A spontaneous combustion fire detection system for metal mines
Spontaneous combustion fires in deep metal mines, through relatively infrequent, are nonetheless cause for considerable concern because they pose a direct threat to the safety of miners and are quite disruptive to mine operations. They often occur in remote, inactive, or abandoned sectors of a mine where access for firefighting is difficult or impossible. Over half of all noncoal mine fires that last more than 24 hours are caused by spontaneous combustion. The most common means of fire control for spontaneous combustion fires is sealing and/or flooding the affected zone. This process is never easy, but it is made especially difficult (and hazardous) if the fire grows in size and intensity to the point where underground fire-fighting crews must wear self-contained breathing apparatus owing to mine air contamination. The Bureau of Mines has developed and in-mine tested a mineworthy fire detection system capable of sensing the earliest traces of spontaneous combustion, thus enabling mine personnel to initiate fire control operations before hazardous atmospheres are created. This paper discusses system design within the context of the harsh mine environment, and describes laboratory and in-mine performance tests of prototype equipment.
- Research Organization:
- Bureau of Mines, Minneapolis, MN
- OSTI ID:
- 6992858
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-851054-
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Society of Mining Engineers fall meeting, Albuquerque, NM, USA, 16 Oct 1985
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
FIRE DETECTORS
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
DESIGN
FIELD TESTS
METALS
UNDERGROUND MINING
FIRE FIGHTING
SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION
ABANDONED SHAFTS
AIR POLLUTION
FIRES
MINERS
REMOTE AREAS
RESPIRATORS
SAFETY
SEALS
US BUREAU OF MINES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMBUSTION
ELEMENTS
MINE SHAFTS
MINING
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
OXIDATION
PERSONNEL
POLLUTION
SHAFT EXCAVATIONS
TESTING
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
US DOI
US ORGANIZATIONS
422000* - Engineering- Mining & Underground Engineering- (1980-)
420200 - Engineering- Facilities
Equipment
& Techniques