 35% upwards, a lower posi- the humidity of the upcast air which then becomes unsuitable for
tional efficiency being considered unsatisfactory. In very hot and ventilating upper levels. Also, the condenser water gets fouled by
deep mines, particularly where the working faces are far off from picking up dust from the air and may lead to the corrosion of pipes,
the shaft, cool air from the surface refrigeration plants picks up (c) In dry and dusty mines, dust deposits on the surface of the tubes
much heat before it reaches the working place. It may be noted here in the cooler thus reducing the efficiency of heat transfer and neces-
that in deep shafts auto-compression alone can use up a major part sitating frequent cleaning for ensuring good operation, (d) There
of the cooling produced by the surface cooling plant. The problem is difficulty in suitably locating an underground excavation and
will be more acute if the mine is wet. Under such conditions an such excavations are costly, (e) Supervision of plant is difficult.
underground plant will have a higher positional efficiency by being
nearer the face. (f) In mines susceptible to rock burst, the excavation housing the
refrigerator may be subjected to high stresses set up by the differen-
Besides, surface plants pose some difficulties in feeding the tial cooling of the surrounding rock thus resulting in rock bursts.
cooled air into the mine. The commonest way is to feed a quantity (g) Underground plants are usually of small capacity (up to 1.75
of cooled air, slightly less than the quantity circulating through the MW) and hence a single plant may not be able to serve the whole
mine into the downcast shaft at a depth of 30m or more from the mine, (h) In case of a breakdown of the refrigeration plant under-
shaft collar so that a small quantity of unconditioned surface air ground, the working condition soon becomes unbearable whereas
always enters the mine at the top of the intake shaft. Alternatively, with a surface plant the downcast shaft serves in extracting heat
the cooled air can be fed at the top of the downcast shaft from the intake air for a considerable period. The sides of the shaft
which should then be covered with a suitable leakproof air-lock. get substantially cooled by the cool air from the surface refrigera-
Whereas the former method needs a close control of the quantity tion plant over the years. The extent of cooling is the maximum near
of cooled air fed into the mine and incurs some loss of cooling by the top of the shaft and decreases as the depth increases. When the
dilution with unconditioned air, the latter needs an air-lock which plant stops, the sides of the shaft absorb heat from the air for a time
is very inconvenient in a hoisting shaft. Besides, it is difficult to which is usually sufficient for the plant to be put back in operation.
prevent leakage of cooled air through the air-lock. Divided Installation. Here the major part of the refrigeration
Unaerground refrigeration plants have high positional efficiency plant excepting the cooler unit is located at the surface so that the
if suitably sited. It has been found in deep mines that if a face is
 MINE C L I M A T E 243
242 MINE ENVIRONMENT A N D VENTILATION
metalliferous mines, as surface refrigeration plants have much lower
heat extracted from the air can be easily disposed of to the positional efficiency in coal mines. This is because of the following
atmosphere. But the cooler is located underground. The cooling reasons : (a) For the same depth, the heat produced in coal mines
medium (brine or water) from the evaporator is carried in insulated is more because of the higher strata temperature (geothermic
pipes to the cooler underground and returns through another range gradient in coal measure strata is usually steeper as is evident from
of pipes, thus forming a closed circuit. The pumping cost in this Table 3.1) and larger surface area of rock exposed even though the
case is low as the two columns of down-going and up-coming , thermal diffusivity and hence the rate of heat transfer i n coal
"measure strata is less, (b) Coal mines are usually more wet and
cooling medium almost balance each other and the power required
hence a large quantity of moisture is evaporated into the cooled
for pumping is for overcoming pipe friction only. A divided-instal-
air thus increasing its relative humidity, (c) A lot of heat is produced
lation plant has high positional efficiency, faces no difficulty in
in coal mines by the oxidization of coal. Because of these reasons
disposing of extracted heat and obviates the need of surface air-
it is better to have an underground cooling plant in a coal
locks, but its main disadvantage is the high cost of high-pressure
mine, preferably with the cooler unit (the heat exchanger
insulated pipelines required for conducting the coolant underground. between coolant or cooling medium and air) as near the face as
Besides it is difficult to adopt such a system for very deep mines possible.
owing to the very high pressures the ranges would be subjected to.
A typical example of divided installation is offerred at the Leslie- Spot Coolers. For ventilating hot faces, small-capacity spot
geois Colliery, Belgium, where the virgin-rock temperature at the coolers are becoming popular both in coal and metal mines. These
bottom horizon (at a depth of 1010m) is 318 K. A surface are semi-portable and have a cooling capacity generally varying
from 50-200 kW (15-55 Rt). There are two types of spot coolers :
ammonia plant of 2.42 MW capacity cools 200 m min- of water
3 1
•>(a) where the direct evaporation of the refrigerant cools the air
to 274.25 K. The chilled water is taken down the shaft through
' (generally confined to the smaller ones), and (b) where an interme-
insulated pipes. To avoid the passage of high-pressure chilled water
diate coolant such as water is used. The units usually consist of
through the heat exchangers underground the water is passed
reciprocating compressors driven by electric or compressed-air
through a Pelton turbine whereby its pressure is reduced. The
motors. Cooling of the compressed refrigerant is done in air-cooled
Pelton turbine drives a pump which pumps the warm water to ihe condensers. A typical direct-evaporation unit consisting of a V-8
surface. The pressure lost \r the turbine, pump and water pipes is compressor driven by a 25 kW motor along with a condenser and
made up by an electric motor of 180 kW. The chilled water from oil separator measures 1700mm in length, 750mm in width and
the turbine goes to a reservoir from where ii is distributed to coolers 1450mm in height. The cooled refrigerant passes through an evapo-
located near the face. rator fitted inside the ducting of a forcing fan supplying air to the
At Butte mine. Montana, U.S.A. the summer suiface tempera- face. The evaporator has a cooling surface of 40 m approximately
2

tures are 305.4 K s.b. and 28? 6 K w.b. with a dew point of 277.6 K which is capable of transferring 46 kJ m- h- K - to the air flowing
2 1 1

which means that the air is very dry. The cooling medium is water. at the rate of 2.67 m s- . The pressure required fcr the air-flow
3 1

It is cooled by spraying it in «s surface cooling to «er .hrough which > is 735 Pa. The spot coolers, though having the advantage of cooling
is circulated a current of air. The air is precoolec hy passing it over the face, leave the rest of the mine hot. However, a useful gain
the cooled water pipes. The cool water al . "' 4 K »: taken down the associated with spot coolers is that cool air helps in condensing
shaft which is 1220m deep, in insulated piy.es a.-r> is used to cool moisture on dust particles thus helping in dust supression at the
the air there. The cooling achieved undo-.'.' u» • < from 302.6 K face. Table 3.9 lists a few spot coolers.
w.b. to 294.3 K w.b. In winter the surface temperature is very low • Other methods of mine air-cooling include the use of devapo-
which makes cooling unnecessary, fiiis i> a typical example of rized compressed-air, ice or liquid air as well as regenerative
evaporative cooling of air which is sulfide: Hy -jry. cooling.
Air-conditioning in Deep Coal Mines. Air-conditioning in deep
and hot coal mines coses a slightly more difficult problem than in
244 MINE ENVIRONMENT AND VENTILATION MINE CLIMATE 245

Table 3.9 : Spot Coolers Compressed-air, when it expands by doing work, as for instance in
an air motor, cools down and any moisture present in it may freeze
Cooling to ice depending on the degree of expansion. This restricts the de-
Country Make capacity, Remarks sign of air motors to low expansion types where full work can r, t
kW be derived out of the compressed-air. Morever, aqueous vapou-
WK 1205 128 Compact, portable and in compressed-air carries the latent heat of evaporation into the
East Germany
mine. This heat is given up to the air when water-vapour condenses
(GDR) suitable for coal mines
West Germany KR 150 181 »!
'during the use of compressed-air for doing work and this neutra-
lizes to a large extent the expansive cooling produced by the
-do- KR 200 233 •1
49 compressed-air. It has been found that the temperature of expanded
USSR. WK 42 '1
exhaust air with saturated compressed-air is about 11.1 K higher
U.S.S.R. KP Sch.-l 73 .,
,,
than that with devaporized compressed-air. It is for these reasons
U.K. J. E. Hall 16
that devaporized compressed-air is far superior to ordinary com-
India Voltas 33 TR 115 Semi-portable, suitable
pressed-air in improving the cooling power of mine air.
0 for metal mines only.
Voltas 100 TR 350 Stationary, suitable Devaporization is done by overcompressing the air by about
-do-
for metal mines only. 50% over the normal working pressure of 500-650 kPa and then
passing it through a heat exchange system where the overcom-
pressed air is cooled by a current of cool devaporized compressed-
3.12.4 Regenerative Cooling air. The cooled overcompressed-air is now employed to run an air
This is only in the theoretical stage of development and has yet ^motor. In doing so it expands to the normal working pressure and
to be adopted in practice. If a certain gas of high density and low %- also cools to 273 K. At this temperature, all the moisture in the
specific heat such as carbon dioxide is circulated in a closed circuit compressed-air is liquified and removed from it. The dry and coo!
down the upcast shaft and up again through the downcast shaft, compressed-air is now circulated through the heat exchanger t<-
then the heat developed due to auto-compression of carbon dioxide cool the overcompressed-air.
will be dissipated into the upcast air while the cooling due to auto- The devaporized compressed-air is now sent down the mine
expansion will cool the downcast air. This not only produces cool- where it is used to run air motors, drills etc. at the face. The exhaust
ing of the downcast air but also increases the natural ventilation. air from these machines gets substantially cooled by expansion.
This, coupled with the dryness of the air helps in keeping down the
3.12.5 Devaporized Compressed-air temperature and humidity at the face.
Ordinarily, compressed-air when escaping from a pipe does This system, inspite of its limited capacity for cooling the mine
practically no work and hence does not produce any cooling. How- air as a whole, produces good cooling at the face where it is most
ever, compressed-air is saturated at its usual supply pressure of required. The extra power required in devaporizing the compressed-
500 kPa. Its degree of saturation is reduced to 20% on expansion ^ air is only 10% in case of reciprocating compressors and 12.5% in
to free air so that it reduces the overall relative humidity and the case of centrifugal compressors. However, the main disavantage of
wet-bulb temperature when mixed with the main air-current. A the devaporized compressed-air plant is its comparatively high
9% addition of compressed-air usually reduces the w.b. temperature cost and low efficiency of performance.
of the main air-stream by 1 K. This practice however is very
uneconomical. 3.12.6 Ice and Liquid Air
Wet compressed-air reduces the efficiency of drills etc. by Cooling of mine air at the face by the use of ice or liquid air
washing away the lubricant. It also causes rusting in the pipe ranges. becomes very costly.
246 MINE ENVIRONMENT AND VENTILATIONI
MINE CLIMATE 247
The comparative cost of cooling mine air by variour, methods
273.15+300.2 35 169
is given by Dobson as follows :4 8 = 1553.7+0.645
2 / ( 273.15+300.2)/2 1
( )
Table 3.10 : Comparative Cost of Various Methods of Cooling = 1861.3 J kg- K- . 1 1

{ )
/ (latent heat of vaporization) at 273.15 K=2.5004x 10 J kg- . 9 1
Method of cooling Cost in P MJ- 1
Therefore enthalpy of air at 300.2 K d.b. and 295.8 K w.b.
(
Additional ventilation* Hy=C (r -273.15)+0.001m C (r -273.15)+0.001/w /
l 1 1 l

(where feasible) 0.038-0.076 Pi a Pi v

Compressed-aii through nozzle 4.76 = 1.004 (300.2-273.15)+0.001 X 14.08 x 1.861 (300.2-273^5)

Cpmpressed-air doing work 1.12 +0.001 x 14.08 x 2500.4 = 63.07 kJ kg^ of dry air. 1

Cooling with chilled water +

At temperature 277.4 K saturated, vapour pressure e =0.837 kPa. t

(as at Butte—not universally feasible) 0.19

Liquid air 17.9-24.1 Mixing ratio m, = — - =4.74 g kg- of dry air.
5 1

Ice 0.79 B—e %

Dehumidified compressed-air + 0.38-0.76 Amount of liquified vapour m =m —m =9.34 g kg- of dry air.
s 1 2 1

Ammonia plant at K G . F * 0.26 C (specific heat of dry air) over the range 273.15 to 277.4 K
Carrene plant at Turf shaft* 0.36 POi
Underground or surface
- 995.68 + 0.029 ^ ( 2 7 3 - 1 5 + ™ > ^ =1003.7 J k g - K - .
2 1 1
refrigeration plant (average) + 0.57
+ Estimated by Peele ' C (specific heat of water-vapour) over the range 273.15 to 277.4 K
P*t
* Estimated by Mclntyre
35 169
Example 3.8 = 1553.7+0.645 (273.15+277.4)/2 + ( :

Calculate the capacity of an underground refrigeration plant = 1859 J kg- K - . 1 1

for a mine circulating 70 m s- of air measured in the downcast

3 1 ^ (specific heat of liquified water-vapour) over the range 273.15
shaft. The summer temperatures of the intake air are 300.2 K d.b.
and 295.8 K w.b. and the barometric pressure at the plant site is to 277.4 K
110.66 kPa. It is required to cool the air to 277.4 K saturated. = 4820.5-2.18 (273.15+277.4)/2=4220.4 J kg- K - . 1 1

At temperature 300.2 K d.b. and 295.8 K w.b. Entbjalpy at 277.4 K. saturated,

vapour pressure e <= 2.45 kPa.
x
H.=C (r -273.15)+0.001 m C
8 (T,-273.15)+0.001 m 1
s 2
pa t pv t

Mixing ratio m = x -— 1 = 14.08 g k g - of dry air.

1

C (specific heat ol dry air)for the temperature range 273.15 K

p.Q\
to 300.2 K
= 995.68-f0.029 ^73.15+300.2^

= 1004 J kg- K-" 1

;CpVx (specific heat of water-vapour; for the range 273.15 to 300.2 K

 248 749
MINE ENVIRONMENT AND VFNTILATION MINE CLIMATE

70 m of air will contain 70 1.26-88.2 kg of dry air.

3
Compressor capacity
Therefore the total heat to be extracted from the air I
. 0.055 x 101.54 = 0.046 m3 s_ 1 C

=46.75- 88.2
=4123.4 kJ s- — 4.12 MW 1 (1180 Rt). (see equation 3.103).
Enthalpy of refrigerant after compression (assumed isentropic)
Example 3.9 ^ H = 592.9 kJ kg- .
t 1

A longwall face circulating 20 m s- of air has 308/301.5 K d.b.,' 3 1

,', Compressor power
w.b. air temperatures at the return gate end. A spot cooler is to be (592.9-575.3) x 101.54
= 1201 ^ 14.87 kW
installed to cool the air supplied to the face so that the maximum
wet-bulb temperature at the face is 302.5 K. Find the cooling load. ' (see equation 3.104).
The evaporator temperature is to be 275 K and the condenser tem- Rate of condenser heat removal (from equation 3.106)
perature, 311 K. Calculate the amount of refrigerant required, (592 9-4551) x 101.54
capacity and power of compressor and the rate of heat removal in 120.2
the condenser with Freon 12 as the refrigerant. = 116.4 kJs-UkW).
Referring to psychrometric chart (Fig. 3.9) enthalpy at
308/303.5 K = 101.74 kJ kg- of dry air. 1 Example 3.10
When this air is cooled to 302.5 K wet-bulb, its dry-bulb The following measurements were made on an underground
temperature will be 303.5 K and enthalpy--97.l3 kJ kg of dry 1
-«£ir-cooling plant. Calculate the coefficient of performance of the
air. Specific volume of air at 308/303.5 K =-0.908 m kg- of dry a i r ^ - 3 1
plant. Also check if all the measurements are correct.
n .. . 20 (101.74-97.13) Evaporator water flow-rate-^ 28.5 kg s- . 1

• Cooling load - ^ Evaporator inlet water temperature = 297.3 K.

= 101.54 kW - 29 Rt. Evaporator delivery water temperature = 282.5 K.
Compressor motor output power = 524 kW.
Now referring to the Mollier diagram for Freon 12 (Fig. 3.20)
Condenser water flow-rate = 67.6 kg s- . 1
for a condenser temperature (saturation) of 311 K, the enthalpy
Condenser inlet water temperature = 311.9 K.
of the* refrigerant / / = 455.1 kJ kg- of refrigerant. On throttling
t 1
Condenser delivery water temperature — 319 K.
the refrigerant cools to 275 K without change of enthalpy. Evaporator rate of heat exchange- 28.5 x4.187 (297.3 282.5)
On evaporation (to saturation assumed, though in practice - !766 kW
evaporation may proceed a little beyond this state for drier opera- taking specific heat of water = 4.187 kJ kg- K- . 1 1

tion of the compressor) the enthalpy increases so that cooling at evaporator

H mm 575.3 kJ kg-'. s Coefficient of performance — .
From equation 3.102, mass of refrigerant required *^C. ^> input power to ornpressor
1 1 1766
// -H ~ 575.3-455.1
= a x = 524 " 3 3 7

taking input power of compressor = output power of compressor.

- pfj2 = 0 0 0 8 3 k 8 ~ P
s l er k W of cooling load Condenser heat exchange rate
- 67.6x4.187 (319 311.9) —2009.6 kW.
= 0.0083 x 101.54 = 0.843 kg s- for the plant. 1
Condenser heat removal = evaporator heat removal'compressor
Specific volume of refrigerant at entry to compressor F^G.055 m 3
heat = 1766+524 = 2290 kW.
kg- (from Mollier diagram).
1
Thus there is some measurement error somewhere.
 MINE CLIMATE
251
its wet-bulb temperature? What is the change in its density if the
EXERCISE 3 barometer reads 101.33 kPa?

3.1 The following are the readings of a barometer and thermo- 3.8 Using the psychrometric chart find the percentage of error
meter at the base camp and the face of a mine located on a hill-top. that may be introduced by'not taking into account the dry-bulb
Calculate the elevation of the mine face above the base camp. temperature in calculating the heat extraction capacity of a refri-
Neglect moisture content of air. geration plant for. cooling air from 291 K. w.b. to 277 K saturated.
Barometer reading, kPa Thermometer reading, K. The likely range of variation of the dry-bulb temperature is upto
Base camp 100.1 305 321 K.
Mine face 98.3 298
3.9 A hygrometer reads 303 K d.b./293 K w.b. Find the effective
3.2 How much heat is added to the mine air by (a) a 300 kW
temperature if the air velocity is 1 m s- . What air velocity would
1
underground pump pumping 6m of water per minute through a
3
ensure an effective temperature of 294 K. ?
height of 150m ; (b) a diesel truck running on level ground and
consuming 9.5 kg of fuel per hour on the average, the calorific value
of fuel being 42.6 MJ kg- ; (c) a 46 kW direct-driven surface for-
1
3.10 Calculate the enthalpy of air at 307 K d.b./302 K w.b. tem-
peratures at a barometric pressure of 101.33 kPa where the vapour
cing fan circulating 60 m s- of air through the mine at a static
3 1
pressure is 3.7 kPa. Assume specific heat of air = 1005 J kg- K - 1 J
pressure of 900 Pa. Assume 6m diameter shafts.
specific heat of water-vapour=I860 J kg- K - and latent heat of
1 1

vaporization of water=2.5x 10 J kg.-

8 1
3.3 Air at 305 K d.b./294 K w.b. enters a 610m deep shaft whicfcJ
is very wet so that it gets 95 % saturated with water-vapour at the
shaft-bottom. Calculate the dry-and wet-bulb temperatures of air 3.1! A pump chamber has 4 large pumps each of water power ==
' at the shaft-bottom, taking auto-compression to be the only source 940 kW and input power = 1010 kW. 18m s-l of air at 305.5 K
s

d.b./300.4 K w.b. enters the chamber to ventilate it. Calculate the

of sensible heat.
outlet temperatures of the air as well as the amount of cooling
3.4 Find the dry-and wet-bulb temperatures of the resulting air needed to restore the air temperature to the inlet conditions.
when 2 m of air at 297.5 K saturated mixes with 5 m of air at
3 3

308 K d.b./302 K w.b. temperatures every second. The barometer 3.12 The following measurements were made on a cooling plant.
reads 101.33 kPa. Calculate the duty of the cooling plant (evaporator heat exchange),
the condenser heat exchange and the compressor power input.
3.5 Find the mass of dry air in 5.1 m of moist air at 310 K d.b./
8
Evaporator water flow-rate = 28.7 kg s- 1

301 K w.b. temperatures. Evaporator water temperature

inlet = 295.9 K
3.6 What is the amount of heat extracted when 1 m of air at
3 delivery = 280.3 K
310 K d.b./301 K. w.b. is cooled to 305 K d.b.? What is the wet- Condenser water flow-rate = 107.1 kg s- 1

bulb temperature? What would be the amount of heat extracted Condenser water temperature
if the air were cooled further to 278 K saturated? What would inlet = 310.1 K.
be the mass of water-vapour condensed in the process? delivery = 315.3 K

3.7 Air at 309 K d.b./2^7JC w.b. is being cooled to a dry-bulb

temperature of 302 K by spraying water into i t What would be 17