CFD modeling of coal dust migration in an 8.8-meter-high fully mechanized mining face

The largest mining height of the fully mechanized mining face in the world is currently 8.8 m. A working face of this size has various problems, including the production of large amounts of dust, complicated dust migration laws, and difficulty in efficiently implementing dust removal measures. In view of these problems, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling was used to simulate air flow and dust movement in a super-large fully mechanized mining face. The results were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed, and field measurements were made to verify the accuracy of the simulated results. The simulation results showed that the air-flow increases, decreases, and then increases again during the movement of the working face. A high-concentration dust belt, of length approximately 120 m and a concentration of more than 3500 mg/m(3), was formed by the roller. Dust reduction measures, such as spray dust-removal agents or chemical dust-removal agents, are proposed. These measures can provide a clean working environment and theoretical guidance for the safe production of coal in the future. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.