The Sheltering Effect of A Cuddy During A Fire in an Underground Mine.

The most severe risk during a fire in an underground mine is the smoke spread, forcing the personnel to evacuate and take shelter. This study investigates the sheltering effect of a cuddy during a fire in an adjacent mine drift or a decline. The aim of the paper is to perform a parametric study on the sheltering effect, accounting for parameters such as the length of cuddy and ventilation velocity. Data from fire experiments in a model-scale mine drift and results from CFD simulations were used during the study. It was found that for a fire in an adjacent mine drift, extending the cuddy length resulted in the best conditions and increasing the heat release rate resulted in the worst conditions. An extended cuddy length will result in increased heat losses of the smoke layer. For a fire in an adjacent downslope decline, extending the cuddy length or increasing the ventilation velocity resulted in the best conditions. The increased ventilation velocity will cause an increased cooling of the smoke volumes entering the cuddy. An increased heat release rate resulted in the worst conditions. For the upslope decline case, extending the cuddy length resulted in the best conditions and increasing the heat release rate or increasing the ventilation velocity resulted in the worst conditions. An increased ventilation velocity in an upslope decline case will lead to larger portions of hot gases entering the cuddy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]