Controlling the longwall coal mining process at a variable level of methane hazard

摘要

The systems for monitoring the mine atmosphere, especially in thelongwall panels, have been used for many years. Thanks to theiruse, it was possible to reduce the number of hazardous events(accidents). Until now, the attention was paid primarily on securingthe mine personnel as the most important aspect of the methaneexplosion hazard. Recent years show that the number of accidents inPoland decreased to several cases per year. Such an event can causea risk of damage. In order to further reduce the number of hazardousevents, the existing solutions will not be enough, so a new approachto monitoring and using the methane concentration predictionmethods in longwall panels is necessary to be applied.The reasons for changes in methane hazard level at the coalminelongwall faces are discussed at the beginning. Then, the methods forcontrolling the longwall shearer's operation depending on methanehazard level are presented. Dangerous events caused by the suddenoutflow of methane into the longwall panel were recalled. In thefurther part, an additional subsystem for monitoring the methaneconcentration in the longwall panel in the context of controlling theoperation of the longwall shearer and the run-of-mine transportationin the longwall area is described. Finally, the importance of the newway of controlling the mining process and run-of-minetransportation for work safety and mining efficiency wasemphasized.