Fire protection systems on conveyor transport in mines

A belt conveyor is a common means of ore and gangue haulage in underground mines. The present-day conveyor networks in mines may be several kilometers long. At the same time, a conveyor is a sophisticated engineering device. It requires permanent attendance, while improper maintenance may cause risk of fire. The fire detection and prevention activities use various systems of measuring and monitoring concentrations of combustible and toxic gases in mine air, temperature of mine air and of the belt conveyor components, as well as some other factors associated with the burning process. This study discusses the structure and purpose of the belt conveyor fire detection systems within the mine automation and dispatching control. Such systems include: automated gas control and conveyor control. The structure and purpose of the mine fire alarm system are discussed. The capabilities of fire protection systems to detect early signs of fire hazards in roadways equipped with belt conveyors are analyzed, and their advantages and disadvantages are listed.

Shaportov A. V. Fire protection systems on conveyor transport in mines. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2022;(7):68-78. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2022_7_0_68.

A.V. Shaportov, Graduate Student, e-mail: shaportov.andrei@yandex.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0001-6931-6140, National University of Science and Technology «MISiS», 119049, Moscow, Russia.

1. Novoselov S. V., Popov V. B., Golik A. S. Risk assessment of endogenous fires in coal mine. Ugol'. 2020, no. 5(1130), pp. 21—25. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.18796/0041-5790-2020-5-21-25.

2. Shaportov A. V. Analysis of industrial safety and causes of fires on conveyor belts in ore and coal mines. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2020, no. S1, pp. 57—65. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236-1493-2020-1-1-57-65.

3. Trufanova I. S., Serzhan S. L. Improving transportation efficiency belt conveyor with intermediate drive. Journal of Mining Institute. 2019, vol. 237, pp. 331—335. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.31897/PMI.2019.3.331.

4. Babenko A. G., Yutyaev E. P. Risk-oriented coal mine management with using multi-functional safety systems. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2019, no. S6, pp. 9—20. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236-1493-2019-4-6-9-20.

5. Azbel M. D. Razrabotka mnogofunktsional'noy avtomatizirovannoy sistemy aerogazovogo kontrolya v ugol'nykh shakhtakh [Development of a multifunctional automated system of aerogas control in coal mines], Doctor’s thesis, Kemerovo, 2002, 42 p.

6. Lisakov S., Sidorenko A., Sypin E. Research on adaptation of multi-criterial electro-optical system under object in the form of belt roadway of coal mine for fire control. XXII International Conference of Young Specialists on Micro/Nanotechnologies and Electron Devices. Aya, Altai Region, 2021, pp. 287—295. DOI: 10.1109/EDM52169.2021.9507631.

7. Furukawa O. Fire detection of belt conveyor using random forest. IEEJ Transactions on Fundamentals and Materials. 2021, vol. 141, no. 9, pp. 508—513. DOI: 10.1541/IEEJFMS.141.508.

8. Dmitrieva V. V., Avkhadiev I. F., Sizin P. E.Use of advance hardware/software in multiple conveyor system automation. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2021, no. 2, pp. 150—163. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236-1493-2021-2-0-150-163.

9. Dmitrieva V. V. Modern tasks of automation of the tape conveyor transport. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2013, no. S1, pp. 281—286. [In Russ].

10. Vyaltsev A. V., Frolov A. V. The probabalistic approach to developing the technique of fire occurrence risk estimation from friction at belt conveyor driving drum slippage. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2009, no. S12, pp. 125—128. [In Russ].

11. Malashkina V. A., Lobanov A. V. Automated fire control system in coal mines. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2008, no. S6, pp. 232—237. [In Russ].

12. Shaportov A. V. Basic ways of fire detection on belt conveyors at mining enterprises. Aktual'nye problemy nedropol'zovaniya: Tezisy dokladov XIX Vserossiyskoy konferentsiikonkursa studentov i aspirantov [Topical issues of rational use of natural resources. Abstracts of the XIX All-Russian conference-competition of students and postgraduates], Saint-Petersburg, 2021, pp. 81—85.

13. Yurchenko V. M. On the problem of fire safety belt conveyors. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2016, no. 2, pp. 134—144. [In Russ].

14. Xiao Y., Chen L., Zhang X., Ren S., Li D. Controlling fire of belt conveyor and ventilation network calculation in underground coal mines. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 2018, vol. 189, no. 4, article 042028. DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/189/4/042028.

15. Ray S. K., Khan A. M., Mohalik N. K., Mishra D., Varma N. K., Pandey J. K., Singh P. K. Methodology in early detection of conveyor belt fire in coal transportation. Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization and Environmental Effects. 2020. DOI: 10.1080/15567036.2020.1823527.

16. Li R., Yang X., Liu T., Zhang S., Wang J., Hou M., Grattan K. T. V., Sun T. Application of fiber optic sensors for vibration and ignition monitoring of a belt conveyor system. SPIE Proceedings, 2019, vol. 11340. AOPC 2019: Optical Fiber Sensors and Communication. DOI: 10.1117/12.2548165.

17. Saydulin E. G., Rukin M. V., Shelemba I. S., Vozhakov I. S., Cheverda V. V. Automatic detection of faulty conveyor belt rollers using torex fibre optic thermal sensor. Russian Mining Industry. 2020, no. 4, pp. 54—57. [In Russ].

18. Hoff H. Using distributed fibre optic sensors for detecting fires and hot rollers on conveyor belts. 2nd International Conference for Fibre-optic and Photonic Sensors for Industrial and Safety Applications (OFSIS). Australia, 2017, pp. 70—76. DOI: 10.1109/OFSIS.2017.9.

19. Litton C. D., Perera I. E. Evaluation of criteria for the detection of fires in underground conveyor belt haulageways. Fire Safety Journal. 2012, vol. 51, pp. 110—119. DOI: 10.1016/j. firesaf.2012.04.004.

20. Igishev V. G., Shlapakov P. A., Haimin S. A., Sin S. A. Fire indicator gases liberation at coal oxidation at the stage of self-heating and flameless combustion. Bulletin of Research Center for Safety in Coal Industry (Industial Safety). 2015, no. 4, pp. 55—59. [In Russ].

21. Barros-Daza M. J., Luxbacher K. D., Lattimer B. Y., & Hodges J. L. Mine conveyor belt fire classification. Journal of Fire Sciences. 2021, vol. 40, no. 1, pp. 44—69. DOI: 10.1177/07349041211056343