Heatflow: an interactive computer program for the analysis of heat production in gold mines

Abstract

The cooling of deep gold mines is costly and must therefore be planned carefully. To provide a precise assessment of underground air temperatures, a computer program, HEATFLOW, has been designed. HEATFLOW has a modular format, using Independent algorithms for the prediction of heat and moisture transfer in shafts, tunnels, stopes, development ends, hoist chambers and fans. It also simulates the performance of air-coolers. HEATFLOW is a user-friendly program, running on IBM-PC compatible computers. It allows the user to enter complete mine networks (up to 320 elements) and provides two levels of simulation : 'simple', for global and rapid calculations, and 'complex', for improved accuracy and detail in input data and results. The network is schematically displayed on the screen and data are input interactively, using predefined forms on the screen. A generic mine representing the overage 'deep' gold mine has been simulated, providing satisfactory answers (within 10% of actual data).