Tunnel Ventilation — Shaft Sinking
Construction ventilation check for a shaft sinking: velocity, air age and duct delivery.
Sinking ventilates straight down into a blind hole where stage, kibble and services all fight for cross-section. Brattice or rigid duct to within ~15 m of the shaft bottom is typical practice — the dead zone below the duct end is where gas readings and this airflow check earn their keep.
Formula
Note: Mine ventilation is statutory and life-safety territory: airflow quantities, gas limits and re-entry times must be set by the registered ventilation engineer/manager under your jurisdiction's mining regulations — this calculator is a planning and training aid.
Construction ventilation check for a shaft sinking: velocity, air age and duct delivery. A free mine ventilation & air quality tool — no sign-up, no upload, instant results in your browser.
About Tunnel Ventilation — Shaft Sinking
Tunnel Ventilation — Shaft Sinking computes the governing relationship v = Q/A · air age = V_tunnel/Q live as you type. Sinking ventilates straight down into a blind hole where stage, kibble and services all fight for cross-section. Brattice or rigid duct to within ~15 m of the shaft bottom is typical practice — the dead zone below the duct end is where gas readings and this airflow check earn their keep. Defaults are pre-filled with realistic values for this exact scenario, and the worked example substitutes your numbers step by step so the math is never a black box.
How to use Tunnel Ventilation — Shaft Sinking
- 1Enter your values — Drive length, Tunnel cross-section, Airflow delivered at face, Minimum velocity required (sensible defaults are pre-filled).
- 2Read the live results: Mean return velocity, Nominal air age.
- 3Check the "with your numbers" line to see v = Q/A · air age = V_tunnel/Q substituted step by step.
- 4Adjust inputs until the scenario matches yours, then copy or share the result.
Why use Tunnel Ventilation — Shaft Sinking?
- ✓Instant, free and private — every calculation runs client-side in your browser; nothing is uploaded
- ✓Built on the stated formula v = Q/A · air age = V_tunnel/Q with authoritative sources cited on the page (McPherson, M.J., Subsurface Ventilation and Environmental Engineering; BS 6164 — Health & safety in tunnelling)
- ✓Sinking ventilates straight down into a blind hole where stage, kibble and services all fight for cross-section.
- ✓SI ⇄ Imperial toggle converts your inputs in place, so you can work in the units your drawings use
Frequently asked questions
What formula does the tunnel ventilation — shaft sinking use?+
It evaluates v = Q/A · air age = V_tunnel/Q, exactly as published. Sources: McPherson, M.J., Subsurface Ventilation and Environmental Engineering; BS 6164 — Health & safety in tunnelling. The substituted worked example on the page lets you verify every step against the textbook.
How should I read the result — and how far can I trust it?+
Sinking ventilates straight down into a blind hole where stage, kibble and services all fight for cross-section. Mine ventilation is statutory and life-safety territory: airflow quantities, gas limits and re-entry times must be set by the registered ventilation engineer/manager under your jurisdiction's mining regulations — this calculator is a planning and training aid.
When is this calculator the right tool for the job?+
Construction ventilation check for a shaft sinking: velocity, air age and duct delivery. A free mine ventilation & air quality tool. Brattice or rigid duct to within ~15 m of the shaft bottom is typical practice — the dead zone below the duct end is where gas readings and this airflow check earn their keep. For neighbouring scenarios, the related tools below cover the same engine with different presets.
Does it support both metric and imperial units?+
Yes — the SI ⇄ Imperial toggle converts the values already in the fields, preserving the physical quantity, so you can flip mid-calculation without re-entering anything.
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