In many branches of engineering, there has to be an understanding of the
motion of fluids in order to solve problems. Many safety and health
problems in the mining industry are typical examples that involve the
understanding and analysis of fluid flow, such as explosions, the spread of
fires, dispersion of gas and dust, and ventilation patterns. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is concerned with the use of
computers to produce information about the ways in which fluids flow in
given situations. Until recently CFD has been widely applied to a variety
of industrial sectors and increasingly to problems in the health and safety
areas. With the arrival of more powerful computers and CFD packages,
CFD techniques are no longer practised solely in a research environment,
but can be used by engineers in many industrial fields. This paper introduces the basic concepts and general procedures
involved in the use of CFD technology. A comparison is given as a guide
to the major features of a number of widely used commercial CFD codes.
Areas of potential CFD applications are identified in a range of safety and
health problems in mining industry. An example is presented to illustrate
the use of this technology. It is believed that the exploitation of these
areas using CFD approach will contribute significantly to the solution of
today's many mine health and safety problems.