Work on the software has been undertaken by University of Queensland Reader in Mining Engineering Dr Stewart Gillies under a $89,000 ACARP grant, together with financial industry support.

The program has been based on Polish software Ventgraph, which has been customised by Gillies to match Australian underground coal mine conditions. The program has been designed to sit beside a mine’s ventilation system software such as the program VENTSIM, to predict the interaction of a mine fire on the ventilation system.

“The program examines how different types of fires at different point locations in the mine would influence the ventilation system. Examples may be that the presence of a fire would slow ventilation to a working face or it may even reverse ventilation,” Gillies said.

“It also tells you toxic and other contaminate gases that would reach a work force.”

The software has been designed so it can be calibrated to individual mines and will simulate imposed changes such as short circuiting ventilation, pressurising of certain branches or changing the mine fan output.

The software enables mines to plan escape strategies to allow men who may be caught at a work face to escape from the mine in a safe manner. The program also enables mines to plan mine recovery through the use of short-circuiting, fan changes or the use of inert gases with methods such as the GAG jet engine.

The initial work with ACARP will be completed early next year, followed by individual work with mine sites. The program will then be customised for metalliferous mines.