Experimental Assessment of an Analytical Model of the Convective Heat Transfer Coefficient in a Mine Gallery

Abstract

This article evaluates the convective heat transfer coefficient of ventilation air in a potash mine in Catalonia (Spain). Through thermal characterization of ventilation air and rock of a gallery in the selected potash mine, the energy balance is obtained, and the parameters involved in the heat transfer process are calculated. With these parameters as a starting point, different models are analyzed to calculate the convective heat transfer coefficient.The results indicate that the optimal models to apply in this mine include the Pethukov-Kirilov, Gnielinski and modified Dittus-Boelter models. Moreover, the conductivity of the adjacent rock is indirectly studied, and it is deduced that throughout the studied section, the adjacent rock is saturated, and in Section 6-5 of the gallery, there occurs upwelling of liquid water.