Arctic Vent Control
Reduce energy consumption
and optimize airflow
in underground mines
A ventilation on demand system that provides full control over airflow within the mining site.
This advanced mine ventilation system has vehicle detection, gas detection, air quality sensors and scheduling possibilities that optimizes the airflow underground.
The ventilation system works independently and does not require any infrastructure in the form of Wifi or other IT solutions. Because of its independency, Arctic Vent Control is easy to install and requires low initial costs. The system is also scalable, and each fan control unit is autonomous, that means the ventilation system can be installed and tested in one small part before continuing with installations throughout the mine.
More than 20 years in operation
Our ventilation on demand system was first installed in the LKAB mine in Malmberget Sweden in 1999. It has since then provided the 1250m underground mine with high quality air flow. The system has been continuously developed and improved to best fit the needs and requirements of the growing mine.
As the mine and its operations continue to grow and get more and more advanced, the ventilation system grows with it. As your mine changes, so does Arctic Vent Control. Because the ventilation system is modular, you can easily move control units to new mining areas.
Benefits of Arctic Vent Control
Save money – reduce costs
Because Arctic Vent Control will control the fans to only run when needed (using vehicle detection and other sensors) you will use less power and your fans will have a longer service life and less damage.
Safe work environment
Use of scheduled operation of the fans to flush out toxic gases after blasting etc.
Compatible with most fans and ventilation systems
If existing ventilation systems and fans are already installed in the mine, Arctic Vent Control will integrate via common bus protocols.
Low initial investment
Each fan control unit is autonomous, that makes Arctic Vent Control highly scalable. It can be tested in one area before full or progressive installation throughout the mine.
Autonomous operation
Each fan control unit can operate on its own if communication does not exist or fails. Arctic Vent Control can be controlled via local HMI underground and/or remote from above ground.
Portable control units
As your mine changes, so does Arctic Vent Control. By being modular you can easily move control units to the new mining areas.
Quick and easy support
Since Arctic Vent Control can be controlled remotely from above ground, we can offer support, in most cases, without having to leave or home office. That means support becomes cheaper and faster and makes the downtime minimal.
Specifications and details
Vehicle detection helps control the airflow in underground mines and optimize the use of the ventilation system based on when there are vehicles in certain areas.
This will help with maintaining good air quality underground and at the same time reduce costs and emissions.
A receiver is connected to the control system and a transmitter is installed in the vehicles. When a vehicle is detected, the fan starts according to a pre-set ventilation demand for that type of vehicle. That means a smaller vehicle will automatically trigger less airflow than a larger vechicle might. All depending on what is needed to maintain good air quality.
This means that no manual control of the ventilation system is required for patterns within your workflow that reoccurs every day. Controlling the air flow and being able to schedule the mine ventilation fans to your operation will help you keep good air quality in the mine and reduce costs.
Ventilation on demand optimized with pressure and air flow. It is easy to connect sensors for pressure, gases, flow and other metrics to Arctic Vent Control to enable further optimizations for extended Ventilation on Demand.
We can also connect sensors for temperature, CO and NO (among many other types of sensors like dust, flow or pressure) to the control system underground. These sensors can inform the PLC how to adjust the fan(s) to maintain air quality.
Arctic Vent Control works independently and does not require any infrastructure in the form of Wifi or other IT solutions. That means lower intial investments and a more versatile system that can grow along with the mine.
Our demand controlled ventilation system comes with local human machine interface (HMI) installed nearby the fans underground to ensure access for operators or technicians. With the HMI attached underground you can see how and why certain fans operate, sensor data, alarms and do basic setups. The local HMI can be set up with authorization to avoid unauthorized access.
Customer reference
After installation of Artic Vent Control there was a 29% decrease in energy consumption from the fans and a 40% decrease in energy for heating the mine air.
The introduction of this new system in the Malmberget mine have led to a decrease in the annual electric energy consumption from 167 GWh to 72 GWh
LKAB
