Application of cut set method to reliability evaluation of mine ventilation networks

Providing a fresh and cool airflow in underground mines is one of the main concerns during mining. Destruction of support systems, the presence of undesirable objects in the airway and distortion of airflow are the parameters involved that would result in pressure loss, which would affect the ventilation network. There are a lot of research works about the ventilation network planning that consider the confidence in the planning but how reliable are these designs? These questions can be answered using the quantitative reliability evaluation. For the reliability evaluation of mine ventilation network, tunnel resistance and flow rate changes for all branches are considered as the reliability indices and criteria. This paper describes a stepwise method for evaluation of the underground coal mine network reliability associated with major losses using the cut set method. The reliability of the entire network is achieved by the reliability of every single component. The proposed model is implemented by the Takht coal mine. The Takht mine ventilation network probability of failure is in the range of 19-100% so reliability is in the range of 0-81% for the entire ventilation network.