Mining Institute, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Perm, Russia:

B. P. Kazakov, Chief Researcher, Professor, Doctor of Engineering Sciences, aero_kaz@mail.ru
A. V. Shalimov, Leading Researcher, Doctor of Engineering Sciences
M. A. Semin, Researcher, Candidate of Engineering Sciences
Yu. A. Klyukin, Leading Researcher

The intake air heaters at potash mines allow creating and maintaining microclimatic conditions, which are necessary for the safe operation of the shaft lining. In the CIS, the most widely used intake air heaters warm up cold atmosphere air to the required temperatures before it is supplied to the mine. In the Republic of Belarus, according to the Safety Regulations the temperature of the air in the intake shafts 5 m below the surface should be equal or more than +2 ° C. The mines of the Starobinsky potash deposit use exhaust system of ventilation with U-tube layout. In mines with the exhaust system of ventilation, one of the most difficult problems is ensuring uniform temperatures of the shaft lining. To solve this problem, a series of numerical experiments are performed to determine efficient geometry parameters with the fastest air streams mixing, compare different layouts of air heaters, and to assess shock losses at the junction of cold and heated air streams. The results of the research were used to formulate recommendations for sealing the intake shaft house in order to ensure effective heating of the lining in compliance with the requirement of paragraph 170 of the Safety Regulations. The effectiveness of intake shaft lining heating with exhaust system of ventilation and air heaters without any auxiliary fans depends on the quantitative ratio between cold and heated air, as well as on stream mixing in the junction. The presented research shows that with quantitatively equal air leakages through intake shaft house, two ventilation drifts, used for supplying the heated air in the shaft, are more effective than one ventilation drift.

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