Lluis Sanmiquel | Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (original) (raw)
Papers by Lluis Sanmiquel
DYNA, 2014
This paper compares the incidence of fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries of workers in the ... more This paper compares the incidence of fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries of workers in the mining and construction sectors in Spain between 2000 and 2010. Data on work injuries were obtained from the Spanish Ministry of Labour and Immigration and the denominators were obtained from the available statistics on Social Security registration. We calculated the incidence of fatal and nonfatal occupational injuries, the relative risk (RR) and odds ratio (OR) for a 95% of confidence interval (CI) for the mining workers compared to the construction workers. The obtained results indicate that mining workers have a higher risk of occupational injuries and lost more working days than the construction workers.
A proper transmission of the orientation between surface and underground workings, by means of ve... more A proper transmission of the orientation between surface and underground workings, by means of vertical shafts, is an important challenge in the mining industry, especially when the mine exceeds 200 meters deep. In fact, this study is developed in a mine located to 700 meters deep. Likewise, this paper assesses the accuracy of this operation, in a case study, using the two shafts plumbing and gyroscope methods in order to compare and analyse the planimetric displacement of the base line due to different source of errors in each one. Upsides and downsides of both methods are analysed in the paper. Some disadvantages in each method have been reduced thanks to the technological progress, especially in the two shaft plumbing method. The different sources of error that affect the measures are thoroughly analysed in the study with the aim to compensate them and achieve the required precision for an underground infrastructure. Mine ventilation has been found as one of the most important so...
Friction factor is a crucial parameter for assessing and modelling the ventilation system in unde... more Friction factor is a crucial parameter for assessing and modelling the ventilation system in underground mining, becoming essential as we deepen the mining activity. This parameter is related to the loss of energy due to air friction inside the mine and consequently to the energy consumption in the fans. So, it must properly calculate in order to reduce operating costs and thus improve mineral prices. This paper presents the calculation of the friction factor through a CFD model of a potash mine case study for different mean roughness and typical velocities. Results are compared with friction factors calculated through traditional empirical relationships. The comparison of both data has given some differences, especially for relative high Reynolds numbers, for low Reynolds numbers it is verified that there is also a dependence with himself. Thus, it is proposed a correction for calculate friction factor with Colebrook-White and Von Karman expressions for the particular case of potas...
Canteras Y Explotaciones, 2006
Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 2019
Friction factor is a crucial parameter in assessing and modelling ventilation systems in undergro... more Friction factor is a crucial parameter in assessing and modelling ventilation systems in underground mining. However, the development of a mine along its life-cycle can complicate the airflow supply required at the working faces, creating setbacks in terms of productivity and production. Hence, it is very important to determine all the ventilation parameters, including roughness and the friction factor. In this paper we examine the data from several surveys that were carried out in two potash mines (both using the room-and-pillar method) with the aim of determining the friction factors through the Von Kármán equation, which connects the Atkinson friction factor with airway roughness. Comparison of the two mines provided consistent results, despite some differences in the mining methods, and we were able to establish standard values for this type of mining. Furthermore, a roughness variation over a year in this type of evaporitic mining has been determined, indicating that the specific climate characteristics of the zone affect the walls and roofs of the tunnels and therefore their roughness. Friction factor values have also been validated by means of several ventilation simulations and contrasted with values in the literature.
Work, 2018
Background and objective: Health and safety is a crucial issue in the mining industry due to the ... more Background and objective: Health and safety is a crucial issue in the mining industry due to the implication of accidents in the sector. This study determines the safety culture characteristics in several mining activities from South America. Methods: A survey of the safety culture maturity has been done by means of 24 questions regarding the type of activity, number of employees and safety culture characteristics of the activity: information of accidents and incidents, organizational structure to deal with information, involvement of the company in health and safety issues, the way it communicates accidents and incidents and commitment of the company towards health and safety. Results: The questionnaire was completed by 62 managers from Bolivia, Peru and Colombia. Results show different behaviours depending on the type of company, Artisanal or Large Scale Mines-ASM and LSM respectively-. LSM show a level of maturity according to the size of the company, whereas ASM does not have a clear trend in terms of size even though a relationship between employees and safety culture maturity. In addition, there is a remarkable difference between activities with and without continuous improvement systems implemented as well. Conclusions: Large scale mining improves their level of safety culture as the size of the company increases, because procedures and control systems are implemented. Cooperatives or small companies also achieve substantial gains when they introduce similar systems.
Minerals, 2018
An improved approach is presented to model the product particle size distribution resulting from ... more An improved approach is presented to model the product particle size distribution resulting from grinding in high-pressure roll crusher with the aim to be used in standard high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGR). This approach uses different breakage distribution function parameter values for a single particle compression condition and a bed compression condition. Two materials were used for the experiments; altered Ta-bearing granite and a calc-silicate tungsten ore. A set of experiments was performed with constant operative conditions, while varying a selected condition to study the influence of the equipment set-up on the model. The material was comminuted using a previously determined specific pressing force, varying the feed particle size, roll speed and the static gap. A fourth group of experiments were performed varying the specific pressing force. Experimental results show the high performance of the comminution in a high-pressure environment. The static gap was the key in order...
Journal of Materials Research and Technology, 2019
A model for High Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGR) was developed in this work based on the widely us... more A model for High Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGR) was developed in this work based on the widely used Population Balance Model (PBM). This approach uses a variety of different functions one of which is the breakage distribution function. The methodology to determine the function parameters is presented and using these values, the model was compared with real processed materials from an HPGR pilot plant, with tungsten ore as the test material. The results of the model parameter determination, and the product of the comminution in the HPGR, showed the dependency of material breakage on the material characteristics, and on the operative and process conditions. The model presented is reasonably robust, showing less error than the 3.0 Root Mean Square Error when compared with a heterogeneous feed particle size distribution material. The operational gap was also studied, and its dependency on the feed particle size, porosity, moisture, and specific pressing force was proven.
Minerals, 2018
The modelling of high pressure grinding rolls is described by the population balance model, a mas... more The modelling of high pressure grinding rolls is described by the population balance model, a mass balance which includes several functions that are related to the mineral characteristics, material kinetics and operative conditions of the device. The breakage distribution function is one of these functions and refers to the way in which the daughter particles are generated by the process of comminution. The piston-die press is presented as a methodology to determine the breakage distribution function of two different materials, from the mechanical response point of view: altered granite and a cal-silicate material. The aim is to determine the relation between the operative conditions and the mineral characteristics in order to explain and predict the breakage function parameters. The materials were characterised using XRD and single compression strength tests. The altered granite is a brittle material, which generates more fines under single compression conditions compared to bed compression conditions, mainly due to the mineral composition and the response of the material to the breakage action. The cal-silicate material shows a normal trend in its breakage behaviour. As is expected, the mineralogical characterisation is a useful tool to predict the values of the parameters of the breakage distribution function.
Journal of Environmental Management, 2016
Gases such as CO, CO 2 or NO x are constantly generated by the equipment in any underground mine ... more Gases such as CO, CO 2 or NO x are constantly generated by the equipment in any underground mine and the ventilation layout can play an important role in keeping low concentrations in the working faces. Hence, a method able to control the workplace environment is crucial. This paper proposes a geographical information system (GIS) for such goal. The system created provides the necessary tools to manage and analyse an underground environment, connecting pollutants and temperatures with the ventilation characteristics over time. Data concerning the ventilation system, in a case study, has been taken every month since 2009 and integrated into the management system, which has quantified the gasses concentration throughout the mine due to the characteristics and evolution of the ventilation layout. Three different zones concerning CO, CO 2 , NO x and effective temperature have been found as well as some variations among workplaces within the same zone that suggest local airflow recirculations. The system proposed could be a useful tool to improve the workplace conditions and efficiency levels.
DYNA, 2016
La actividad minera en espacios subterráneos genera un aporte de calor al sistema de ventilación ... more La actividad minera en espacios subterráneos genera un aporte de calor al sistema de ventilación que tiene influencia en los niveles de producción y productividad. Este artículo analiza y cuantifica las fuentes de calor en una mina subterránea y propone una alternativa de mejora de las condiciones ambientales mediante un cambio de los equipos diésel por maquinaria eléctrica. Este análisis se apoya en varias expresiones teóricas y programas para modelizar la ventilación. Los resultados muestran una reducción del calor efectivo y aparente del 50% y 84%, respectivamente, una vez aplicados los cambios de equipos en el caso estudiado. La reducción del calor en el sistema de ventilación permitiría una mejora de las condiciones en el lugar de trabajo debido a una menor temperatura efectiva y del nivel de contaminantes, incrementado el nivel de eficiencia de los trabajadores y mejorando el nivel de seguridad.
Journal of Mining Science, 2014
The friction factor is an essential parameter to take into account for modelling the ventilation ... more The friction factor is an essential parameter to take into account for modelling the ventilation system. One of the principal features that define the friction factor is the roughness, which not only does it have influence on the airway resistance, but it has also a direct bearing on the rate of heat transfer between the rock and the airstream. In this paper, the characteristic friction factors of a potash mine exploited using a room and pillar method has been determined by means of the Chezy-Darcy and Atkinson equations. The results give an impulse to achieve standardized friction factor values in potash mines very useful for future mining ventilation surveys.
Central European Journal of Operations Research, 2014
A new way to compare the relevance of the different factors intervening in the occurrences of an ... more A new way to compare the relevance of the different factors intervening in the occurrences of an event is presented and developed in this paper. The idea behind the method comes from cooperative game theory but the focus is slightly different because factors are not necessarily rational decision-makers and because the only data available are obtained by repetition of the event. The concept of relevance measure for a factor in a set of data is introduced, some significant examples are given and the main properties of relevance measures are defined and studied. One of these measures, the fair measure, is proved to have interesting properties which characterize it. Two real world situations, one about traffic accidents and the other one about mining accidents, both of them with real data, are used to show the use of relevance measures to compare factors in each one of these events.
Resources Policy, 2012
This paper examines the role and diffusion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) management, e... more This paper examines the role and diffusion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) management, especially in relation with the adoption of other management systems, in small and medium sized companies in the surface mining industry in Catalonia (Spain). Specifically, it identifies the most salient CSR practices, procedures and metrics and the profiles of companies more prone to adopt them. To fulfill this aim, a survey has been conducted. Results show that mining companies are familiar with CSR practices, but there is not much formalization of procedures and measurement systems of CSR yet. Results show that the majority of socially responsible practices are related to environmental issues and therefore there is a relation between CSR and the application of environmental management systems. The analysis reveals that the management of CSR activities improves with the diffusion of knowledge on CSR practices. A second survey collected the opinion of professional associations in the sector. Respondents indicate that an improvement in CSR management will lead to a better global competitive position.
International journal of occupational safety and ergonomics : JOSE, 2012
Using data on work accidents and annual mining statistics, the paper studies work-related acciden... more Using data on work accidents and annual mining statistics, the paper studies work-related accidents in the Spanish energetic mining sector in 1999-2008. The following 3 parameters are considered: age, experience and size of the mine (in number of workers) where the accident took place. The main objective of this paper is to show the relationship between different accident indicators: risk index (as an expression of the incidence), average duration index for the age and size of the mine variables (as a measure of the seriousness of an accident), and the gravity index for the various sizes of mines (which measures the seriousness of an accident, too). The conclusions of this study could be useful to develop suitable prevention policies that would contribute towards a decrease in work-related accidents in the Spanish energetic mining industry.
The generation of heat in underground spaces due to working activities is a factor that influence... more The generation of heat in underground spaces due to working activities is a factor that influences production and productivity rates. This paper analyses the heat generation in an underground mine and provides a number of approaches to enhance the ventilation conditions using electrical, instead of diesel machines. This assessment has been carried out using theoretical equations and modelling software. Investigations prove that sensible and latent heat would be reduced by around 50% and 84% respectively if the change were applied in the case study. This reduction on heat input to the ventilation system would improve the workplace environment because of lower effective temperatures and gas concentrations, which would result in better safety conditions and higher employee efficiency. Evaluación de los flujos de calor en una mina subterránea y enfoque para mejorar sus condiciones ambientales Resumen La actividad minera en espacios subterráneos genera un aporte de calor al sistema de ve...
Synopsis Friction factor is a crucial parameter in assessing and modelling ventilation systems in... more Synopsis Friction factor is a crucial parameter in assessing and modelling ventilation systems in underground mining. However, the development of a mine along its life-cycle can complicate the airflow supply required at the working faces, creating setbacks in terms of productivity and production. Hence, it is very important to determine all the ventilation parameters, including roughness and the friction factor. In this paper we examine the data from several surveys that were carried out in two potash mines (both using the room-and-pillar method) with the aim of determining the friction factors through the Von Kármán equation, which connects the Atkinson friction factor with airway roughness. Comparison of the two mines provided consistent results, despite some differences in the mining methods, and we were able to establish standard values for this type of mining. Furthermore, a roughness variation over a year in this type of evaporitic mining has been determined, indicating that t...
… de Sostenibilitat i …, 2010
Altres identificadors i accés: Vintró, C.[et al.]. RSC: el quart vèrtex en la integració de siste... more Altres identificadors i accés: Vintró, C.[et al.]. RSC: el quart vèrtex en la integració de sistemes de gestió. Anàlisi de la mineria catalana. A: Jornada de Sostenibilitat i Compromís Social." Jornada de Sostenibilitat i Compromís Social". Manresa: Escola Politècnica ...
DYNA, 2014
This paper compares the incidence of fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries of workers in the ... more This paper compares the incidence of fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries of workers in the mining and construction sectors in Spain between 2000 and 2010. Data on work injuries were obtained from the Spanish Ministry of Labour and Immigration and the denominators were obtained from the available statistics on Social Security registration. We calculated the incidence of fatal and nonfatal occupational injuries, the relative risk (RR) and odds ratio (OR) for a 95% of confidence interval (CI) for the mining workers compared to the construction workers. The obtained results indicate that mining workers have a higher risk of occupational injuries and lost more working days than the construction workers.
A proper transmission of the orientation between surface and underground workings, by means of ve... more A proper transmission of the orientation between surface and underground workings, by means of vertical shafts, is an important challenge in the mining industry, especially when the mine exceeds 200 meters deep. In fact, this study is developed in a mine located to 700 meters deep. Likewise, this paper assesses the accuracy of this operation, in a case study, using the two shafts plumbing and gyroscope methods in order to compare and analyse the planimetric displacement of the base line due to different source of errors in each one. Upsides and downsides of both methods are analysed in the paper. Some disadvantages in each method have been reduced thanks to the technological progress, especially in the two shaft plumbing method. The different sources of error that affect the measures are thoroughly analysed in the study with the aim to compensate them and achieve the required precision for an underground infrastructure. Mine ventilation has been found as one of the most important so...
Friction factor is a crucial parameter for assessing and modelling the ventilation system in unde... more Friction factor is a crucial parameter for assessing and modelling the ventilation system in underground mining, becoming essential as we deepen the mining activity. This parameter is related to the loss of energy due to air friction inside the mine and consequently to the energy consumption in the fans. So, it must properly calculate in order to reduce operating costs and thus improve mineral prices. This paper presents the calculation of the friction factor through a CFD model of a potash mine case study for different mean roughness and typical velocities. Results are compared with friction factors calculated through traditional empirical relationships. The comparison of both data has given some differences, especially for relative high Reynolds numbers, for low Reynolds numbers it is verified that there is also a dependence with himself. Thus, it is proposed a correction for calculate friction factor with Colebrook-White and Von Karman expressions for the particular case of potas...
Canteras Y Explotaciones, 2006
Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 2019
Friction factor is a crucial parameter in assessing and modelling ventilation systems in undergro... more Friction factor is a crucial parameter in assessing and modelling ventilation systems in underground mining. However, the development of a mine along its life-cycle can complicate the airflow supply required at the working faces, creating setbacks in terms of productivity and production. Hence, it is very important to determine all the ventilation parameters, including roughness and the friction factor. In this paper we examine the data from several surveys that were carried out in two potash mines (both using the room-and-pillar method) with the aim of determining the friction factors through the Von Kármán equation, which connects the Atkinson friction factor with airway roughness. Comparison of the two mines provided consistent results, despite some differences in the mining methods, and we were able to establish standard values for this type of mining. Furthermore, a roughness variation over a year in this type of evaporitic mining has been determined, indicating that the specific climate characteristics of the zone affect the walls and roofs of the tunnels and therefore their roughness. Friction factor values have also been validated by means of several ventilation simulations and contrasted with values in the literature.
Work, 2018
Background and objective: Health and safety is a crucial issue in the mining industry due to the ... more Background and objective: Health and safety is a crucial issue in the mining industry due to the implication of accidents in the sector. This study determines the safety culture characteristics in several mining activities from South America. Methods: A survey of the safety culture maturity has been done by means of 24 questions regarding the type of activity, number of employees and safety culture characteristics of the activity: information of accidents and incidents, organizational structure to deal with information, involvement of the company in health and safety issues, the way it communicates accidents and incidents and commitment of the company towards health and safety. Results: The questionnaire was completed by 62 managers from Bolivia, Peru and Colombia. Results show different behaviours depending on the type of company, Artisanal or Large Scale Mines-ASM and LSM respectively-. LSM show a level of maturity according to the size of the company, whereas ASM does not have a clear trend in terms of size even though a relationship between employees and safety culture maturity. In addition, there is a remarkable difference between activities with and without continuous improvement systems implemented as well. Conclusions: Large scale mining improves their level of safety culture as the size of the company increases, because procedures and control systems are implemented. Cooperatives or small companies also achieve substantial gains when they introduce similar systems.
Minerals, 2018
An improved approach is presented to model the product particle size distribution resulting from ... more An improved approach is presented to model the product particle size distribution resulting from grinding in high-pressure roll crusher with the aim to be used in standard high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGR). This approach uses different breakage distribution function parameter values for a single particle compression condition and a bed compression condition. Two materials were used for the experiments; altered Ta-bearing granite and a calc-silicate tungsten ore. A set of experiments was performed with constant operative conditions, while varying a selected condition to study the influence of the equipment set-up on the model. The material was comminuted using a previously determined specific pressing force, varying the feed particle size, roll speed and the static gap. A fourth group of experiments were performed varying the specific pressing force. Experimental results show the high performance of the comminution in a high-pressure environment. The static gap was the key in order...
Journal of Materials Research and Technology, 2019
A model for High Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGR) was developed in this work based on the widely us... more A model for High Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGR) was developed in this work based on the widely used Population Balance Model (PBM). This approach uses a variety of different functions one of which is the breakage distribution function. The methodology to determine the function parameters is presented and using these values, the model was compared with real processed materials from an HPGR pilot plant, with tungsten ore as the test material. The results of the model parameter determination, and the product of the comminution in the HPGR, showed the dependency of material breakage on the material characteristics, and on the operative and process conditions. The model presented is reasonably robust, showing less error than the 3.0 Root Mean Square Error when compared with a heterogeneous feed particle size distribution material. The operational gap was also studied, and its dependency on the feed particle size, porosity, moisture, and specific pressing force was proven.
Minerals, 2018
The modelling of high pressure grinding rolls is described by the population balance model, a mas... more The modelling of high pressure grinding rolls is described by the population balance model, a mass balance which includes several functions that are related to the mineral characteristics, material kinetics and operative conditions of the device. The breakage distribution function is one of these functions and refers to the way in which the daughter particles are generated by the process of comminution. The piston-die press is presented as a methodology to determine the breakage distribution function of two different materials, from the mechanical response point of view: altered granite and a cal-silicate material. The aim is to determine the relation between the operative conditions and the mineral characteristics in order to explain and predict the breakage function parameters. The materials were characterised using XRD and single compression strength tests. The altered granite is a brittle material, which generates more fines under single compression conditions compared to bed compression conditions, mainly due to the mineral composition and the response of the material to the breakage action. The cal-silicate material shows a normal trend in its breakage behaviour. As is expected, the mineralogical characterisation is a useful tool to predict the values of the parameters of the breakage distribution function.
Journal of Environmental Management, 2016
Gases such as CO, CO 2 or NO x are constantly generated by the equipment in any underground mine ... more Gases such as CO, CO 2 or NO x are constantly generated by the equipment in any underground mine and the ventilation layout can play an important role in keeping low concentrations in the working faces. Hence, a method able to control the workplace environment is crucial. This paper proposes a geographical information system (GIS) for such goal. The system created provides the necessary tools to manage and analyse an underground environment, connecting pollutants and temperatures with the ventilation characteristics over time. Data concerning the ventilation system, in a case study, has been taken every month since 2009 and integrated into the management system, which has quantified the gasses concentration throughout the mine due to the characteristics and evolution of the ventilation layout. Three different zones concerning CO, CO 2 , NO x and effective temperature have been found as well as some variations among workplaces within the same zone that suggest local airflow recirculations. The system proposed could be a useful tool to improve the workplace conditions and efficiency levels.
DYNA, 2016
La actividad minera en espacios subterráneos genera un aporte de calor al sistema de ventilación ... more La actividad minera en espacios subterráneos genera un aporte de calor al sistema de ventilación que tiene influencia en los niveles de producción y productividad. Este artículo analiza y cuantifica las fuentes de calor en una mina subterránea y propone una alternativa de mejora de las condiciones ambientales mediante un cambio de los equipos diésel por maquinaria eléctrica. Este análisis se apoya en varias expresiones teóricas y programas para modelizar la ventilación. Los resultados muestran una reducción del calor efectivo y aparente del 50% y 84%, respectivamente, una vez aplicados los cambios de equipos en el caso estudiado. La reducción del calor en el sistema de ventilación permitiría una mejora de las condiciones en el lugar de trabajo debido a una menor temperatura efectiva y del nivel de contaminantes, incrementado el nivel de eficiencia de los trabajadores y mejorando el nivel de seguridad.
Journal of Mining Science, 2014
The friction factor is an essential parameter to take into account for modelling the ventilation ... more The friction factor is an essential parameter to take into account for modelling the ventilation system. One of the principal features that define the friction factor is the roughness, which not only does it have influence on the airway resistance, but it has also a direct bearing on the rate of heat transfer between the rock and the airstream. In this paper, the characteristic friction factors of a potash mine exploited using a room and pillar method has been determined by means of the Chezy-Darcy and Atkinson equations. The results give an impulse to achieve standardized friction factor values in potash mines very useful for future mining ventilation surveys.
Central European Journal of Operations Research, 2014
A new way to compare the relevance of the different factors intervening in the occurrences of an ... more A new way to compare the relevance of the different factors intervening in the occurrences of an event is presented and developed in this paper. The idea behind the method comes from cooperative game theory but the focus is slightly different because factors are not necessarily rational decision-makers and because the only data available are obtained by repetition of the event. The concept of relevance measure for a factor in a set of data is introduced, some significant examples are given and the main properties of relevance measures are defined and studied. One of these measures, the fair measure, is proved to have interesting properties which characterize it. Two real world situations, one about traffic accidents and the other one about mining accidents, both of them with real data, are used to show the use of relevance measures to compare factors in each one of these events.
Resources Policy, 2012
This paper examines the role and diffusion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) management, e... more This paper examines the role and diffusion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) management, especially in relation with the adoption of other management systems, in small and medium sized companies in the surface mining industry in Catalonia (Spain). Specifically, it identifies the most salient CSR practices, procedures and metrics and the profiles of companies more prone to adopt them. To fulfill this aim, a survey has been conducted. Results show that mining companies are familiar with CSR practices, but there is not much formalization of procedures and measurement systems of CSR yet. Results show that the majority of socially responsible practices are related to environmental issues and therefore there is a relation between CSR and the application of environmental management systems. The analysis reveals that the management of CSR activities improves with the diffusion of knowledge on CSR practices. A second survey collected the opinion of professional associations in the sector. Respondents indicate that an improvement in CSR management will lead to a better global competitive position.
International journal of occupational safety and ergonomics : JOSE, 2012
Using data on work accidents and annual mining statistics, the paper studies work-related acciden... more Using data on work accidents and annual mining statistics, the paper studies work-related accidents in the Spanish energetic mining sector in 1999-2008. The following 3 parameters are considered: age, experience and size of the mine (in number of workers) where the accident took place. The main objective of this paper is to show the relationship between different accident indicators: risk index (as an expression of the incidence), average duration index for the age and size of the mine variables (as a measure of the seriousness of an accident), and the gravity index for the various sizes of mines (which measures the seriousness of an accident, too). The conclusions of this study could be useful to develop suitable prevention policies that would contribute towards a decrease in work-related accidents in the Spanish energetic mining industry.
The generation of heat in underground spaces due to working activities is a factor that influence... more The generation of heat in underground spaces due to working activities is a factor that influences production and productivity rates. This paper analyses the heat generation in an underground mine and provides a number of approaches to enhance the ventilation conditions using electrical, instead of diesel machines. This assessment has been carried out using theoretical equations and modelling software. Investigations prove that sensible and latent heat would be reduced by around 50% and 84% respectively if the change were applied in the case study. This reduction on heat input to the ventilation system would improve the workplace environment because of lower effective temperatures and gas concentrations, which would result in better safety conditions and higher employee efficiency. Evaluación de los flujos de calor en una mina subterránea y enfoque para mejorar sus condiciones ambientales Resumen La actividad minera en espacios subterráneos genera un aporte de calor al sistema de ve...
Synopsis Friction factor is a crucial parameter in assessing and modelling ventilation systems in... more Synopsis Friction factor is a crucial parameter in assessing and modelling ventilation systems in underground mining. However, the development of a mine along its life-cycle can complicate the airflow supply required at the working faces, creating setbacks in terms of productivity and production. Hence, it is very important to determine all the ventilation parameters, including roughness and the friction factor. In this paper we examine the data from several surveys that were carried out in two potash mines (both using the room-and-pillar method) with the aim of determining the friction factors through the Von Kármán equation, which connects the Atkinson friction factor with airway roughness. Comparison of the two mines provided consistent results, despite some differences in the mining methods, and we were able to establish standard values for this type of mining. Furthermore, a roughness variation over a year in this type of evaporitic mining has been determined, indicating that t...
… de Sostenibilitat i …, 2010
Altres identificadors i accés: Vintró, C.[et al.]. RSC: el quart vèrtex en la integració de siste... more Altres identificadors i accés: Vintró, C.[et al.]. RSC: el quart vèrtex en la integració de sistemes de gestió. Anàlisi de la mineria catalana. A: Jornada de Sostenibilitat i Compromís Social." Jornada de Sostenibilitat i Compromís Social". Manresa: Escola Politècnica ...