Identifying sources of coal spontaneous heating in mine workings using aerogas control automatic systems

Abstract

Purpose. Substantiation of the possibility for expanding the modern Aerogas Control (AGC) systems functions when using them to identify the processes of spontaneous heating, spontaneous ignition of coal and gas contamination at the mining site of the coal mine. Methods. This paper presents the dynamics study of selecting 15 air distribution gas samples from the specified places, using the MATLAB system and Simulink extension packages. Gas samples have been selected in the 14th southern longwall face of block No.10 at Mining Administration “Pokrovske” during March 23-27, 2019, where an emergency situation related to gas contamination occurred on March 15, 2019. Findings. The experimental data has been processed on the carbon monoxide emission in mine workings of the extraction area, longwall face, technological pipelines, and on air distribution. A carbon monoxide increase in mine workings has been determined from 0.0000-0.0002% in the air jet, incoming the site, to 0.0001-0.0003% in the jet, outcoming from the site. Moreover, maximal invasion of carbon monoxide to the stope mine working occurred during operations of breaking and transporting coal within the extraction area, and when these activities were stopped and there was no fresh beaten material, the invasion of carbon monoxide was reduced to the background content level. It has been proved that improvement of the existing AGC systems by adding the sensors for measuring tracer gases and airflow rate, as well as the “artificial intelligence” to information processing units, will make possible to determine absolute and relative readings for sources identification of spontaneous coal heating at early stages. Originality.For the seam d4 conditions, the nature and peculiarities have been revealed of the carbon monoxide emission and the effects of ventilation during extraction operations at the mining site, while previous known studies were devoted to the carbon monoxide emission from the seams k5, l1, m42 with a change in the granulometric composition. Practical implications. Constant monitoring of aerological threats will make it possible to take appropriate measures for limiting the ventilation and gas hazards effects, the danger of endogenous fires.