Relative Importance of Certain Factors Affecting Air Exchange in a High-Altitude Single-Heading Tunnels Based on the Numerical Simulation Method

Single-heading tunnels in underground metal mines have high air pollutant concentrations, chaotic airflow, and low pollutant diffusion efficiency in high-altitude areas, resulting in poor air exchange. Based on Pulang copper mine (China), a computational fluid dynamics case using the steady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations with a k-omega turbulence model was developed to study certain factors influencing the air exchange of single-heading tunnels, and was combined with an orthogonal experimental method to simulate the mean age of air (MAA) under different working conditions. This study revealed the ranking of the importance of some factors on the air exchange via sensitivity analysis. The MAA generally increases with the increasing distance between the duct and the heading face and the increasing diameter of the oxygen supply duct. This study’s optimal distance and diameter can reduce MAA by 14.7% and 9.9%, respectively. Placing the oxygen supply duct and the duct on the same side and using an 800/1000 mm inner diameter duct can effectively reduce the MAA by 6.7% and 4.2%, respectively, in this study. The findings of this study can optimize air exchange in the Pulang copper mine, and can also be referenced for the optimization of air exchange in high-altitude highway or railway tunnels being excavated.