Vehicle-Augmented Evacuation Integer Programming Model for Improving Safety and Efficiency in Underground Mines

Details

• Personal Author:
  Asare FK ; Augustine PC ; Moniri-Morad A ; Sattarvand J
• Description:
  Ensuring the safe evacuation of miners during fire emergencies in the shortest possible time is one of the most critical aspects of underground mining operations. Despite advances in mining evacuation methods, little research has been conducted on mine vehicles in this context. This study proposed a vehicle-augmented evacuation integer programming (VEIP) model to minimize the total evacuation cost as a function of the required evacuation time during fire emergencies. This approach aims to minimize the risk of miners being exposed to dangerous fire conditions by strategically integrating mine vehicles into the evacuation procedure. The approach determines the optimal evacuation path for each miner, considering factors such as available mine vehicles, miners' locations, refuge chambers, and fresh-air bases. To validate the effectiveness of the developed VEIP model, a case study was conducted using the mine layout of the Turquoise Ridge Underground Mine in the United States. Furthermore, a statistical comparison was conducted between the VEIP model and the evacuation integer programming (EIP) model, tailored to evacuation on foot, to emphasize vehicles' influence on the evacuation process. The results showed that integrating mine vehicles into evacuation procedures significantly reduces the total evacuation time. A cost savings analysis in the VEIP model revealed that the evacuation time savings increase exponentially as the number of miners present during evacuation increases. The potential benefits of using mine vehicles to improve the efficiency of evacuation from underground mine fires were highlighted in this study. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Automobiles Disaster Planning Emergencies Fires Mining Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Hazard Emergency Preparedness Evacuation Fire Safety Mine Escapes Mine Fires Mine Safety Motor Vehicles Optimization Underground Mining Underground Mining Operations Vehicle-augmented Evacuation Integer Programming (VEIP) Model

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• ISSN:
  2666-4496
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement ; Contract
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Dallas Region [OSHA] ; Nevada ; New Mexico ; San Francisco Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  21-28
• Volume:
  6
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070543
• Citation:
  J Saf Sci Resilience 2025 Mar; 6(1):21-28
• Contact Point Address:
  Javad Sattarvand, Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557, USA
• Email:
  jsattarvand@unr.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• Performing Organization:
  New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20210901
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Safety Science and Resilience
• End Date:
  20250831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4e34182eeaf3693b5be1f86e5577958d61d45b279a07ed228d0fa48321a81660bc8ed675d0bfc7f7a6ba56d7af04bf4f582ed2ba5ddad38115ce674a420575a8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208728/cdc_208728_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.65 MB ]