• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.578-592
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• 2021

This study performed to investigate the propagation characteristics of overpressure, impulse, vibration in underwater blasting. The difference between air blasting and underwater blasting is that noise and vibration propagate through water as a medium. In some cases, the noise and vibration propagates through various media (rock, water, air, etc.). In this study, the underwater blasting was simulated using AUTODYN, and the propagation characteristics of overpressure, impulse and vibration induced by blasting were analyzed. We mainly focused on the effect of mesh size on the overpressure, impulse and peak particle velocity from the underwater blasting simulation. The numerical results indicated that the overpressure and peak particle velocity tended to decrease as the mesh size increased, while the impulse increased with the mesh size. The results also indicated that the mesh dependence varied depending on the explosive charge and scaled distance.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.173-193
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• 2022

In this study, international standardization trend of smart mining technology was analyzed focusing on the guidelines developed by GMG (Global Mining Guidelines Group). GMG is a non-profit organization that unites the global mining community. It was established to promote mining safety, innovation and sustainability. Currently, GMG's working group consists of artificial intelligence, asset management, autonomous mining, cybersecurity, data access and usage/interoperability, the electric mine, mineral processing, underground mining, and sustainability. Guideline development projects related to smart mining technology are being conducted in artificial intelligence, autonomous mining, cybersecurity, data access and usage/interoperability, and underground mining. As of April 2022, eight types of smart mining-related guidelines have been published through pre-launch, launch, guideline definition, contents generation, technical editing/layout/final review, and voting process. It is judged that the GMG guidelines can be an important reference for the development of domestic smart mining technology standards.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.203-218
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• 2022

A hydro-mechanical study was performed to analyze the relationship between the magnitude of injection-induced seismicity and shut-in. In hydraulic analysis, the suspension of fluid injection makes the pore pressure gradient smaller while the pore pressure at the pressure front can reach the critical value for several hours after shut-in, which leads to the additional slip with wider area than during injection. The hydro-mechanical numerical analysis was performed to model the simplified fault system, and simulated the largest magnitude earthquake during shut-in stage. The effect of the abrupt suspension of fluid injection on the large magnitude earthquake was investigated in comparison with the continuous injection. In addition to the pore pressure distribution, it was found that the geometry of multiple faults and the stress redistribution are also important in evaluating the magnitude of the induced seismicity.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.231-242
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• 2022

In this study, we developed a robot operating system (ROS)-based autonomous driving robot that estimates the robot's position in underground mines and drives and returns through multiple waypoints. Autonomous driving robots utilize SLAM (Simultaneous Localization And Mapping) technology to generate global maps of driving routes in advance. Thereafter, the shape of the wall measured through the LiDAR sensor and the global map are matched, and the data are fused through the AMCL (Adaptive Monte Carlo Localization) technique to correct the robot's position. In addition, it recognizes and avoids obstacles ahead through the LiDAR sensor. Using the developed autonomous driving robot, experiments were conducted on indoor experimental sites that simulated the underground mine site. As a result, it was confirmed that the autonomous driving robot sequentially drives through the multiple waypoints, avoids obstacles, and returns stably.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.93-105
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• 2022

With the exploitation of natural resources in China, underground resource extraction and underground space development, as well as other engineering activities are increasing, resulting in the creation of many defective rocks. In this paper, uniaxial compression tests were performed on rocks with double holes and fractures at different angles using particle flow code (PFC2D) numerical simulations and laboratory experiments. The failure behavior and mechanical properties of rock samples with holes and fractures at different angles were analyzed. The failure modes of rock with defects at different angles were identified. The fracture propagation and stress evolution characteristics of rock with fractures at different angles were determined. The results reveal that compared to intact rocks, the peak stress, elastic modulus, peak strain, initiation stress, and damage stress of fractured rocks with different fracture angles around holes are lower. As the fracture angle increases, the gap in mechanical properties between the defective rock and the intact rock gradually decreased. In the force chain diagram, the compressive stress concentration range of the combined defect of cracks and holes starts to decrease, and the model is gradually destroyed as the tensile stress range gradually increases. When the peak stress is reached, the acoustic emission energy is highest and the rock undergoes brittle damage. Through a comparative study using laboratory tests, the results of laboratory real rocks and numerical simulation experiments were verified and the macroscopic failure characteristics of the real and simulated rocks were determined to be similar. This study can help us correctly understand the mechanical properties of rocks with defects and provide theoretical guidance for practical rock engineering.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.254-271
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• 2022

The performance of truck haulage operations in an underground mine was evaluated using the time usage model and key performance indicators (KPIs) proposed by Global Mining Guidelines Group (GMG). An underground mine that mainly produces iron and titanium iron was selected as a study area, and truck haulage data were collected using Bluetooth beacons and tablet PCs. The collected data were analyzed to identify unit operations, activities, events, and required time of truck haulage operations, and time categories were classified based on the time usage model. The performance of the haulage operations was evaluated using nine indicators in terms of availability, utilization, and effectiveness. As a result, in terms of availability, uptime was 33.9%, physical availability was 95.7%, and mechanical availability was 94.9%. In the case of utilization, use of availability was 83.1%, asset utilization was 28.1%, and operating and effective utilization were 79.6% and 77.7%, respectively. Also, in terms of efficiency, operating efficiency was high at 97.6%, and production effectiveness was found to be 49%.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.327-343
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• 2022

The standard work report for trucks was developed that records data on truck haulage operations in open-pit and underground mines, and to evaluate the performance of haulage operations. Work reports used in 5 mines in Korea was secured and analyzed, and items to be included in the standard work report were determined. By analyzing the formulas for key performance indicators (KPIs) proposed by the Global Mining Guidelines Group (GMG), it was possible to determine how to record time-related data. After selecting a limestone underground mine as a research area, the performance of haulage operations was evaluated using a standard work report. As a result, in terms of truck availability, uptime was 46.7%, and both physical and mechanical availability were 100%. In the case of utilization, use of availability was 88.2%, the asset utilization was 41.1%, and operating and effective utilization were 88.2% and 79.2%, respectively. Also, in terms of efficiency, operating efficiency was found to be 89.9%.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.60-65
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• 2021

In this paper, we examined the ignition possibility of the propellant depending on its non-uniform composition of aluminum. Impact and friction sensitivity was investigated by arbitrarily changing the aluminum content in the range of 14~20% to simulate the non-uniform distribution of aluminum in the propellant. As a result of measuring the impact sensitivity, the 50% ignition energy and minimum ignition energy have values around 50 J regardless of the aluminum content. This means that the propellant does not become sensitive to impact even if the aluminum content is increased. On the other hand, the friction sensitivity result shows that as the aluminum content increases, the 50% ignition force and minimum ignition forces were decreased, and thus the propellant becomes sensitive. "Hot Spot" model of propellant ignition is applied, the space inside the propellant is momentarily compressed and ignited by friction stimuli rather than by impact stimuli.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.244-254
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• 2023

The disc cutter mounted on the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) is subjected to cutting forces in three dimensions during rock excavation process. It is widely known that the cutting forces increased with the strength of the rock mass, while the rolling force can be significantly increased when the disc cutter encounters abnormal rotation. Therefore, the cutting force acts on the disc cutter provides important information because it represents the conditions of the rock mass and the disc cutter. For these reasons, several studies have been conducted to measure the cutter forces in real-time. This paper introduces the current status of research on the cutter force measurement of TBM disc cutters, which has been reported in the literature. It is judged that this paper can be a useful reference material when similar technologies are developed in Korea in the future.

• Clean Technology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.39-45
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• 2023

To investigate the effects of Mg addition at different aging times and temperatures, Cu/MgO/Al₂O₃ catalysts were synthesized for the low-temperature water gas shift (LT-WGS) reaction. The co-precipitation method was employed to prepare the catalysts with a fixed Cu amount of 30 mol% and varied amounts of Mg/Al. Synthesized catalysts were characterized using XRD, BET, and H₂-TPR analysis. Among the prepared catalysts, the highest CO conversion was achieved by the Cu/MgO/Al₂O₃ catalyst (30/40/30 mol%) with a 60 ℃ aging temperature and a 24 h aging time under a CO₂-rich feed gas. Due to it having the lowest reduction temperature and a good dispersion of CuO, the catalyst exhibited around 65% CO conversion with a gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 14,089 h-1 at 300 ℃. However, it has been noted that aging temperatures greater or less than 60 ℃ and aging times longer than 24 h had an adverse impact, resulting in a lower surface area and a higher reduction temperature bulk-CuO phase, leading to lower catalytic activity. The main findings of this study confirmed that one of the main factors determining catalytic activity is the ease of reducibility in the absence of bulk-like CuO species. Finally, the long-term test revealed that the catalytic activity and stability remained constant under a high concentration of CO₂ in the feed gas for 19 h with an average CO conversion of 61.83%.