MMPE 402 Mine Ventilation

Lecture 9 Kirchoff’s Laws and

Network Analysis

1
 Kirchoff’s Laws

Kirchoff’s first law states that the sum of the flows entering and leaving
junction j must sum to zero

M  0
j

But
Q is m3/s and  is in kg/m3

Thus
 Kirchoff’s Laws

Kirchoff’s second law states that the sum of the pressure losses and
gains around around a closed loop (mesh) must sum to zero.

Since around a loop delta Z equals zero and the change in kinetic energy is
negligible then summing around m meshes gives
 Kirchoff’s Laws

This may be converted to pressure by

Note this equation is only valid for incompressible flow, if the flow is
compressible the analysis must be done on mass flow
 Kirchoff’s Laws
Where
P is the frictional pressure drop
Pf is the pressure added to the system by the fan
NVP is the ventilation pressure associated with natural
ventilation

To use Kirchoff’s second on in network analysis we need to recall

that
 Kirchoff’s Laws

Since

Thus Kirchoff’s second law for compressible flow gives

 Kirchoff’s Laws
Since signs are important a better way to
write it is

For incompressible flow Kirchoff’s laws gives

Where R is Atkinson’s resistance value and

all pressures are referred to the same
density usually 1.2
 Deviation from the Square Law

It has been found that Is not always true

Is better expressed as

Experiments where ln P vs ln Q gives values of n from 1.8

to 2.05
n changes due to the flow not always being turbulent, it
can be in the transition phase or even laminar in which
case n=1 and
 Methods of solving ventilation
Networks
We will use n in our derivations for methods of solving ventilation
networks.

In general
Methods of solving ventilation
Networks
Methods of solving ventilation
Networks
Methods of solving ventilation
Networks Example 1
Methods of solving ventilation
Networks Example 1
Methods of solving ventilation
Networks Example 1
 Methods of solving ventilation
Networks Example 1
Given the diagram below for nine airways determine the
equivalent resistance for the system
Methods of solving ventilation
Networks Example 1
Methods of solving ventilation
Networks Example 1

0.298

0.298

0.548
 Controlled Splitting
There will be cases when the amount of airflow required in a drift will
not occur by natural means in a parallel circuit. To manage the
airflows regulators are used to induce pressure drops for drifts in
parallel so that the required airflows are obtained. The drift without an
artificial resistance is called the free split. Obviously this method will
increase energy costs due to the increase in pressure loss caused by
the regulators. Correspondingly it makes sense that the free split be
the drift or airway that has the highest pressure drop.
 Mesh Analysis
The minimum number of meshes necessary to solve a network is
m  b  j 1
Where
m is the number of meshes
b is the number of branches
j is the number of junctions
All branches must be included in a mesh
Mesh Analysis Example