Preface
This document was initially conceived to cover the topic Mine Ventilation included
as part of the module Technology of Exploitation of Mining Resources in the
Master’s Degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Cantabria. It has
now been expanded and updated to meet my new teaching obligations covering the
same topic in the module Advanced Mining Techniques in the Master’s Degree in
Mining Engineering and Energy Resources at the University of León.
The volume includes all the concepts necessary to succeed in any general course
on the ventilation of mines and underground works. It also contains a significant
number of questions and exercises which aim to strengthen the understanding of
this theoretical base. When writing it, I took into account the chronic shortage of
time that students in technical schools have, so I sacrificed rhetoric in favour of
synthesis.
My aim was to produce a text that would serve the student as a link between the
disciplines of fluid mechanics and mine ventilation. This volume also incorporates
an updated compilation of regulations as well as a large number of worked-out
examples of realistic problems, which, I hope, will make it a useful reference for
professionals in the field of underground ventilation systems.
I am indebted to Mr. Emilio Andrea Blanco, a mining engineer and retired
adjunct professor at the University of Cantabria for his invaluable help and wise
advice with the calculations for ventilation networks, his many useful comments
and patient review of the first manuscript. Despite our careful scrutiny, I am aware
v
This document was initially conceived to cover the topic Mine Ventilation included
as part of the module Technology of Exploitation of Mining Resources in the
Master’s Degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Cantabria. It has
now been expanded and updated to meet my new teaching obligations covering the
same topic in the module Advanced Mining Techniques in the Master’s Degree in
Mining Engineering and Energy Resources at the University of León.
The volume includes all the concepts necessary to succeed in any general course
on the ventilation of mines and underground works. It also contains a significant
number of questions and exercises which aim to strengthen the understanding of
this theoretical base. When writing it, I took into account the chronic shortage of
time that students in technical schools have, so I sacrificed rhetoric in favour of
synthesis.
My aim was to produce a text that would serve the student as a link between the
disciplines of fluid mechanics and mine ventilation. This volume also incorporates
an updated compilation of regulations as well as a large number of worked-out
examples of realistic problems, which, I hope, will make it a useful reference for
professionals in the field of underground ventilation systems.
I am indebted to Mr. Emilio Andrea Blanco, a mining engineer and retired
adjunct professor at the University of Cantabria for his invaluable help and wise
advice with the calculations for ventilation networks, his many useful comments
and patient review of the first manuscript. Despite our careful scrutiny, I am aware
v