Combined Prediction of Dust Concentration in Opencast Mine Based on RF-GA-LSSVM

Accurate prediction of dust concentration is essential for effectively preventing and controlling mine dust. The environment of opencast mines is intricate, with numerous factors influencing dust concentration, making accurate predictions challenging. To enhance the prediction accuracy of dust concentration in these mines, a combined prediction algorithm utilizing RF-GA-LSSVM is developed. Initially, the random forest (RF) algorithm is employed to identify key features from the meteorological and dust concentration data collected on site, ultimately selecting five indicators—temperature, humidity, stripping amount, wind direction, and wind speed—as the input variables for the prediction model. Next, the data are split into a training set and a test set at a 7:3 ratio, and the genetic algorithm (GA) is applied to optimize the least squares support vector machine (LSSVM) model for predicting dust concentration in opencast mines. Additionally, model evaluation metrics and testing methods are established. Compared with LSSVM, PSO-LSSVM, ISSA-LSSVM, GWO-LSSVM, and other prediction models, the GA-LSSVM model demonstrates a final fitting degree of 0.872 for PM2.5 concentration data and 0.913 for PM10 concentration data. The GA-LSSVM model clearly demonstrates a strong predictive performance with low error and high fitting. The research results can serve as a foundation for developing dust control measures in opencast mines.