63
07.13
product news
Latest version of mine
ventilation package released
VUMA Software has launched the latest version of VUMA3D-net-
work which it describes as a world leading, windows-based soft-
ware package for mine ventilation, cooling and environment con-
trol, developed to meet the specific needs of deep hard-rock mines.
VUMA3D-network 2.0 builds on the innovative capabilities of the
previous version to offer the local mining industry several unique
new features.
VUMA, an acronym for Ventilation of Underground Mine Atmo-
spheres, was developed by local mining experts to assist mine de-
signers to manage and mitigate the high heat loads encountered
deep below the surface in South African hard-rock mines.
The software solves airflow, heat flow and pollutant distributions
interactively throughout a ventilation circuit. Analysis of ventilation
networks is now made significantly easier than before through the
ease-of-use of this state-of-the-art engineering package. The pro-
gramme can be used both as a planning tool and to verify the envi-
ronmental performance parameters of operational mines.
“Thirteen years of continuous development have now brought us
to the next version of this pioneering software,” says VUMA Soft-
ware’s Director, Wynand Marx. “In addition to order-of-magnitude
improvements in ease of use and drastically enhanced 3D graphics,
VUMA3D-network 2.0 incorporates some truly innovative features
that will facilitate planning and verification of the environmental pa-
rameters in an operational mine and boost productivity.
“This windows-based software makes it extremely easy to build a
network on a graphical screen and it is just as easy to import a mine
design from other graphics programs.”
Differentiating features include uniquely specialised and verified
modelling algorithms for most production zone types and develop-
ment headings; verified heat models accounting for broken rock
and face advance; rock, vehicle fleet and fan libraries; and easy-to-
use category-based input.
The package also offers an intelligent on-screen hint system and
an improved reporting capability with multi-editing functionality, de-
sign checking criteria and effective summary reporting.
“VUMA was first conceptualised in the mid-90s when it became
clear that the industry needed a new level of mine ventilation soft-
ware,” Marx says. “This software has opened the door for mine
designers to enter an entirely new realm of mine planning, via on-
screen graphics that were simply not available anywhere before.”
The entire VUMA Software suite of software has been completely
home-grown in South Africa and is supported by a team of local
experts with decades of field experience.
Users are now invited to attend free regular monthly Friday morn-
ing user workshops at VUMA Software’s offices in Sandton that
will address application questions and discuss suggestions for
improvement in future versions. User training courses for new and
existing users are also offered at the VUMA Software office, or at
mining companies’ premises.
VUMA Software, tel (+27 11) 706-9797
A typical screen shot from
VUMA3D-network.
