The pollution mechanism of aerosol dust particles in continuous mining face: Real influence of dynamic rotation of continuous mining machine drum at different speed

In the continuous mining face environment, the drum rotation speed of the continuous mining machine significantly influences dust dispersal patterns. This study utilized a dynamic mesh approach to assess the impact of four drum rotation speeds—0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 r/s—on dust diffusion. The result shows that dust concentration in the sidewalk breathing zones at 0–30 m from the working face escalates with increasing rotation speed, with each 1.0 r/s increment in drum speed, dust concentration rises by 230.21 mg/m³ on average. The polynomial fitting curves correlating the average dust concentration in the breathing zones of continuous mining machine and shuttle car drivers to the drum's rotation speed, with respective equations Y = 543X3-1575X2+1134X+450 and Y = -442X3+1807X2-2104X+1170, and the drivers' dust concentration was lower (400–600 mg/m3) at drum speeds of 0.84–1.46 r/s. With the implementation of the on-board external spray device, achieving an average dust reduction rate of 90.62 % for total dust and 90.32 % for respiratory dust. Our research is directed towards optimizing the drum rotation speed for the operator's environment and inventing the on-board external spray device to further safeguard workers' health.