Study of heat release rates of mining vehicles in underground hard rock mines

A unique study on fire safety in hard rock underground mines with focus on heat release rates of mining vehicles is presented. A literature inventory was conducted with respect to fires in underground hard rock mines, which revealed that the most common fire cause in underground mines was flammable liquid sprayed onto hot surface and the most common fire object was a vehicle. A major concern was the lack of documented fire experiments in mining vehicles and heat release rate curves. It also revealed the limited research carried out on fire safety and fire development on vehicles found in hard rock underground mines.