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Obstructions in airways
ii.
Bends
iii.
iv.
One may wonder how they produce resistance to flow of air. The concept is very
simple. We all know that law of continuity holds good in mines. So, to maintain
same volume of air flow through mine airways, there is a variation in velocity of air
when there is any obstruction causing a change in cross sectional areas of the
airways. At bends, though the cross section area may be constant, change in
velocity occur due to change in direction of flow of the air. The change in velocity in
a definite time (smaller in case of abrupt changes and longer in case of gradual
changes), causes acceleration. A force is required. And this force is applied at the
cost of loss in pressure head. Hence, extra work is done to maintain flow of air.
Thus, resistance is produced. Again, the resistance offered is dependent on factors
like shape and size of obstructions, material of which the obstruction exist/ is made,
type of bends, etc. Let us have a look at Table 1 to get an idea how does shape and
size of obstructions cause variation in magnitude of resistance offered (Le Roux,
1972).
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obstructions
pattern
Rectangular /square
Eddies
are
shaped support
formed.
to
aerofoil
shaped
support
less
compared
resistance
to
square
resistance
compared to a line of
square shaped supports.
A
line
of
support
square
to
to
continuous
wall support.
Now, let us have a look at Table 2. It gives an idea on how the shape of the
entrance affects entry loss (Le Roux, 1972). Energy is lost when air enters a pipe or
airways from a stagnant/still condition to the velocity inside the pipe or airways.
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entrance
of Factor
velocity
(after
pressure
McPherson,
1993)
Straight
90% in circular
inlet
pipes
125%
in X = 1.0
rectangular
pipes
Flanged
50% in circular
inlet
pipes
X = 0.5
70%
in
rectangular
pipes
Inlet cone
5-25%
depending
included
on --angle
and length
Flared
3-15%
inlet
depending
radius
on X = 0.03
for
r
D
0.2
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the reason being new supports have sharp corners while older ones have smooth
corners.
We will discuss the effects of bend on flow pattern and subsequent resistance
offered by different types of bends little later.
You may get a question in your mind, why the title has been kept shock loss.
Actually all the factors which we have discussed above result in an instantaneous
effect causing an abrupt change in velocity when air flows across/along them.
Because of its instantaneous nature, it is like a shock to the air travelling and hence
the term shock loss is justified. The resistance offered due to shock loss is called
shock resistance.
2.0 SHOCK PRESSURE LOSS
We have already learnt the agencies responsible for shock loss. It is also called
minor loss. It accounts for approximately 10-30% of the total pressure loss. Shock
losses are generally referred to in terms of head loss or drop in total pressure. This
in turn is expressed in terms of velocity heads (McPherson, 1993). It is
represented as pshock.
Mathematically,
2
. .
2
Or
=
2
2
Pa
Where,
= Shock loss factor (dimensionless)
= Density of air (kg/m3)
= Velocity of air (m/s)
Substituting
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we get
2
2
= 22 Pa
Where,
= Shock loss factor (dimensionless)
= Density of air (kg/m3)
= Quantity of airflow (m3/s)
= Area of cross section (m2)
In analogy with Atkinsons equation and square law, the above equation can be
transformed as
=
2
2
= 22 = 2 Pa
Where,
= Shock resistance (Ns2m-8)
We can write shock resistance, as
=
22
Hence, we can say that, shock resistance is dependent on density of air, shock loss
factor and cross sectional area of the airway. Shock loss factor is determined
experimentally.
length (L+ Leq) with no item existing to cause shock loss. Let all other parameters
like Atkinsons factor, area of cross section etc. be same for the two airways. Both
the figures (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2) show that the pressure drop between their ends are
same i.e. p. It can be written mathematically as
) 2
1.2
= 2 + 2 = ( 3
+ 22 2
Pa
(for Fig.1)
and
) 2
3 1.2
= 2 = ( + ) (
Pa
(for Fig.2)
)
1.2
= 22 = ( 3
Ns2/m8
Hence,
=
1.2
2
1.2
Hence, we can calculate shock loss in terms of equivalent length using Atkinsons
equation.
Table 3 lists equivalent length of some bends, obstructions, area changes as
proposed by Hartman et. al (1982). The results given in Table 3 are based on
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observation through experiments carried out with k = 0.0186 kg/m3, A/per = 0.61
m and density of air at 1.2 kg/m3.
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
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30
20
10
10
60
Discharge
20
Inlet
Doorway
20
Overcast
20
REFERENCES
Banerjee S.P. (2003); Mine Ventilation; Lovely Prakashan, Dhanbad, India.
Hartman, H. L., Mutmansky, J. M. & Wang, Y. J. (1982); Mine Ventilation and Air
Conditioning; John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Le Roux, W. L. (1972); Mine Ventilation Notes for Beginners; The Mine Ventilation
Society of South Africa.
McPherson, M. J. (1993); Subsurface Ventilation and Environmental Engineering;
Chapman & Hall, London.
Misra G.B.
Calcutta, India.
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