Abstract
Aim: The purpose of this study is to develop a universal hazard indicator associated with spontaneous fires. Development of the proposed indicator is based on mathematical techniques and aligned to laboratory investigations of chemical activity and analysis of causes for the selfheating of coal and ultimately fires in coal mines, which have taken place over a period of many years.
Methodology: The study made use of the theoretical kinetic model for heterogeneous oxidation of coal with variable reactionary surfaces, examined more than 200 locations and analysed causes of spontaneous fires, which occurred in 42 coal seams during a ten-year period.
Results: An analysis of locations and causes of spontaneous fires in coal mines was accompanied by a study of currently applied evaluation criteria for coal seam propensity to spontaneous combustion and identified limitations associated with such evaluations. The authors proposed the use of a mathematical model describing heterogeneous oxidation of coal exposed to the evaporation of moisture and supply restriction of methane to determine a complex indicator of a fire hazard. It was revealed that a significant influence on temperature change in materials, apart from time, is associated with oxidation constant, methane heat suppression, coal seam gas content, moisture loss rate constant, evaporation heat rate, value of the criterion Bi and oxygen concentration in coal. The oxygen content of coal is determined by its natural properties: oxygen coefficient of internal diffusion, porosity, brittleness, fractional composition, degree of metamorphism as well as concentration of oxygen on the coal surface. A relationship was identified for the fire hazard indicator with heat release and heat transfer. Additionally, the study confirmed parameters used to differentiate coal mines according to fire hazard groups with the use of mathematical models and more than 200 fire incident sources of data. Finally, the study revealed necessary influences, which determine the incubation period for spontaneous combustion, critical size of accumulated coal seams and critical threshold value for predicting the likelihood of self ignition of coal.
Conclusions: Developed a new complex indicator for endogenous fire hazards and, based on data from analysed coal samples in laboratory conditions, facilitated the definition of necessary coal characteristics: critical size of coal deposits clusters/dangerous accumulation of coal, threshold values for the estimation criterion of propensity for spontaneous combustion, incubation period and fire hazard group.
Relevance in practice: Identified dependencies are recommended for use in the industry to recognise fire hazard levels associated with spontaneous combustion in coal deposits.
Keywords: spontaneous combustion, critical temperature, critical thickness of coal seams, incubation period, spontaneous combustion fire hazard group
Type of article: short scientific report