Mine Dewatering, Ventilation and Power

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2009:

144 hours (including non-contact time).

2 X 1 hour lectures weekly.
1 X 1 hour practical weekly.

The primary objectives of the subject are to familiarise students with the way in which mining environments are rendered safe and comfortable for people to work in, and for machinery to be powered

Major aspects include :
• Dewatering: Optimum pipe diameter of a pumping line, System curve of a pumping line, Pump selection in terms of the operating conditions of a pump, Design/plan a pumpstation (layout), Pipeline design (incorporating all the components) and water hammer analysis, Electrical design, instrumentation and control, Pump curves for parallel and series coupled pumps.

• Mine Power and Distribution: Mine power requirements and reticulation, Electrical power distribution in surface and underground operations, Mine cables and switch gear, Explosion-protected electrical devices, Fault protection and risk analysis, Design and operational characteristics of electric motors and drive systems, Speed and torque control, Signalling and communications, Types and designs of control systems.

• Ventilation Underground: Mine Ventilation principles and design issues, Hazards from gases, radiation and dusts, Mine Fires and other emergencies, Psychrometric processes, heat and climate, Thermodynamics, Pressure, resistance, flow and other properties related to fluid flow, Fan theory, Airway sizing based on practical and economic criteria., Primary Ventilation design, Auxiliary (secondary) ventilation design, Measurement and testing of air properties and quantities, Mine refrigeration, Physiological effects of climate extremes, Analysis of mine ventilation networks, Airflow requirements based on practical, legal and good practice , Noise exposure, Mine heating and cooling processes.

On completion of this subject, the students should have:

• developed the skills and knowledge to understand the theoretical fundamentals of fluid mechanics and to apply them to practical applications.
• An understanding of the design principles related to electrical power distribution systems used in and about mine sites.
• An understanding of the design principles related to ventilation systems used underground.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

On completion of this subject, the students should have developed:

• analytical, critical and creative thinking, with an aptitude for continued self-directed learning.
• sense of intellectual curiosity.
• ability to interpret data and research results.
• sense of intellectual integrity and ethics of scholarship.
• writing, problem-solving and communication skills.
• ability to learn in a range of ways, including through information and communication technologies.
• capacity to confront unfamiliar problems.
• ability to evaluate and synthesise the research and professional literature.
• ability to develop models of practical applications and evaluate their performance by rigorous analytical means and by programming computer simulations.
• capacity to manage competing demands on time, including self-directed project work.