A Review on Mine Fire Prevention Technology and Theory Based on Bibliometric Analysis

Of all mine disasters, fires are very threatening to mine safety and often lead to the most serious consequences. Research on mine fire prevention technology and theory has experienced significant growth and is attracting escalating academic interest and attention. However, dedicated literature reviews on this topic are scarce. For the purpose of uncovering the research characteristics and trends on mine fire prevention technology and theory, this paper employs bibliometric analysis using the Web of Science Core Collection database. This study presents a detailed analysis of relevant articles published between 2010 and 2022. An assessment of the influences of journals, countries, institutions, and authors was conducted through a citation analysis. Furthermore, this paper describes co-authorship networks among different countries, institutions, and authors. Lastly, a review of the mine fire prevention techniques and theories researched during this period was carried out through a keyword clustering analysis. Four main research topics in mine fire prevention research were identified: “mine fire control technology”, “mine fire occurrence mechanism”, “mine fire prediction technology”, and “mine fire monitoring technology”. Additionally, the theory study of spontaneous combustion and its underlying mechanisms may represent a potential focus for future research. These findings contribute to providing a solid foundation for future research endeavors in this field of fire prevention.