Dust Monitoring and CFD Modelling for Dust Control in Development Gateroad Panels.

Exposure to respirable coal dust and respirable crystalline silica dust in underground coal mines is increasingly becoming a concern as a result of the re-emergence of coal mine dust lung disease in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland (QLD). Addressing this issue necessitates a deeper comprehension of ventilation and dust behaviour within the gateroad development, which can be achieved through a combination of onsite dust monitoring and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling. In light of the specific conditions of an underground development panel mined using a single-pass 12CM30 continuous miner (CM), several threedimensional computational models were constructed and validated against on-site dust monitoring data obtained using real-time dust monitors to allow a greater understanding of dust movement. Subsequently, various development operations and cutting scenarios were simulated using CFD modelling. The simulation results revealed that areas of high-concentration dust are predominantly found on the left side of the CM, particularly within 3 m from the heading face. The obtained airflow and dust migration data from the models could be further processed to develop an immersive virtual reality (VR) training tool, enabling the visualization of ventilation and dust data and facilitating effective communication of Work Health and Safety (WH&S) dust control measures to CM operators. This VR-CFD system not only offers new insights into ventilation and dust migration characteristics around the CM, but also serves as a powerful tool for understanding and promoting best practices for dust controls within development panels, thus improving health and safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]