P R P Rl NT

SOCIETY O NUMBER
MINING ENGINEERS

IME
C A LLE R NO. D LITTLETON COLORADO 80127

THE OPTIMA
OPTIMALL CONTROLLE
CONTROLLED
D FL0T.
FL0T.J MINE VEN
V ENTI
TILA
LATI
TION
ON PROBLEM:
N OPERATIONS RESEARCH APPROACH

Dr. Thys B. Jo hn so n

Randal J Barnes

Dr. Robert H King

C o l o r a d o S c h o o l o f M i n es
es
Golden C O

or p r e s e n t a t i o n a t t h e
F or
F i r s t In te rn at io na l S SM
ME-AIHE F a l l N e e t i n g
Honolulu Hawaii September 4-9 1982

P e r m i s s i o n i s h e r e b y g i v e n t o p u b l i s h w i t h a p p r op
o p r ia
ia t e a c k n o w l e d g m e n t s
e x c e r p ts o r s u m m a r i e s n o t to e x c e e d o n e - fo u r th o f th e e n ti r e te x t o f th e p a p er er .
Permission to print in mo re extended form subsequent to pub lication b y th e l n s ti tu te
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of t h e S o c i e t y of
o f M i n i n g E n g i n ee
ee r s
of A IME.
I f and when th is paper paper is published
published by the Society of Mining Engineers Engineers of of AIME it
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Com mittee and the the author
author so that the the form in wh ich it appears here here is no t necessarily
necessarily
th a t in w h i cpreprints
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l ate
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re.
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sale. PREPRINTS
TS Soc iety of Min ing
Engineers Caller No D L i ttl e to n C o l o r a d o 80127.

PREPRINT AVA ILABILITY LIST IS PUBLISHE D PERIODICALLY

PERIODICALLY I N
M IN IN G EN GIN EER IN G
T he
he O p ti
ti m a l C o n t r o l l e d F llo
ow X n e V e n t i l a t i o n 1981, D r Wang pre sen ted an'other paper i n wh which
ich
Problem: n O p eratio n Research A p p ro ach a l i m i t e d f or or m of t h e c o n t r o l l e d f l o w p r o b l e n i s
ana lyze d usi ng the techn iqu es of C C.P.P.H
.H.. (Wan(Wang,
g,
Abstract. This paper presents a new 1 9 8 1 ). Th is 'imag i n ativ e ap p ro ach i s e a s i e r t o
a l g o r i t h m f o r s o l v i n g t h e C o n t r o l l e d FlFlow U n e understand and computationally fast; however,
V e n ti la tio n Pro blem blem in an o p tima l man mann n er
er t h e a l g o ri
ri t h m c ca
an n noot e ffe ctiv ely deal with
mini
minimu mum m power
power consum ption. The
The us e of boo st er m u l t i p l e b ooo o s t e r f a n s , g e n e r a l r e s t r i c t i o n s on
on
f a n s an an d r e s t r i c t i o n s o n t h e l o c a t i o n s of
of t h e l o c a t i o n of of t h e v e n t i l a t i o n r e g u l a t o r s , o r
v e n t i l a t i o n r e g u l a t o r s a r e d e a l t w iitt h i n a t h e r e q u ir
i r e d u s e of c u r r e n t l y a v a i l a b l e f a n s .
s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d m n n e r . This nev approach i s
based on a cornsun Operations Research algorithm 3. N o tatio n
f o r wh
hic
ich
h th er e a re u any
any f a s t co mp
mpu
u te
terr p rog
rog ra
rams
ms
available. In formulating the controlled flow problem,
t h e f o l l o v i n g n o t a t i o n i s u ses e d.
d. To f a c i l i t a t e
1. Introduction r e a d i n g , a l l i n i t i a l l y d e f in
in e
edd quantities are
s u p e r sc
sc r i p t e
edd vit h an aste ris k *
I n many mi minn e v e n t il at io n d esig n p ro rob
b lems
lems t h e
*
r e q u i r e d a i r q u a n t i t i e s t h r o u g h a l l branches of = the assig
gnn e d f l ow
ow i n b r a
ann ch
ch ( i , ) .
t h e v e n t i l a t i o n n et
et w or
or k a r e d e f i n e d by m iin ne Qij
ma
man n ag
ag eme
emen n t b ased onon h eal th an d sa fe ty n eed s a t EL- = t h e c a l c u l a t e d h e ad
ad l o s s d ue
ue t o
working locations CFR 3 0 ) , o p e r a t i n g ij f r i c t i o n a c r o s s b ra
ra n
ncch (1, j)
e x p e r i e n c e , a nd
nd t h e d em em a
ann ds
ds o f K i r c h h o f f ' s F i r s t
Law co n ser v at io n o f flo w a t an y ju n c tio n . EN = the measured natural ventilation
rJhen s uc uc h a s i t u a t i o n o c c u r s , t h e v e n t i l a t i o n ij h ea
ea d ( p r e s s u r e r i s e ) a c r o s s b r an
an c h
engineer i s faced with the p prr o b l e n of s e l e c t i n g (i.l>.
m iin
ne f a n s , v e n t i l a t i o n r e g u l a t o r s , a nnd
d possibly *
u n d ergro
ergro u n d b o o s ter f an s , an d p lac in g them them i n BE = t h e h ea
ea d ( p r e s s u r e r i s e ) g e n e r a t e d
allowed locations to achieve the necessary ij b y a n e x i s t i n g f a n i n br br a
ann ch
ch ( i , )
v e n t i l a t i o n n et
et w o
orr k f l o
owws. T h is
is i s t h e
*
si tu at io n addressed b by
y the Controlled Flo ov
v Ki Ki ne
ne o p e r at
at i n g a t q u a n t i t y ij .
V e n ti lat io n Pro
Prob
b lem
lem as d efi n ed i n Wang (1 9 8 2 ) .
the h
he
e ad
ad ( p r e s s u r e r i s e ) fo r the n
ne
ew
IFij
2. Th
The
e Co ntr oll ed Fl
Flow
ow Problem fan in b brr a
an
n ch
ch ( i , ) .

U n lili k
kee t h e c l a s s i c v e n t i l a t i o n n e t vo
vo r k qj t h e he a
ad
d lo ss across the re gula tor
analysis problem of calculating the flows as a i n b ra
ra n
ncch ( i , j
re su lt o off p r e d e
eff i ne
ne d f aann char act eris tics , fan
l o c a t i o n s , a nd
n d m in e r e s i s t a n c e s , t h e c o n t r o l l e d t h e h ea
ea d ( n o d a l p r e s s u r e ) at
Pi
flo w p ro b lem d o es n o t h av e a u n iq u e so lu tio n . junction i
a n y configurations o off m inin e f a n s a annd v e n t i l a t i o n
regulators can yield the defined mine network In o rd er to simp lify math ematics an d to
flov s. The most r e as as o n a b lle
e cri te ri on for eli mi n a te th e n eed
eed fo r n o d de-ar
e-arcc in cid en c e
c h o o s in
in g amamong t h i s m u l t i t u d e o f p o s s i b l e =tr ices , t h e f o llll o w n o t a t i o n i s u sed .
s o l u t i o n s i s t h e m i n i m iz iz a t i on
on of
of v e n t i l a t i o n
power consumption. n additional pragmatic ij the sum of a l l existing branches
c r i t e r i o n i s t h e r e q u i r e d us us e of
of a v a i l a b l e (i,l>.
ve nti la tio n fans wh hee ne
ne ve
ve r p o s s i b l e . This
p ro
ro bl
bl e
emm i s f u r t h e r c o mp mp l iic
c a tte
e d by
by re al w r ld 4 Problem Formulation

p h y s i c a l c o n s t r a i n t s o n t h e l o c a t i o n s of of f a n a nd nd
regulat or ins ta lla tio ns . Due t o s a f e t y G iv en a co mp lete set of f llo ows wh hiich s a t i s f i e s
c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , a v a i l a b l e s pa pa c e , aannd p r o d u ucction the quantity requirements at the mrking loca-
i n c o n v e n i e n c e s , it y be i n a p p r o p r i a t e t o p l a c e t i o n s anand a l s o s a t i s f i e s c o n s e r v a t i on on of
of f l o w
v e n t i l a t i o n e q u i pnpn e n t i n ma many l o c a t i o n s i n a ('U rch h o ff s F i r s t L a w , t h e c o n t r o l l e d f l o v
nine. problem can be m a t h e m a t i c a l l y f o r n u l a t e d a s
This p ro b len can e f o r m u l a t e d a s a l i n e a r s h o v n b e l o v i n e q u a t i o n s ( I . 1 ) - ( 1 .6 ) . Without
p r og
og r a
ann ; t h e o b j e c t i v e is a l i n e a r f u n c t i o n , a s l o s s ofof g e n e r a l i t y , i t i s a ssss un
un eded t h a t a l l
a r e a l l of t h e c o n s t r a i n t s . Baw e evv c r, t r e a t i n g b r an
an ch
ch eess a r e d e f i ne
ne d t o l i e i n t h e d i r e c t i o n of of
this problem as a standard linear program is flo v: e.g. in b brr a n
nc
c h ( i , ) f l owow g oe oe s ffrr om
om
very in ef fi ci en t. The a p p l i c a t i o n of t h e junction i- t o j u n c t i o n j .
s i n p l e x a l g o r i t l n i g n o re re s t h e n nee tw
tw oorr k s t r u c t u r e The o b j e c t i v e f u n c t i o n 1s f o r n u l a t e d t o
o f t h e p r o b l e n , an an d o b f u s c a t e s t h e i n f o m a t i o n minim ize power power coaeum ption. Th
The e main
presented by a s o l u t i o n as v e l l . conputs- c o n s t r a i n t s a r e a s t a t emem e n t of
of t h e r e q u iirr e m e n t s
t i o n a l l y f a s t a l t e r n a t i v e c an an f ou
ou n d i n t h e o f liirch h o ff's Seco n d b w fo r each b ran ch . Th is
ainiaw a cos t flow algorithm9 o off O p e r a t i o n s fo r mu l atio n o f th e co n s tr ai n t s imp impo o sed
sed b y
% s e a r c h:h: e . g . t h c Q u t -O-O f K i l t e r a l g o r i t h m , Kirchhof f s Second I n w u t i l i z e s v a r i a b l e ess f o r
Two s i g n i f i c n n t p a p e r s have b e e n p r e s e n t e d i n j u n c t i o n h eaead v a l u e s r a t h e r t ha
ha n d e a l i n g v l t h
th c p ast o n th e Controlled F l o v X i n e V e n t i l a t i o n t h e g e n c r s t l o n o f m e sh sh eess .
Problem. Uan
Uang and and Pam (1971) pres ent ed a hc
linear pr ogr adn g f onul atio n o off t h hee c ono n t rro
o l lle
ed cnt egorn i cnsl n e nc cohn srter a
l ai n
t itn
s g a rt o
e b br
on
onr oek
kccon
f Ln
L
t hneco f o
fouu
rr
flov problea. W hi
hile t h e i r f o r = u l e t i o n v s s d i f f e r e n t t7 t7 3 e3e3 of b brr a n c h e ss:: those vhich allow
c o m p l etet e , i t w wa as c o n p l i c s t e d , h nr
nr d t o a ncncu f a n o r r e ~ u l a t o r ; h os os e v h iicc h do noc
u n d e r s t a n d , a nd nd c o o p u t a t i o n n l l p c u m b be
e r s oa
oa e . In a L l w a r e g u l a t o r ; t h oa oa c wh wh ic ic h do n o t a l l a v a
new fan; and
and tho se which do
do not all ow a ne
new fan R e v r i t i n g t h e dud u a l m a xi
xi + zaz a t io
io a o b j e c t i v e a s
or a regulator. a mi
m i n i m i z a t i o n a nd
nd s i m p l i f y i n g t h e v a r i a b l e s
yields the following formulation.
Mlnimize Power = ij ij 1.1)

Subject to:
Subject to
f o r a l l b r an ch es al l o w i n g a n ew f an o r a
r e g u l a t o r t h e a l g or
o r i t l rm
rm w i l l n o t p l a c e bo
bo t h i n f o r a l l j u n ct
c t i on
on s
a b r an ch )

f o r a l l b r a nc
nc h
hee s

f o r a 3 1 b rraa n c h e s a l l o w i n g a ne
new f a n b u t n o t a
regulator Wh er e t h e u n i t c o s t C , l o v er b o u n d s
i j
L;
L;,)
,) and upp er boun ds U a r e d e f in
in e d a s
il
follows:

f o r a l l b r an
an c h
hee s a l l o wi
wi n g a r e g u l a t o r b u t n o t a f o r a l l b rraa n
ncc he
he s
new fan
c = Em + HE* - HL* .
il i j il i j
f o r a l l b ra
r a n ch
c h e s a l l o w in
in g a r e g u l a t o r

f o r a l l b r a n ch
c h e s a l l o w i n g a ne
n ew f a n

f o r a l l br
br a n
ncc h es
e s n o t a l l o w i ng
ng a r e g u l a t o r

f o r a l l b r an
an c h
hee s a l l ow
ow i n g a r e g u l a t o r

f o r a l l b r an ch es al l o w i n g a n
neew f a n

5. Solution Algorithm

Th e ap p l i cab i l i t y o f a m i n i m u m co st n et w o r k f o r a l l b ra
r a n c h es
e s n o t a l l o v i n g a ne
new f a n
flow algorithm th e Out-Of-Kilter algorit hm) can
be mo mo sstt d i r e c t l y s e e n i n t h e d u a l of of t h e p r ob
ob l eem
m U = + - .
p r e s e n t e d a b ov
ov e . L e t t i n g thth e d u a l v a r i a b l e s i
a s s o c i a t e d v i t h t he
he p r i mmaa l c o n s t r a i n t s b e Th e p r o b l em r ep r esen t ed b y eq u at i o n s
r ep r esen t ed b y X i j , t h e d u a l i s w r i t t e n a s 111.1)- 111.3) i s an example of a minimum cost
follows. flow problem. It is i m p o r t a n t t o n o t e t h a t t h e
n e tw
tw o rk
rk i n v o l v e d i n s o l v i n g t h e d u a l p r ob
ob l eem
m is
n o n e o t h e r t h an
an t h a t d e f i n i n g t h e v e n t i l a t i o n
n e t wo
wo r k no a d d i t i o n a l c o mp
mp u te
te r s p a c e i s
requ ired . T h e r e a r e many e x c e l l e n t bo bo ook
ks i n the
f i e l d of
of O p e ra r a t i o ns
n s R eess eeaa rrcc h d i s c u s s i n g t h i s
Subject to: t y p e o f g en er a l n et wo wo r k p r o bl bl em e. g . H i n i ek a,
1978; Jen se n and Barnes, 1980; Kennington and and
for all junctions Helgason, 1980).
T h e a c t u a l p ri r i m al
al v a r i a b l e s o f i n t e r e s t ,
jXij E x = O ; 11.2) =
J li an d BF
BF ij , a r e e a s i l y r e t r i e v e d f ro
ro m t h e o p t i m a l
f o r a l l b r a nc
n c h e s a l l o v i n g a ne
new f a n
dual solution. q s the primal variable
ij < Q i j
a s s o c i a t e d w it
i t h t h e d u a l l ow
o w e r bo un d c o n s t r a i n t s
Xi,
Xi, has nono upper
upper bou bound
nd in branche s not allo wi ng a nd
nd ?I ?IFij i s t h e p r i m a l v a r i a b l e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h
a new f a n ) ; f o r a l l b r a nc
n c h e s a l l o w i ng
ng a
regulator t h e d u a l u p p e r b ou n d c o n s t r a i n t s . Also, the
n o d a l p r e s s u r e s , P i,
i, a r e t h e p r i ma
ma l v a r i a b l e s

a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t he
h e d u a l c o n s e r v a t i o n of
of f l o w
Xi , h as no l o w er b ou
ou nd
nd i n b r an ch es n o t al l o w i n g
a regulator). ct ho en sfft r v
a ia nr it as b. l e sThien n tohda
dea l g pe rneesrsaul r eOsp, er
e rcaat io
il ol ends
R e s e a r c h pr pr o bl bl e m,
m, a r e d i r e c t l y o u t p u t by by an an y
O u t- t- O f - K i l t e r co m pu pu t er co d e. Th u s, t h e
following formulae yield the optimal fan and
regulator heads.
 s t a r t s w i t h a c o m p l e te te s e t o f a s s i g n e d f l o w s .
' I h is
is p r e s e n ttss a s i g n i f i c a n t l i m i t a t i o n t o t h e
th en ERij
ERij Pi pj C* so lu ti on presented. Bov ve
e ve
v e r , t h e l i n e a r minimum
i j
c o s t f l o w ap ap p r o
oaach discusse d can b be
e u s eded a s t h e
and IPij = 0 c o r n e r s t o n e o f an a l g o r i t h m t o s o l v e t h e g e n e r a l
Opt
Opt imuimum m Nine V e n ti la ti o n De si g n P roble m. The
The
Opti
Optimu mum m ?line V e n t i l a ti o n Desig n Ro bl em may be
f o r m u l a t e d as a s t a n d a r d n o n - l i n e a r p r o og
g r am
am m iin
ng
p r o bl
b l e m a r id s o l v e d u s i n g c l a s s i c a l n o n - l i n e a r
t h e n EP j Pj - Pi - C* p rroo gr
gr am
am mi
mi nngg techniques, but , the authors f ee l
il t h a t a m o r e e f f e c t i v e s o l u t i o n t o t h e p rroo bl
bl e
emm
and q c a n b e fo fo un
un d i n t h e j u d i c i o u s u s e o f t h e
c o n t r o l l e d f l o v a l g o r i t h m p r e s e nt
nt e d b
by
y th is
paper.
L f t * X < u
il i j il
References
then q j m O ,
Je ns e n , P ..B
B .,
., a nd J . W . Barnes, 1980, Netvork
and HFij . Flow Progr ammin g, Joh n Wiley Sons, New York.

6. Example Ken nin gto n, J.L., and R.V. E el ga so n, 1980,

Algor i thms fo r Ne twork
twork P rogra
rogra mming, John W i le y
T h e f o l l o v i n g s m a l l exam p pll e i l l u s t r a t e s t h e Sons, New York.
p ow
ow e err aann d s i m p l i c i t y of
of t h e f o r m u l a t i o n a n d
s o l u t i o n p r o ce
c e d ur
u r e p r e s en
e n t e d i n t h i s p a p e rr.. M n i e k a , E. 1 9 7 8,
8, O p t i m i z a t i o n A l g or
or i t h m s f o r
Figure depict s a simple ve nt il ati on ne ett w or
or k . N e t v o r k s a nd
nd G r a pph
h s , Ma
Ma r ce
ce l L k ~ k e r , Nev York.
Table 1 summarizes the necessary problem
s t a t e m e n t i n f o r m a ti
ti o n r e q u i r e d by t h e Wang, Y . J . 1981, A C r i t i c a l P a th th A pp
pp rroo ac
ac h t o
algorithm. T h i s f o r m u l a ti
ti o n a l l o v s f o r a n H i ne
ne V e n t i l a t i o n N et
et w
wo
o rrk
k s W it
it h C o n t r o l l e d
e x i s t i n g mi
mi nne
e f a n l o c a t e d i n B ra ra nnc
ch (6,1) , an ndd Flovs , S Preprint No. 81-23, XIXE annual
p o s s i b l y b o o s t e r f a n s i n B r an
an ch
c h e s ( 2 , 5 ) a nd meeting, Chicago.
(3,4) The p r e a s s i g n e d b r a n c h f l o w s i n d i c a t e d
i n T a b l e 1 n ee ee d t o be a c h i e v e d . Ven tila tio n Vang, Y . J . 1 9 8 2,2, V e n t i l a t i o n Ne
Ne ttw
w or
or k l h e o r y ,
r e g u l a t o r s may o n l y e l o c a t e d i n B r an an ch
c h es
es N i n e V e n t i l a t i o n a n d Air C o n d i t i o n i n g , S e c o n d
(2,4), (2,5), and 3,s) Th
The .
e he adad l o ss e s due to E d i t i o n , H.L. Hartman ed ., pp. 483-516.
fri ctio n a ann d n a t u r a l v e n t i l a t i o n p r e s su
su r e s a r e
as indica att e d . Wang, Y . J . a nd X.T. P a m , 1971, S o l u t io n of
T a b l e 2 s u m ma ma r iiz
zes the alg ori thm in put an nd
d t h e N i ne
ne V e n t i l a t i o n N e tw
tw o rrk
k P r ob
ob l em
em y Linear
T a bl
bl e 3 t h e a l g o r i t h m o u t p u t . T a b lle
e sh
hoo ws
ws t h e Programming , SM .?reprint So. 71AU132, ADE
f i n a l d e s i g n i n f o r m a ti
t i o n d e r i v e d f ro
ro m t h e v a l u e s an nu al meet in g, New York.
Fn T a ab
b lle
e 3. The o p t i m a l s o l u t i o n t o t h i s
proble m i s t o p la la c e v e n t i l a t i o n r e g u l a t o r s i n
B r an
an ch
c h es
es ( 2 , 4 ) a nndd (3 ,5 ), and boost er fans in
B r a nc
nc h eess ( 2 . 5 ) an
an d ( 3 , 4 ) . This sol uti on yi el ds
a t o t a l po po w
weer r e q u i r e m e n t o f 3 3 , 2 0 0 .

7. Conclusion

O p e r a t i o n s R e ses e a r ch
ch t e c h n i q u e s a r e a n
e x t r e me
m e l y p o v ere r f u l s e t of to ol s whi whicc h c a n be
a p p l i e d t o m iinn e v e n t i l a t i o n d e s i g n p r ob
ob le
l e m s.
s. In
t h i s paper a n neew t e c h n i q u e i s p r e s e n t e d t o s o l v e
the Controlled Flow Nine Ventilation problem.
Thi s new new a ppr oa c h i s foun de d on a c omm ommononll y
a v a i l a b l e m a t h e m a t i c a l pr
pr og
og rra
ammm
m in
in g a l g o r i t h m :
the Out-Of-K ilter a lgo rit hm. U n l i k e t h e C. C.P.M.
a p p r o a c h ofof Wa Wang ( 1 9 8 1 ) , t h i s n e v t e c h n i q u e c a n
e f f e c t i v e l y d e a l w i th t h c om
om p pll ex
ex c o n s t r a i n t s o n t h e
p l a ce
ce m enen t o off b o o s t e r f a n s a nd nd v e n t i l a t i o n
re gu la to rs . E o v e v e r,
r, l i k e t h e C.P.H. approac ch
h
t h e a l g oro r i th
th m i s c o m mp p u ta
t a ttii on
o n a l ly
ly f a s t , e a s i l y
l e a r n e d a ndnd i m p lel e m en
e n t ed
e d , a nd f u l l y u t i l i z e s t h e
n e t w o r k s t r u c t u r e of
of t h e p ro
ro b lle
em.
Thhoou gghh the sol uti on procedure presented i n
t h i s p a p e r s o l v e s t h e C o n t r o l l e d F l ow
ow .Wne
V e n t i l a t i o n P r o bl
bl e
emm , a g r e a t d e a l m cr orr k i s
cr e v o
n e ed
ed e d i n t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o off O p e r a c i o n a R es
es e a r c h
t e c h n i q u e s t o m in in e V e n t i l a t i o n p r o b
bll e m s.
s. For
e x am
am p l e e,, a r e s t a t e m e n t o f t h e o b j e c t i v e f rro om
minimizing ventilation power consumption to
m i ni
ni m iz
iz iin
n g t o t a l v e n t i l a t i o n c o s t s c o u ldl d be
be
inv est iga ted. A l s o , th
th e c o n t r o l l e d f l o w p roro bl
bl e
em
m
 TABLE 1 PROBLEM INFORM
RMAT
TI
ION

J Q j EL HN RE FW REG.
ALLOmD ALLOmD

2 4 10 110 0 0 O YES

5 2 250 0 YES YES

3 6 10 300 0 0 YES O

3 5 10 170 0 0 O YES

TABLE 2 ALGORITHM INPUT

TABLE 3 ALGORITHM OUTPUT

T BLE 4 DESIGX LNFORM TION