AUSTRALIAN METS
Causing a fanfare
Howden is looking to re-enter the Australian secondary ventilation market with a bang , coming out with a new product that offers the energy efficiency , durability and smarts to help ‘ future proof ’ underground mines . Its Jetstream AX secondary fans have just been launched across the globe , with service centres on the east and west coast of Australia having already received units .
Phil Durham , Global Mining Applications Engineer , said the Jetstream AX secondary fan is the missing piece to complete the full Howden ventilation puzzle .
“ Howden , in the past , was heavily involved in the secondary market in Australia , but some years after exiting this space , the new Jetstream AX is filling the gap in our lineup , helping complete our total mine ventilation solution approach ,” he told IM . “ Howden has the Ventsim™ DESIGN software , the Ventim CONTROL ventilation on demand software , plus all the required equipment including a comprehensive primary fan offering , mine cooling options and mine heating options .
“ A global secondary fan was needed to complete the set , meaning we can now be considered a one-stop shop for miners wanting to go down the full Howden route for ventilation .
While the Jetsteam AX will be available in all markets – bar the US where Howden already has a secondary fan offering – Howden sees it being particularly relevant for the Australian market where evolving diesel particulate emission regulations are making effective ventilation operations a must .
“ These regulations will definitely affect how those mines manage , monitor and control their ventilation network ,” Durham said . “ The smart move would be to use their secondary fans more efficiently in terms of how and where they are locating them , which ones are operating and tightening up on where the working areas , vehicles and personnel are . “ In this respect , the Australia region is a key one in terms of the secondary fan product rollout .”
Just some of the attributes the region ’ s miners could benefit from , according to Howden , include : n The highest fan output at low power consumption , providing high efficiencies across a broad operating range ; n A range of fans from 762-1,600 mm in diameter , with flow rates from 6.5-108 cu . m / sec ; n Single-stage or twin-stage configuration ; n A flexible modular design providing commonality of parts ; n Adjustable pitch aerofoil blades to maximise operational envelope and provide reliable highefficiency aerodynamic performance across a wide range ; n An anti-stall chamber for continued safe operation during transient high-pressure events , offering a “ risk-free process ” in parallel fan arrangements ; and
n Downstream guide vanes with full inner fairing tube and tail cone in each fan to ensure maximum static pressure regain . Durham expanded on some of these . “ That main inner fairing tube serves a couple of purposes , with one of the main ones being a reduction in shock losses ,” he said . “ That same design helps from a maintenance perspective , too , providing protection for the motor . In other ventilation fan designs , the motors are exposed to the dusty mine air . The inner tube provides a good level of protection , without being a totally sealed environment . Some air gets through for motor cooling purposes , but it is much less than your typical exposed fan .”
The option of a dual-speed fan could also be important for gaining sales in Australia given there are limited variable speed drive options in this market than others , according to Durham .
“ In Australia , specifically , variable speed control is not a very common option due to the required 1,000 V supply ,” he said . “ Currently there are no proven reliable variable speed drives at such voltages .”
This dual-speed fan offering provides the mines with high and low speed settings – with high typically employed to , for example , clear blasting gases and low employed when a vehicle leaves the airway , and the ventilation demand reduces .
To get the best out of dual-speed fans , mines will most likely require remote access to easily switch from one setting to the next , according to Durham .
Miners that understand the benefits of using dual-speed fans – reducing energy consumption and costs – will also , most likely , be potential customers for Howden ’ s ventilation on demand and smart ventilation solutions , namely Ventsim Control .
“ We are definitely seeing an increase with the number of mines looking to adopt these new technologies and smarter ventilation control methods ,” Durham said . “ As they are moving towards digitalisation and automation of mining methods , ventilation is also coming into that equation . This is especially so when you consider that the energy cost coming from ventilation and cooling can be around 50 % of the mine ’ s total expense .”
The use of effective secondary fans is part of that exercise , according to Durham , who said efficiencies of over 85 % are possible with these units when used optimally .
“ Although the primary fans are generally a much higher kilowatt rating , these mines usually have got quite a number of secondary fans in operation ,” he said . “ Being able to use them in a smarter way on a day-to-day basis means they will be able to make some large savings there .”
Howden ' s Jetstream AX secondary fans ( a single-stage fan with silencers , pictured ) come with the highest fan output at low power consumption , providing high efficiencies across a broad operating range , according to the company
Such a role comes with great responsibility given these companies have : tens of thousands of vendors on their books , demanding orders and high expectations that can potentially ‘ break ’ a small vendor , and operate on a scale that makes them heavily dependent on the reliability and maintainability of the chosen equipment and services .
“ Our job in the past was to create the seed funding to take early science or innovation into prototype ,” Beer explained . “ Industry would take the prototype into production , to test the use case and work out what they need to adjust to make it commercially scalable .
“ We are now seeing this current round of METS Ignited funding going from overcoming the technology gap to commercialising the solution that addresses it . That is what the likes of BHP are now spending a lot of money on .”
This is only part of the equation METS Ignited is looking to solve , with mid-tier and junior miner engagement also on the agenda .
These companies have needed to solve their operational challenges in isolation , as Beer explained , and would benefit greatly from access to this innovation layer .
“ When big mining companies spend a lot of money with researchers to solve their very significant operational challenges … the mid tiers and small miners don ’ t get access to that research ,” he said . “ They instead solve their own operational issues with the local vendor down the road and they too only solve it for their own operation .”
14 International Mining | MAY 2021