A ventilation fan is used to move air in a controlled way so that heat, dust, fumes and gases are kept within safe limits. Instead of allowing air to stagnate, a ventilation fan creates a flow path that brings in fresh air and removes contaminated or hot air. This basic function is essential in everything from small plant rooms and workshops to large factories, tunnels and underground mines.
In industrial applications, ventilation fans are used to remove fumes from welding, cutting, painting, smelting and chemical processes; to control dust from conveying, crushing and screening; and to reduce heat loads from motors, furnaces and other equipment. Axial and centrifugal fans are mounted in walls, roofs, ducts and air handling units to supply fresh air and exhaust polluted air. Local exhaust fans connected to hoods and ductwork capture contaminants at the source before they spread through the building.
In underground mining, ventilation fans are critical safety equipment. Main mine fans installed on shafts or portals drive airflow through the entire mine, ensuring that each working area receives enough oxygen and that methane, diesel exhaust, blasting fumes and dust are diluted and carried to return airways. Booster fans and auxiliary fans in drifts and headings are used to push or pull air into remote districts and faces. Without these mining ventilation fans, safe underground work would not be possible.
Ventilation fans are also used to support temperature and humidity control. By moving air through cool intake routes and past hot equipment, they limit temperature rise in buildings and underground workings. In combination with heaters, coolers or air conditioners, fans distribute conditioned air evenly so that workers and equipment operate within their design temperature range. This is especially important in deep mines and heavy industrial plants where heat loads are high.
A further use of ventilation fans is to maintain pressure relationships between different spaces. By adjusting supply and exhaust fan capacities, engineers can keep certain areas slightly positive (to keep dust and fumes out) or slightly negative (to prevent contaminants from escaping). Examples include keeping clean control rooms over-pressurised relative to dusty production halls, or holding return airways in a mine under negative pressure so contaminated air does not leak into intake routes.
In summary, a ventilation fan is used to move air for air quality control, cooling, moisture management and pressure control. Whether in a factory, tunnel or underground mine, properly selected and installed ventilation fans are key to providing safe, comfortable and compliant working conditions.
