• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.417-426
• /
• 2019

Gangue filling in the goaf is an effective measure to control the surface subsidence. However, due to the obvious deformation of gangue compression, the filling effect deserves to be further studied. To this end, the deformation of coal gangue filling in the goaf is analyzed by theoretical analysis, large-scale crushed rock compression test, and field investigation. Through the compression test of crushed rock, the deformation behaviour characteristics and energy dissipation characteristics is obtained and analysed. The influencing factors of gangue filling and predicted amount of main deformation are summarized. Besides, the predicted equation and filling subsidence coefficients of gangue are obtained. The gangue filling effect was monitored by the movement observation of surface rock. Gangue filling can support the roof of the goaf, effectively control the surface subsidence with little influence on the ground villages. The premeter and equations of the main deformation in the gangue filling are verified, and the subsidence coefficient is further reduced by adding cemented material or fine sand. This paper provides a practical and theoretical reference for further development of gangue filling.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.37 no.6
• /
• pp.555-563
• /
• 2024

The reasonable setting of coal pillar width plays a key role in guaranteeing the steadiness of surrounding rock of fully mechanized caving gateroad driving along the next goaf. Based on the engineering background of the Bayangaole mine, the discrete element method was used to simulate the fracture evolution of coal pillars with different pillar widths. The results show that the damage rate of the coal pillar increases with the decrease in the width of the coal pillar. Once the coal pillar width is smaller than 6 m, cracks run through the coal pillar, and the coal pillar is completely damaged. In the middle of the coal pillar, which has a width of 6 m and above, there is a relatively complete area with low damage. The results show that the pillar width of 6 m is the most appropriate. Field tests prove that the reserved width of a 6 m small coal pillar can effectively control the surrounding rock deformation, ensuring the overall steadiness of the gateroad in the thick coal seam. It is hoped that this study will offer some reference for the determination of the reasonable size of the coal pillar.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.449-460
• /
• 2020

The double-lane arrangement model is frequently used in underground coal mines because it is beneficial to improve the mining efficiency of the working face. When the double-lane arrangement is used, the service time of the reserved roadway increases by twice, which causes several difficulties for the maintenance of the roadway. Given the severe non-uniform deformation of the reserved roadway in the Buertai Coal Mine, the stress distribution law in the mining area, the failure characteristics of roadway and the control effect of support resistance (SR) were systematically studied through on-site monitoring, FLAC 3D numerical simulation, mechanical model analysis. The research shows that the deformation and failure of the reserved roadway mainly manifested as asymmetrical roof sag and floor heave in the region behind the working face, and the roof dripping phenomenon occurred in the severe roof sag area. After the coal is mined out, the stress adjustment around goaf will happen to some extent. For example, the magnitude, direction, and confining pressure ratio of the principal stress at different positions will change. Under the influence of high-stress rotation, the plastic zone of the weak surrounding rock is expanded asymmetrically, which finally leads to the asymmetric failure of roadway. The existing roadway support has a limited effect on the control of the stress field and plastic zone, i.e., the anchor cable reinforcement cannot fully control the roadway deformation under given conditions. Based on obtained results, using roadway grouting and advanced hydraulic support during the secondary mining of the panel 22205 is proposed to ensure roadway safety. This study provides a reference for the stability control of roadway with similar geological conditions.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.24 no.5
• /
• pp.471-478
• /
• 2021

Water damage is one of the five disasters that affect the safety of coal mine production. The erosion of rocks by water is a very important link in the process of water inrush induced by fault activation. Through the observation and experiment of fault filling samples, according to the existing rock classification standards, fault sediments are divided into breccia, dynamic metamorphic schist and mudstone. Similar materials are developed with the characteristics of particle size distribution, cementation strength and water rationality, and then relevant tests and analyses are carried out. The experimental results show that the water-rock interaction mainly reduces the compressive strength, mechanical strength, cohesion and friction Angle of similar materials, and cracks or deformations are easy to occur under uniaxial load, which may be an important process of water inrush induced by fault activation. Mechanical experiment of similar material specimen can not only save time and cost of large scale experiment, but also master the direction and method of the experiment. The research provides a new idea for the failure process of rock structure in fault activation water inrush.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.12 no.6
• /
• pp.1003-1020
• /
• 2017

Estimation of groundwater inflow into underground opening is of critical importance for the design and construction of underground structures. Groundwater inflow into a pilot underground storage facility in China was estimated using analytical equations, numerical modeling and field measurement. The applicability of analytical and numerical methods was examined by comparing the estimated and measured results. Field geological investigation indicated that in local scale the high groundwater inflows are associated with the appearance of open joints, fractured zone or dykes induced by shear and/or tensile tectonic stresses. It was found that 8 groundwater inflow spots with high inflow rates account for about 82% of the total rate for the 9 caverns. On the prediction of the magnitude of groundwater inflow rate, it was found that could both (Finite Element Method) FEM and (Discrete Element Method) DEM perform better than analytical equations, due to the fact that in analytical equations simplified assumptions were adopted. However, on the prediction of the spatial distribution estimation of groundwater inflow, both analytical and numerical methods failed to predict at the present state. Nevertheless, numerical simulations would prevail over analytical methods to predict the distribution if more details in the simulations were taken into consideration.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.18 no.6
• /
• pp.585-594
• /
• 2019

In-situ leaching could be one of the promising mining methods to extract the minerals from deep fractured rock mass. Constrained by the low permeability at depth, however, the performance does not meet the expectation. In fact, the rock mass permeability mainly depends on the pre-existing natural fractures and therefore play a crucial role in in-situ leaching performance. More importantly, fractures have various characteristics, such as aperture, persistence, and density, which have diverse contributions to the promising method. Hence, it is necessary to study the variation of fluid rate versus fracture parameters to enhance in-situ leaching performance. Firstly, the subsurface fractures from the depth of 1500m to 2500m were mapped using the discrete fracture network (DFN) in this paper, and then the numerical model was calibrated at a particular case. On this basis, the fluid flow through fractured rock mass with various fracture characteristics was analyzed. The simulation results showed that with the increase of Fisher' K value, which determine the fracture orientation, the flow rate firstly decreased and then increased. Subsequently, as another critical factor affecting the fluid flow in natural fractures, the fracture transmissivity has a direct relationship with the flow rate. Sensitive study shows that natural fracture characteristics play a critical role in in-situ leaching performance.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.255-268
• /
• 2019

Taking top-coal caving mining face (TCCMF) as research object, this paper considers the combination of top-coal and immediate roof as cushion layer to build the solution model of support resistance based on the theory of elastic foundation beam. Meanwhile, the physical and mechanical properties of coal-rock combination influencing on strata behaviors is explored. The results illustrate that the subsidence of main roof in coal wall increases and the first weighting interval decreases with the increase of top-coal and immediate roof thicknesses as well as the decrease of top-coal and immediate roof elastic modulus. Moreover, the overlying strata reflecting on support has negative and positive relationship with top-coal thickness and immediate roof thickness, respectively. However, elastic modulus has limit influence on the dead weight of top-coal and immediate roof. As a result, it has similar roles on the increase of total support resistance and overlying strata reflecting on support in the limit range of roof control distance. In view of sensitive analysis causing the change of total support resistance, it can be regards as the rank of three components as immediate roof weight > overlying strata reflecting on support > top coal weight. Finally, combined with the monitoring data of support resistance in Qingdong 828, the validity of support resistance determined based on elastic foundation beam is demonstrated, and this method can be recommended to adopt for support type selecting in TCCMF.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.24 no.5
• /
• pp.479-490
• /
• 2021

Pre-drainage of groundwater in the roof aquifer by boreholes is the main method for prevention of roof water disaster, and the drop in the water level during the drainage leads to the variation of the local stress in the overlying strata. Based on a multitude of boreholes for groundwater drainage from aquifer above the 1303 mining face of Longyun Coal Mine, theoretical analysis and numerical simulation are used to investigate the local stress variation in the process of borehole drainage. The results show that due to the drop in the water level of the roof aquifer during the drainage, the stress around the borehole gradually evolved. From the center of the borehole to the outside, a stress-relaxed zone, a stress-elevated zone, and a stress-recovered zone are sequentially formed. Along with the expansion of drainage influence, the stress peak in the stress-elevated zone also moves to the outside. When the radius of influence develops to the maximum, the stress peak position no longer moves outward. When the coal mining face advances to the drainage influence range, the abutment pressure in front of the mining face is superimposed with the high local stress around the borehole, which increases the risk of stress concentration. The present study provides a reference for the stress concentration caused by borehole drainage, which can be potentially utilized in the optimal arrangement of drainage boreholes in underground mining.

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

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.541-552
• /
• 2020

With the increasing tension of current coal resources and the increasing depth of coal mining, the gob-side entry retaining technology has become a preferred coal mining method in underground coal mines. Among them, the technology of the gob-side entry retaining with the high-water filling material can not only improve the recovery rate of coal resources, but also reduce the amount of roadway excavation. In this paper, based on the characteristics of the high-water filling material, the technological process of gob-side entry retaining with the high-water filling material is introduced. The early and late stress states of the filling body formed by the high-water filling materials are analyzed and studied. Taking the 8th floor No.3 working face of Xin'an coal mine as engineering background, the stress and displacement of surrounding rock of roadway with different filling body width are analyzed through the FLAC^3D numerical simulation software. As the filling body width increases, the supporting ability of the filling body increases and the deformation of the surrounding rock decreases. According to the theoretical calculation and numerical simulation of the filling body width, the filling body width is finally determined to be 3.5m. Through the field observation, the deformation of the surrounding rock of the roadway is within the reasonable range. It is concluded that the gob-side entry retaining with the high-water filling material can control the deformation of the surrounding rock, which provides a reference for gob-side entry retaining technology with similar geological conditions.