Application of ventilation management programs for improved mine safety

The purpose of ventilation management systems is to ensure the health and safety of underground workers by creating and incorporating structured plans, procedures and processes on the day-to-day operations of the mine ventilation system. The application of ventilation management programs consists of audit, verification, and corrective action procedures to:(1) ensure adherence to regulatory standards,or to(2) return to compliance and safety standards when an upset condition arises. This paper describes how a ventilation management program can be developed and implemented to ensure regulation compliance, to increase safety, to improve operational efficiency and to reduce the operating costs of an operating mine. Two case applications are presented in this paper. The first case is presented to demonstrate use of a ventilation management program in response to a site inspection and audit, with follow-up application of corrective actions. The second case application describes how air quality conditions has been substantially improved with the development and implementation of a ventilation management program for an operating underground hard rock mine.

Adaptive Wall-Based Attachment Ventilation:A Comparative Study on Its Effectiveness in Airborne Infection Isolation Rooms with Negative Pressure

The transmission of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)has presented challenges for the control of the indoor environment of isolation wards.Scientific air distribution design and operation management are crucial to ensure the environmental safety of medical staff.This paper proposes the application of adaptive wall-based attachment ventilation and evaluates this air supply mode based on contaminants dispersion,removal efficiency,thermal comfort,and operating expense.Adaptive wall-based attachment ventilation provides a direct supply of fresh air to the occupied zone.In comparison with a ceiling air supply or upper sidewall air supply,adaptive wall-based attachment ventilation results in a 15%–47%lower average concentration of contaminants,for a continual release of contaminants at the same air changes per hour(ACH;10 h^(-1)).The contaminant removal efficiency of complete mixing ventilation cannot exceed 1.For adaptive wall-based attachment ventilation,the contaminant removal efficiency is an exponential function of the ACH.Compared with the ceiling air supply mode or upper sidewall air supply mode,adaptive wall-based attachment ventilation achieves a similar thermal comfort level(predicted mean vote(PMV)of0.1–0.4;draught rate of 2.5%–6.7%)and a similar performance in removing contaminants,but has a lower ACH and uses less energy.

Effect of source location on particle dispersion in displacement ventilation rooms

A proposed computer model for predicting aerosol particle dispersion in indoor spaces was validated with experimental data found in the literature, and is then used to study the effect of the area and point source locations on particle dispersion in displacement ventilation （DV） rooms. The results show that aerosol source location has a strong impact on the spatial distribution and removal rate of indoor particles. Particle removal performance depends strongly on ventilation efficiency and particle deposition rate on indoor surfaces. Important consideration for both relative ventilation efficiency and deposition rate consists of the position of the aerosol source relative to the main airflow pattern and the occupied zone.

On the effects of urban-like intersections on ventilation and pollutant dispersion

Focusing on the effect of street morphology on the ventilation efficiency,this paper presents 3D computational fluid dynamics(CFD)simulations of airflow and pollutant dispersion within urban-like three-way intersections,four-way intersections and roundabouts.The steady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes(RANS)k-εturbulence model is adopted and eight directions of the approaching wind are considered.The ventilation efficiency is evaluated using the ventilation indices purging flow rate(PFR)and the net escape velocity(NEV).Results show the sensitivity of the ventilation efficiency to the type of intersection,to the wind direction and to the number of branches.Specifically,the ventilation efficiency of the investigated three-way intersections is found to be better than that of the other intersections,especially when the angle between the streets is large,while that of roundabouts is also considerable,even with a similar average wind velocity,among the cases evaluated in this paper.Further,the influence of the wind direction for the three-way and four-way intersections is greater than that on roundabouts.Studies on the ventilation efficiency at urban intersections are not common in the literature and this work may help urban planners to better design such hub nodes of urban traffic,where traffic-related pollutants are not easily dispersed,thus avoiding harm to the health of pedestrians and surrounding residents.

Efficacy of coupling heat recovery ventilation and fan coil systems in improving the indoor air quality and thermal comfort condition

Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery(MVHR)systems are gaining increasing interest in buildings with low energy demand,for improvement of the Indoor Air Quality(IAQ)and reduction of the ventilation energy loss.In retrofitted buildings,MVHRs are often integrated with an additional air heater to cover space heating demand.Hence,evaluation of the interactions between MVHR and heat emitter,and their effects on indoor airflow characteristics is of significant importance.The present study aims to investigate effects of a combined MVHR-fan-coil system in heating mode on IAQ and thermal comfort parameters inside a retrofitted room,by means of a computational fluid dynamic(CFD)code.The proposed CFD model is validated by comparing the numerical results with experimental data.The results yielded by numerical simulations allow evaluating the indoor environmental quality characteristics as well as addressing the MVHR and fan coil interactions.The results indicate that the airflow discharged from the fan coil could have a significant impact on the age of the air;while it provides a desirable thermal comfort condition within the room,it may hinder to some extent delivery of the fresh air to the occupied zone due to creation of counterflow fields.Furthermore,it is shown that although increasing the fan speed(ON mode)would slightly enhance the air change efficiency,the OFF mode yields not only a better distribution of the fresh air but also a higher ventilation efficiency than when fan coil operates.