Theme of master’s work:
Fire-prevention in mines buildings. Automatic fire- prevention safety of mine head frames
Scientific leader: professor, doctor of technical sciences,decan of head FGPM, U.F.Bulgakov
RUS | 
ENEvery day at Ukrainian mines from 160 to 200 fires happen on the mine surface and about so many happen underground. Despite the decrease of coal production the number of exogenous fires continues to grow. They happen at concentration and brick factories, in coal and wood warehouses, wood-working shops, etc. Fires in tower headframes at shaft collars are especially dangerous.
The number of surface fires makes 9.1% of the total number of exogenous fires. Such fires at tower headframes cause most damage. They can lead to stoppage of works at the whole mine and create danger to miners who are underground.
High fire-danger at tower headframes is conditioned by combustible and explosive medium in them. Oil system, coal in bins, cables can burn, gas and dust can burst.
Fire risk of tower headframes is made worse by the fact that these constructions are often higher than 100 m, which makes it impossible to provide extinguishing substance from the ground to the fire sites by the existing extinguishing means and makes it more difficult for people from the higher floors to leave.
Analysis of the reasons of occurrence, development and spread of fires on tower headframes shows that the only way to prevent fires is the use of automatic alarm and fire-extinguishing.
The aim is to research the fire risk of tower headframes. To develop autonomous automatic alarm and fire-extinguishing systems, which allows to protect safely fire-dangerous premises of headframes and other surface constructions.
Modern mine hoists are the most powerful devices at mines. They demand about 40% of all the electricity used at mines.
Research of fire risk of electric devices of tower headframes shows that in one tower with 3 hoists the total amount of cables is 20-40 thousand metres, there are between 16-30 types of cables. There are 13.6% of armored cables and 3.6% of flexible cables with combustible shell. Cabling often does not coincide with the normative documents. It is very dangerous as cables are not covers when they catch fire, thus leading to fast smoke distribution among all the tower premises. Mine air with 5-16% of methane is combustion-dangerous. Ventilation at tower headframes is combined extract-and-input with mechanical stimulation. Methane can get into towers in case of ventilation system breakdowns.
At tower headframes there are oil stations with total amount of oil in them 2 tons. Its purpose is reduction gear cooling. There are different kinds of oil. Despite the fact that oil is in closed cycle there is often danger of its leak through flange joints. There is also possibility of oil leakage through assembling openings to stairway enclosures and lower floors.
Automatic fire-control unit in tower headframes at mines (AFU). AFU is designed for automatic detection of inflammations at manufacturing machinery in tower headframes (electric motors, hoist driving gears reducers, oil pump, compression installations, etc.) and for electric supply cutout, alarm signal injection and aromatic fire extinguishing by powder. AFU represents a functional machinery complex providing automation of fire detection processes, electric supply cutout, alarm signaling, switching on fire-extinguishing facilities and fire site liquidation.
It consists of the following components:
- fire annunciato;
- launching gea;
- powder-type extinguishe;
- electricity cutout device;
- sound alarm signaling system.
As extinguishing substance mass produced extinguishing powder has to be used. Principal scheme of the installation work.
Modern tower headframes are huge multi-storey constructions, equipped with highly-mechanized and automated machinery providing uninterrupted work of hoist gears. Presence of powerful electric motors, cables, power switchboards, several oil stations and oil transformers result in high fire-risk at tower headframes. Because of this, fires that occur here are characterized by rapid spread and difficult conditions for extinguishing and thus considerable material losses.
In such conditions it is expedient to use automatic fire-control units. However at present mass production of AFUs has not been arranged. As a result the necessity to further develop the theme of fire safety automation at tower headframes is obvious.