An integrated approach to dust control in coal mining face areas of a continuous miner and its computational fluid dynamics modeling

Increased production in underground coal mines in the USA has increased dust generation in face areas. Over the last five years, considerable research has been done on respirable coal dust control. Some of the results of these studies have been implemented in a non-integrated fashion leading to limited improvement in the overall dust control in the face area.; In this research an integrated approach for controlling dust near the face area is evaluated. This includes implementation of a two-filter-two-spray system, changing the location of suction inlets on the wet-scrubber, and modifying the sprays on the loading pan of the miner. Field testing of a modified continuous miner was performed to asses the overall effectiveness of the modifications. CFD modeling of airflow in the face areas was also done for gaining insight into effective dust control measures. The results show considerable improvement is possible using the hypothesized approach.