Author:
Name & Surname: Balovtsev S. V.
Company: National University of Science and Technology – MISiS (Moscow, Russia)
Work Position: Assistant Professor, Aerology, Occupational Safety and Environmental Protection Department
Scientific Degree: Candidate of Engineering Sciences
Contacts: е-mail: Balovcev@yandex.ru

In view of increasingly complicating ground conditions in coal mines and concurrent gain in productivity of breakage headings, it is required to improve methods and systems of mine methane safety. Mostly, methane explosions are connected with poor ventilation, which is as a rule conditioned by application of hazardous ventilation diagrams in working areas. Aerological risk is understood as a probabilistic hazard criterion that is set for a ventilation diagram of a working area of certain sensitivity and characterizes potential of accidents caused by deviation of mine air parameters from the standard. The aerological risk assessment is based on data on ventilation diagrams of working areas in coal mines, as well as on ground conditions and technical conditions of coal mining. The research findings offer the quantitative relations between the aerological risk, methane content of working area and dust production capacity of coal bed, based on expert estimates of hazard level of geological and mine-technical factors. Indications of sensitivity of working area ventilation diagrams are determined for modes of routine performance and emergency; the indications show distribution of toxic matters per sources, directions of fresh and return air flows and air flow sustainability. The derived relations have made it possible to develop and introduce a procedure for aerological risk assessment and control in working areas in coal mines, as well as enabled classification of ventilation diagrams of working areas based on the aerological risk level. The classification allows defining application ranges for the existing and new ventilation diagrams of coal mine working areas.

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