Analysis of Heat Stress and the Indoor Climate Control Requirements for Movable Refuge Chambers

Xiaoli Hao, Chenxin Guo, Yaolin Lin, Haiqiao Wang and Heqing Liu
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Xiaoli Hao: School of Energy and Safety Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, China
Chenxin Guo: School of Energy and Safety Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, China
Yaolin Lin: School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
Haiqiao Wang: School of Energy and Safety Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, China
Heqing Liu: School of Energy and Safety Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, China

IJERPH, 2016, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-10

Abstract: Movable refuge chambers are a new kind of rescue device for underground mining, which is believed to have a potential positive impact on reducing the rate of fatalities. It is likely to be hot and humid inside a movable refuge chamber due to the metabolism of trapped miners, heat generated by equipment and heat transferred from outside. To investigate the heat stress experienced by miners trapped in a movable refuge chamber, the predicted heat strain (PHS) model was used to simulate the heat transfer process between the person and the thermal environment. The variations of heat stress with the temperature and humidity inside the refuge chamber were analyzed. The effects of air temperature outside the refuge chamber and the overall heat transfer coefficient of the refuge chamber shell on the heat stress inside the refuge chamber was also investigated. The relationship between the limit of exposure duration and the air temperature and humidity was numerically analyzed to determine the upper limits of temperature and humidity inside a refuge chamber. Air temperature of 32 °C and relative humidity of 70% are recommended as the design standard for internal thermal environment control of movable refuge chambers.

Keywords: movable refuge chamber; heat stress; PHS model; thermal environment; ergonomics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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