• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.21-27
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• 2019

Rockburst disasters pose serious threat to mining safety and underground excavation, especially in China, resulting in massive life-wealth loss and even compulsive closed-down of some coal mines. To investigate the mechanism of rockbursts that occur under a state of static forces, a stress model with sidewall as prototype was developed and verified by a group of laboratory experiments and numerical simulations. In this model, roadway sidewall was simplified as a square plate with axial compression and end (horizontal) restraints. The stress field was solved via the Airy stress function. To track the "closeness degree" of the stress state approaching the yield limit, an unbalanced force F was defined based on the Mohr-Coulomb yield criterion. The distribution of the unbalanced force in the plane model indicated that only the friction angle above a critical value could cause the first failure on the coal in the deeper of the sidewall, inducing the occurrence of rockbursts. The laboratory tests reproduced the rockburst process, which was similar to the prediction from the theoretical model, numerical simulation and some disaster scenes.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.305-317
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• 2019

The RMR and Q-system for characterizing rock mass and drilling core, and for estimating the support and reinforcement measures in mine galleries, tunnels and caverns have been widely used by engineers. SMR has been widely used in the rock mass classification for rock slope, but Q-Slope has been introduced into slopes since 2015. In the last ten years, a modified Q-system called Q-slope has been tested by the many authors for application to the benches in open pit mines and excavated road rock slopes. The results have shown that a simple correlation exists between Q-slope values and the long-term stable and unsupported slope angles. Just as RMR and Q have been used together in a tunnel or underground space and complemented by comparison, Q-Slope can be used in parallel with SMR. This paper introduces how to use Q-Slope which has not been announced in Korea and application examples of Pasir open pit coal mine in Indonesia.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.233-244
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• 2023

With the increasing amount of resources required by the society development, mining operations go deeper, which raises the requirements of studying the effects of temperature on the physical and mechanical properties of coal and adjacent rock. For now, these effects are yet to be fully revealed. In this paper, a mechanical-electromagnetic radiation (EMR) test system was established to understand the mechanical deterioration characteristics of coal by the effect of thermal treatment and its deformation and fracture characteristics under thermo-mechanical coupling conditions. The mechanical properties of high-temperature-treated coal were analyzed and recorded, based on which, reasons of coal mechanical deterioration as well as the damage parameters were obtained. Changes of the EMR time series under unconstrained conditions were further analyzed before characteristics of EMR signals under different damage conditions were obtained. The evolution process of thermal damage and deformation of coal was then analyzed through the frequency spectrum of EMR. In the end, based on the time-frequency variation characteristics of EMR, a method of determining combustion zones within the underground gasification area and combustion zones' stability level was proposed.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.233-243
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• 2021

Rib spalling is a major issue affecting the safety of steeply inclined coal seam. And the failure coal face and support system can be affected with each other to generate a vicious cycle along with inducing large-scale collapse of surrounding rock in steeply inclined coal seam. In order to analyze failure mechanism and propose the corresponding prominent control measures of steeply inclined coal working face, mechanical model based on coal face-support-roof system and mechanical model of coal face failure was established to reveal the disaster mechanism of rib spalling and the sensitive analysis of related factors was performed. Furthermore, taking 3402 working face of Chen-man-zhuang coal mine as engineering background, numerical model by using FLAC3D was built to illustrate the propagation of displacement and stress fields in steeply inclined coal seam and verify the theory analysis as mentioned in this study. The results show that the coal face slide body in steeply inclined working face can be observed as the failure height of upper layer smaller than that of lower layer exhibiting with an irregular quadrilateral pyramid shape. Moreover, the cracks were originated from the upper layer of sliding body and gradually developed to the lower layer causing the final rib spalling. The influence factors on the stability of coal face can be ranked as overlying strata pressure (P) > mechanical parameters of coal body (e.g., cohesion (c), internal fraction angle (φ)) > support strength (F) > the support force of protecting piece (F') > the false angle of working face (Θ). Moreover, the corresponding control measures to maintain the stability of the coal face in the steeply inclined working face were proposed.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.133-142
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• 2020

The evolution of the mining-induced fracture network formed during longwall top coal caving (LTCC) has a great influence on the gas drainage, roof control, top coal recovery ratio and engineering safety of aquifers. To reveal the evolution of the mining-induced stress and fracture network formed during LTCC, the fracture network in front of the working face was observed by borehole video experiments. A discrete element model was established by the universal discrete element code (UDEC) to explore the local stress distribution. The regression relationship between the fractal dimension of the fracture network and mining stress was established. The results revealed the following: (1) The mining disturbance had the most severe impact on the borehole depth range between approximately 10 m and 25 m. (2) The distribution of fractures was related to the lithology and its integrity. The coal seam was mainly microfractures, which formed a complex fracture network. The hard rock stratum was mainly included longitudinal cracks and separated fissures. (3) Through a numerical simulation, the stress distribution in front of the mining face and the development of the fracturing of the overlying rock were obtained. There was a quadratic relationship between the fractal dimension of the fractures and the mining stress. The results obtained herein will provide a reference for engineering projects under similar geological conditions.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.373-382
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• 2012

Cessation of dewatering usually results in groundwater rebound after closing an underground coal mine because the mine voids and surrounding strata flood up to the levels of decant points such as shafts and drifts. Several numerical models have been developed to predict the timing, magnitude and location of discharges resulting from groundwater rebound. This study reviews the numerical models such as VSS-NET, GRAM and MODFLOW, and compares their scopes of assessment at different spatial and time scales. In particular, the GRAM model was reviewed in details to implement it. This paper describes the implementation of GRAM model and its application to the Dongwon coal mine in Korea. The application showed that the groundwater level modeled at the shaft of Dongwon coal mine using the GRAM model is similar to the observed one in the field.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.15 no.6 s.59
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• pp.425-431
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• 2005

A series of geotechnical surveys and in-situ tests were carried out to evaluate the stability of underground mine cave in an abandoned coal mine. After the closure of the mine, the underground mine drifts have been utilized for a tourist route since 1999. The dimension of the main cave is 5m width, 3m height and 230m length. The surrounding rock mass of the cave is consist of black shale, coal and limestone. Also, the main cave is intersected by two fault zone. Detailed field investigations including Rock Mass Rating(RMR), Geological Strength Index(GSI) and Q classification were performed to evaluate the stability of the main cave and to examine the necessity of reinforcement. Based on the results of rock mass classification and numerical analysis, suitable support design was recommended for the main cave. RMR and Q values of the rock masses were classified in the range of fair to good. According to the support categories proposed by Grimstad & Barton(1993), these classes fall in the reinforcement category of the Type 3 to Type 1. A Type 3 reinforcement category signifies systematic bolting and no support is necessary for the Type 1 case. From the result of numerical analysis, it was inferred that additional support on the several unstable blocks is required to ensure stability of the cave.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.243-261
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• 2016

This research study focuses on utilizing sandstone which is overburden waste rock in coal mines to use in concrete as a replacement of fine aggregate. Physical properties of sandstone like water absorption, moisture content, fineness modulus etc., were found to be similar to conventional fine aggregate. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis was carried out for analysing elemental composition of sandstone. There was no sulphur content in sandstone which is a good sign to carry the replacement. Fine aggregate was replaced with sandstone at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% by volume and moulds of concrete cubes and cylinders were prepared. Compressive strength of concrete cubes was tested after 3, 7 and 28 days and split tensile & flexural strength was determined after 28 days. The strength was found to be increasing marginally with increase in sandstone content. Fine aggregate that was replaced by 100% sandstone gave highest strength among all the replacements for the compressive, split tensile and flexural strengths. Though increase in strength was marginal, still sandstone can be an effective replacement for sand in order to save the natural resource and utilize the waste sandstone.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2002.03a
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• pp.63-70
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• 2002

In tunnel construction, the information on the rock quality and the location of fault or fracture are crucial for economical design of support pattern and for safe construction of the tunnel. The grade of rock is commonly estimated through the observation with the naked eye of recovered cores in drilling or from physical parameters obtained by their laboratory test. Since drilling cost is quite expensive and terrains of planned sites for tunnel construction are rough in many cases, however, only limited information could be provided by core drilling Electrical resistivity and EM surveys may be a clue to get over this difficulty. Thus we have investigated electrical resistivity and EM field data providing regional Information of the rock Quality and delineating fault and fracture over a rough terrain. In this paper, we present some case histories using electrical resistivity and EM survey for the site investigation of tunnel construction. Through electrical resistivity and EM survey, the range and depth of coal seam was clearly estimated, cavities were detected in limestone area, and weak zones such as joint, fault and fracture have been delineated.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.45-49
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• 2022

In the present study, a physical model was built for the Jintan underground gas storage cavern group according to the similarity theory. In this regard, four ellipsoid caverns were built with scaled in-situ stresses and internal pressure. Then the stability of underground caverns was analyzed. The obtained results demonstrate that loss of internal pressure adversely affects the safety of caverns and attention should be paid during the operation of gas storage.