| This thesis describes a ventilation engineering study to determine the resistance across return stoppings on continuous miner development sections. By determining the resistance across return stoppings, one equivalent resistance branch can be created to model leakage across a return stopping line on a development section. This thesis evaluates four types of return stoppings to determine which construction techniques and materials provide the highest resistance, thus allowing minimal leakage from the intake to return entry.The first phase of the thesis outlines the data gathering process including station locations, equipment requirements and techniques. Second, the data is used to create a model from which the resistance per stopping is calculated, thus evaluating the stopping performance. Using the ventilation simulation model to obtain leakage resistance branches, the parallel resistance formula provides an equivalent resistance branch.The equivalent resistance branch results are then used to evaluate leakage at different section locations. Special attention is given to changes in leakage due to changes in pressure differential across return stoppings on development sections. |
