Analysis of fire initiation on belt conveyor in coal mine

Wide application of belt conveyors in mines is governed by their high carrying capacity and relatively simple operation. On the other hand, underground excavations equipped with the belt conveyors are the most fire-hazardous areas in mines. On the evidence of statistics, the power-drive station and the flight of a belt conveyor are the points of the most frequent events of fire. The major hazard of fire on long belts originates at seizure of support rollers with subsequent friction of belt and inception of increased temperature sites. In this case, fire development can be described using the laws of heat transfer but the related research has never addressed the influence of coal dust at early stages of fire. Coal dust particles accumulate in rough edges of the unload side of the belt and generate a coal dust layer which gets heated due to friction between the belt and the disabled roller. This article analyzes the process of heating as a result of friction interaction between the conveyor belt and a roller with regard to a coal dust layer, constructs the heat balance equation and describes the interchange of heat between the heated roller surface and the ambient environment.

Malashkina V. A., Shaportov A. V. Analysis of fire initiation on belt conveyor in coal mine. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2022;(12):166-174. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/ 0236_1493_2022_12_0_166.

V.A. Malashkina¹, Dr. Sci. (Eng.), Professor, e-mail: promecolodgy@mail.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0001-9270-4790,
A.V. Shaportov¹, Graduate Student, e-mail: shaportov.andrei@yandex.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0001-6931-6140,
¹ National University of Science and Technology «MISiS», 119049, Moscow, Russia.

A.V. Shaportov, e-mail: shaportov.andrei@yandex.ru.

1. Shaportov A. V. Analysis of industrial safety and causes of fires on conveyor belts in ore and coal mines. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2020, no. S1, pp. 57—65. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236-1493-2020-1-1-57-65.

2. Yurchenko V. M. On the problem of fire safety belt conveyors. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2016, no. 2, pp. 134—144.

3. Barros-Daza M. J., Luxbacher K. D., Lattimer B. Y., Hodges J. L. Mine conveyor belt fire classification. Journal of Fire Sciences. 2021, vol. 40, no. 1, pp. 44—69. DOI: 10.1177/ 07349041211056343.

4. Furukawa O. Fire detection of belt conveyor using random forest. IEEJ Transactions on Fundamentals and Materials. 2021, vol. 141, no. 9, pp. 508—513. DOI: 10.1541/IEEJFMS.141.508.

5. Azbel' M. D. Razrabotka mnogofunktsional'noy avtomatizirovannoy sistemy aerogazovogo kontrolya v ugol'nykh shakhtakh [Development of a multifunctional automated system of aerogas control in coal mines], Doctor’s thesis, Kemerovo, 2002, 42 p.

6. Ray S. K., Khan A. M., Mohalik N. K., Mishra D., Varma N. K., Pandey J. K., Singh P. K. Methodology in early detection of conveyor belt fire in coal transportation. Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization and Environmental Effects. 2020. pp. 1—19 DOI: 10.1080/ 15567036.2020.1823527.

7. Grudachev A.Ya., Mishchenko T. P. Study of the support roller heating process in an emergency mode of belt conveyor operation. Vestnik Donetskogo natsional'nogo tekhnicheskogo universiteta. 2019, no. 1(15), pp. 26—31. [In Russ].

8. Dmitrieva V. V., Sizin P. E. Reliability evaluation of belt conveyor line at different redundancies of carrying rollers. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2021, no. 7, pp. 85—95. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2021_7_0_85.

9. Mikhailenko S. A., Sheremet M. A. Convection in a differentially heated cubic cavity rolling about horizontal axis. International Journal of Thermal Sciences. 2022, vol. 179, pp. 3—15. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2022.107639.

10. Ushanova S. E., Ziborova E. Yu. Increasing the durability of friction unitsfor mining equipment and conveyor transport. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2020, special edition 15, pp. 3—8. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236-1493-2020-5-15-3-8.

11. Trufanova I. S., Serzhan S. L. Improving transportation efficiency belt conveyor with intermediate drive. Journal of Mining Institute. 2019, vol. 237, pp. 331—335. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.31897/PMI.2019.3.331.

12. Amosov A. P. Elemental thermal models of friction. Izvestiya Samarskogo nauchnogo tsentra Rossiyskoy akademii nauk. 2011, no. 4-3 (13), pp. 656—662. [In Russ].

13. Tolkachev O. E., Klychkov A. A., Dikenshtejn I. F. The heat exchange of the drive drum and full slipped conveyor belt. Vestnik Instituta grazhdanskoy zashchity Donbassa. 2015, no. 1, pp. 62—66. [In Russ].

14. Xiao Y., Chen L., Zhang X., Ren S., Li D. Controlling fire of belt conveyor and ventilation network calculation in underground coal mines. Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 2018, vol. 189, no. 4, article 042028. DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/189/4/042028.

15. Lisakov S., Sidorenko A., Sypin E. Research on adaptation of multi-criterial electrooptical system under object in the form of belt roadway of coal mine for fire control. XXII International conference of young specialists on micro/Nanotechnologies and electron devices. Aya, Altai Region, 2021, pp. 287—295. DOI: 10.1109/EDM52169.2021.9507631.

16. Novoselov S. V., Popov V. B., Golik A. S. Assessment of the risk of endogenous fires in coal mines. Ugol'. 2020, no. 5(1130), pp. 21—25. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.18796/0041-5790-2020-5-21-25.

17. Shaportov A. V. Fire protection systems on conveyor transport in mines. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2022, no. 7, pp. 68—78. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2022_7_0_68.

18. Igishev V. G., Shlapakov P. A., Haimin S. A., Sin S. A. Fire indicator gases liberation at coal oxidation at the stage of self-heating and flameless combustion. Bulletin of Research Center for Safety in Coal Industry (Industial Safety). 2015, no. 4, pp. 55—59. [In Russ].

19. Zhiharev S. YA., Pihkonen L. V., Rodionov V. A. Research of fire and explosion hazardous properties for hard coal at the prokopyevsk coal field of the kuznetsk coal basin. News of the Tula state university. Sciences of Earth. 2017, no. 3, pp. 65—74. [In Russ].

20. Artamonov V. S., Polyakov A. S., Ivanov A. N. Ultraearly and early fire detection: terms, limits of use and unity. Fire and Explosion Safety. 2016, vol. 25, no. 9, pp. 78—83. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.18322/PVB.2016.25.09.78-83.