Possibilities of 3D laser scanning data utilization for numerical analysis of airflow in mining excavations

Abstract

Abstract Underground mining of deposits is strongly dependent on several key processes enabling its safe operation. One of these processes is mine ventilation aimed at supplying an appropriate amount of air with a specific chemical composition, diluting harmful gases generated in technological processes and emitted from the rock mass, and ensuring appropriate climatic conditions at workplaces. For all that mine ventilation has strategic importance and is responsible for 30-40 % of overall mine operation costs. A very important task is to conduct calculations and simulations to determine the airflow in ventilation networks, both existing and planned in the future, along with the progress of the mine operation. In the era of the development of modern technologies, new perspectives for changing the current approach to the design and optimization of ventilation networks are available. Their utilization may contribute to accuracy improvement, which can drive safety increases and process optimization. In this article, the authors evaluate the possibilities of using laser scanning data, collected with LiDAR / Terrestrial Laser Scanner, to generate 3D models of underground structures geometry, and its further utilization to conduct numerical simulations of airflow in mining excavations with Computational Fluid Dynamics. The performed analysis shows that the proposed approach may be a useful instrument for analyzing local airflow phenomena, particularly in complex ventilation networks, where disturbances in air velocity vectors are caused by sudden changes in geometry.