| This research concerns the development of two models--a mine and a haulage shaft for ventilation studies. The model mine for instructional study of pressures and quantities was designed and built of 12-inch diameter furnace duct. It consists of a north and south sections in the hallway ceiling space on the third floor of the W. C. Browning Building. A fan section, consisting of three fans in Room 314, is attached to it. Both fan and duct sections may be operated singly, in parallel, and in series with each other. A blowing or exhausting mode allows a total of thirty-two combinations.;The 120 foot model shaft is for the study of shock losses when two skips are moving in an airflow within its confines. Air is directed from a fan downward through the 10 inch diameter aluminum shaft installed inside the former rubbish chute of the Browning Building. The fan is located in a penthouse on the roof of the building. This rubbish chute extends from the penthouse to the building's basement and acts as a return airway for the closed ventilation system. A small friction hoist in the penthouse furnishes motive power to the skips.;For data collection from which shock losses may be determined, sixteen strategically located measuring stations connect to pressure transducers. Voltage outputs from the transducers are sampled and processed by the computer in Room 314. In addition to the pressure readings, the skip speed and the air temperature in the model are also recorded by the computer system for later use in data reduction.;Provisions are made for changing skip sizes and speeds as well as shaft wall roughness. With one skip size and speed and with smooth shaft walls, data was collected and processed to prove proper operation of the complete system.;Through a system of air flow measurement stations, solenoid valves, and relays, pressures and velocities may be determined with a micromanometer or a pressure transducer whose output is processed by a computer. A control panel, made up of switches, permits the selection of the various fan-duct combinations and measurements. |
