A coal rib monitoring study in a room-and-pillar retreat mine

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health(NIOSH) conducted a comprehensive monitoring program in a room-and-pillar mine located in Southern Virginia. The deformation and the stress change in an instrumented pillar were monitored during the progress of pillar retreat mining at two sites of different geological conditions and depths of cover. The main objectives of the monitoring program were to better understand the stress transfer and load shedding on coal pillars and to quantify the rib deformation due to pillar retreat mining; and to examine the effect of rib geology and overburden depth on coal rib performance. The instrumentation at both sites included pull-out tests to measure the anchorage capacity of rib bolts, load cells mounted on rib bolts to monitor the induced loads in the bolts, borehole pressure cells(BPCs) installed at various depths in the study pillar to measure the change in vertical pressure within the pillar, and roof and rib extensometers installed to quantify the vertical displacement of the roof and the horizontal displacement of the rib that would occur during the retreat mining process.The outcome from the monitoring program provides insight into coal pillar rib support optimization at various depths and geological conditions. Also, this study contributes to the NIOSH rib support database in U.S coal mines and provides essential data for rib support design.     

Coal rib response during bench mining: A case study

In 2016, room-and-pillar mining provided nearly 40% of underground coal production in the United States.Over the past decade, rib falls have resulted in 12 fatalities, representing 28% of the ground fall fatalities in U.S.underground coal mines.Nine of these 12 fatalities(75%) have occurred in room-andpillar mines.The objective of this research is to study the geomechanics of bench room-and-pillar mining and the associated response of high pillar ribs at overburden depths greater than 300 m.This paper provides a definition of the bench technique, the pillar response due to loading, observational data for a case history, a calibrated numerical model of the observed rib response, and application of this calibrated model to a second site.     

Layout and support technology of entry for pillar face

In order to improve the recovery rate of coal, some mines have begun to recover the residual protective pillars in the form of short wall faces. However, it is difficult to control stability of the haulage entry and the ventilating entry under the mining influences of the pillar face and the two side faces. Thus the 4311 face, which was designed to recover the 57 m wide residual protective pillar in Guojiashan Coal Mine,was taken as engineering background. Distribution law of stress and plastic zone in the residual protective pillar was analyzed using the numerical simulation. Then the gob-side entry driving technology was proposed to layout the entries for the pillar face. Based on the analysis of stress distribution and deformation characteristics of surrounding rocks in gob-side entry driving with different width of narrow pillars, the width of the narrow pillar of the entries in the 4311 face was decided to be 4 m. In order to control stability of the gob-side entry driving, the mechanical model of the main roof was established and deformation characteristic of surrounding rock was analyzed. Then the bolt support technology with high strength and high pre-tightening force was proposed for entry support. Especially, the hydraulic expansion bolts were used to support the narrow pillar rib. The engineering results show that the width of the narrow pillar is reasonable and the entry support technology is effective. The research achievement can provide some references to pillar recovery for other coal mines.     

Preliminary rib support requirements for solid coal ribs using a coal pillar rib rating(CPRR)

Researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health(NIOSH) are developing a coal pillar rib rating(CPRR) technique to measure the integrity of coal ribs. The CPRR characterizes the rib composition and evaluates its impact on the inherent stability of the coal ribs. The CPRR utilizes four parameters: rib homogeneity, bedding condition, face cleat orientation with respect to entry direction,and rib height. All these parameters are measurable in the field. A rib data collecting procedure and a simple sheet to calculate the CPRR were developed. The developed CPRR can be used as a rib quality mapping tool in underground coal mines and to determine the potential of local rib instabilities and support requirements associated with overburden depth. CPRR calculations were conducted for 22 surveyed solid coal ribs, mainly composed of coal units. Based on this study, the rib performance was classified into four categories. A preliminary minimum primary rib support density(PRSD) line was obtained from these surveyed cases. Two sample cases are presented that illustrate the data collection form and CPRR calculations.     

A novel rock bolting system exploiting steel particles

The effectiveness of rock bolting in ground control has been extensively investigated, mainly for resin based systems. Alternative coupling materials are needed to have good mechanical performance and to reduce the economic impact. This study proposed a new bolting system exploiting steel particles as coupling material. The applicability of this system was assessed by laboratory and field pullout tests, assisted by digital imaging correlation (DIC), infrared thermography (IRT) and acoustic emission (AE). The results indicated that, for a 20 mm diameter bolt, the suitable steel particle size and corresponding inner diameter of borehole were 1.4 and 28 mm, respectively. For bolts installed in steel tubes, the particles improved the loading capacity compared to the resin bonded ones. Additional pullout tests on cement blocks indicated that steel particles can be effective for hard rock, whilst resin was a better choice for bolting of soft rock. Similar understanding was obtained by pullout tests in engineering fields, which demonstrated that the steel particles coupled bolts can provide favorable effects in hard rock mass, while the effects were negligible when installed in extremely soft coal mass. The wide set of multi-technique measurements helped to understand the mechanisms involved in the performance of the bolting system with coupling steel particles.     

不同构造端板连接中高强度螺栓受力特性研究

通过4个不同构造钢结构梁柱端板连接试件在单调荷载下的破坏试验,研究了不同构造端板连接中高强度螺栓的受力特性,给出了螺栓拉力一荷载、螺栓弯矩一荷载变化曲线以及螺栓拉力分布状态,研究了节点形式、端板加劲肋、节点域柱腹板加劲肋等因素对螺栓受力特性的影响．试验结果表明：受拉区螺栓同时承受拉力和弯矩、端板加劲肋和柱腹板加劲肋对螺栓拉力发展变化和分布状况影响较大;不同的节点计算模型适用于不同的节点构造．     

Effect of bolt rib spacing on load transfer mechanism

Rock bolting has firmly used as the coal mine roof reinforcement in underground coal mine. The bolting effect of fully grouted rebar bolt is closely related to the bolt surface profile. This paper provides an experimental study to confirm that bolt rib internal length has great influence on bolting effect. Pull-out tests were conducted using rebar bolt with different rib spacings of 12, 24, 36 and 48 mm representatively from steel tube and from concrete. Results show that peak load increases 25.3% for bolt with large rib spacing. For pull out using concrete block, the increment of peak load between large and small rib spacing is not significant, but the bolt with large rib spacing has great absorption of deformational energy than small rib spacing bolt. This study provides experimental evidence towards optimum design of rock bolt for understand coal mining industry.     

带肋中空夹层方钢管混凝土柱轴压性能的试验研究

由于普通钢管混凝土柱容易出现局部屈曲等问题,近年来,出现了在钢管混凝土内设置加劲肋的新型组合柱的应用与研究,期望通过结构形式的变化改善钢管混凝土的力学性能。作者研究了不同加劲肋类型对钢管混凝土柱的力学性能的影响。本试验设计了单肋、三角形肋、方形肋3种加劲肋形式和不同长细比的中空夹层方钢管混凝土,对其进行了轴心抗压试验。采用数字图像相关法对试件进行了全场应变监测和分析,同时,研究和分析了加劲肋形式对其极限承载力、延性、局部屈曲、荷载位移的影响。试验结果表明,不同长细比试件产生局部屈曲的位置最容易发生在其长度的1/8处至端面范围内或者距离端面1/8处至3/8处范围内。相较于无肋中空钢管混凝土,带肋试件的延性明显提高,其中,采用三角形肋的试件的延性平均提高了76%,但其承载力有不同程度的下降。对试件的极限承载力进行了预测,计算结果与试验结果吻合较好。     

Mechanics of rib deformation—Observations and monitoring in Australian coal mines

The risk of fatalities from rib failure is still prevalent in the coal mining industry. This risk has prompted further research to be conducted on rib deformation in order to understand the mechanisms of rib failure, with the long-term objective being to improve rib support design. This paper presents the results of ACARP research project C25057, which investigated the mechanics and drivers of rib failure. The results of rib deformation monitoring at three different mines in Australia provide rib deformation characteristics for overburden depths ranging from 160 to 530 m. Monitoring includes deformation during development drivage conditions and during the longwall retreat abutment stress environment. The rib deformation monitoring covered three different seams: the Goonyella Middle Seam, Ulan Seam, and Bulli Seam in the Bowen Basin, Western Coalfield, and Southern Coalfield, respectively. The observed mechanisms driving the rib deformation ranged from bedding shear failure along weak claystone bands to vertical shear fractures to kinematic failures driven by shear failure dilation. The variation in mechanisms of rib failure, together with the seemingly consistent method of rib support design, prompts the question: what exactly is the role of rib support?     

Comparing the reinforcement capacity of welded steel mesh and a thin spray-on liner using large scale laboratory tests

Steel mesh is used as a passive skin confinement medium to supplement the active support provided by rock bolts for roof and rib control in underground coal mines. Thin spray-on liners (TSL) are believed to have the potential to take the place of steel mesh as the skin confinement medium in underground mines. To confirm this belief, large scale laboratory experiments were conducted to compare the behaviour of welded steel mesh and a TSL, when used in conjunction with rock bolts, in reinforcing strata with weak bedding planes and strata prone to guttering, two common rock conditions which exist in coal mines. It was found that while the peak load taken by the simulated rock mass with weak bedding planes acting as the control sample (no skin confinement) was 2494 kN, the corresponding value of the sample with 5 mm thick TSL reinforcement reached 2856 kN. The peak load of the steel mesh reinforced sample was only 2321 kN, but this was attributed to the fact that one of the rock bolts broke during the test. The TSL reinforced sample had a similar post-yield behaviour as the steel mesh reinforced one. The results of the large scale guttering test indicated that a TSL is better than steel mesh in restricting rock movement and thus inhibiting the formation of gutters in the roof.     

新型装配式剪力墙水平连接装置的力学性能

装配式剪力墙结构连接节点/水平接缝的力学性能对装配式结构起着至关重要的作用,为了提高装配式剪力墙结构的抗震性能,本文结合消能减震技术设计研发了一种新型装配式剪力墙水平连接装置。通过该设计,制作了2种不同螺栓数量的水平连接装置,并对其进行了不同正弦加载频率下的动态力学性能试验,探究了不同螺栓预紧力、加载频率及螺栓数量对装置力学性能的影响规律;探究了装置摩擦升温对其力学性能的影响规律。结果表明:该装置在保证结构可靠连接的同时,又能依靠装置的内部摩擦消耗大量地震能量,从而有效减小结构地震响应,保护主体结构。此外,螺栓预紧力与装置的耗能能力和割线刚度基本呈线性关系,但对等效阻尼比影响不大;水平连接装置的力学性能几乎不受加载频率的影响;增加螺栓数量可大幅提高装置耗能能力;螺栓预紧力与加载频率均是装置温度升高的重要影响因素,但装置温度变化对其力学性能影响不大。     

Mechanical performance of rock bolts under combined load conditions

Rock bolts are subjected to different loading conditions along their lengths such as axial, bending, and/or shear forces, which can cause failure at lower loads than those considered for design purposes. The common existing methodologies do not consider the actual loading of the rock bolts and assume it is only pure axial or pure shear. This study was conducted to investigate the un-grouted rock bolt performance under combined load conditions. Two loading regimes were evaluated: the effect of initial shear displacement on axial load capacity and displacement, and the effect of axial displacement on the shear load capacity. The first regime was also conducted for shear with a gap, when there is a spacing between the shear interfaces. The results of this study showed that the rock bolt can resist higher axial loads than shear under pure or combined load conditions. Under combined load conditions, the rock bolt capacity decreased significantly for both regimes. However, when applying the shear load with a gap, the rock bolt load capacity was not affected significantly. Also, the total bar deformation was improved for shear and axial. The findings of this study show the need to improve the rock bolt design considering the complex loading conditions in situ with/without a gap.     

Rib stability:A way forward for safe coal extraction in India

Ensuring rib stability during pillar extraction is of prime importance in bord and pillar(BP) method of underground coal mining with caving. Rib stability has been assessed here by way of assessing factor of safety(FOS), a ratio of the strength of rib to stress on it. Earlier formulations for rib stability when applied to case studies gave very low FOS value suggesting significant ground control problems, which were contrary to the field observations. This has necessitated the need to revisit the concept of rib stability. The stress coming on the rib is estimated with the use of numerical modeling technique using the FLAC~(3D) software. The methodology of assessing rib-stability with the help of suggested rib-strength formulation has been validated at eight Indian coal mines. The outcome of this study finds relevance and importance in ensuring underground coal liquidation with improved safety and conservation.     

大变形巷道锚杆的力学特性

通过现场和实验室试验对大变形巷道锚杆的力学特性进行了测试 ,揭示了锚杆与围岩相互作用全过程 :初撑→增阻→恒阻→降阻直至失效 ,论述了锚杆阻力下降和失效是大变形巷道锚杆支护所具有的基本规律 .为此 ,对 FLAC3.3中锚杆单元模型进行了修正 ,使其具备模拟锚杆损伤软化的功能 ,并将其成功地应用于工程实践     

锚杆加固条带煤柱的离散元模拟分析

结合煤巷锚杆支护技术与条带开采技术，首次提出了用锚杆加固条带煤柱的新方法。离散元数值模拟结果表明，采用这一方法，不仅可以提高煤柱的稳定性和承载能力，减轻采动损害，还可将煤柱缩小一定尺寸，提高回采率，在“三下”采煤中有着广阔的应用前景。     

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of an End Plate Connection with Using Long Shank SMA Bolts

Superelastic shape memory alloys ( SMAs ) have the ability to recover their original shape after experiencing large strains. End?plate connection with using superelastic long shank SMA bolts is propose...     

Vertical load capacities of roof truss cross members

Trusses used for roof support in coal mines are constructed of two grouted bolts installed at opposing forty-five degree angles into the roof and a cross member that ties the angled bolts together. The load on the cross member is vertical, which is transverse to the longitudinal axis, and therefore the cross member is loaded in the weakest direction. Laboratory tests were conducted to determine the vertical load capacity and deflection of three different types of cross members. Single-point load tests, with the load applied in the center of the specimen and double-point load tests, with a span of 2.4 m, were conducted. For the single-point load configuration, the yield of the 25 mm solid bar cross member was nominally 98 kN of vertical load, achieved at 42 cm of deflection. For cable cross members, yield was not achieved even after 45 cm of deflection. Peak vertical loads were about 89 kN for 17 mm cables and67 kN for the 15 mm cables. For the double-point load configurations, the 25 mm solid bar cross members yielded at 150 kN of vertical load and 25 cm of deflection. At 25 cm of deflection individual cable strands started breaking at 133 and 111 kN of vertical load for the 17 and 15 mm cable cross members respectively.     

Energy dissipation rate: An indicator of coal deformation and failure under static and dynamic compressive loads

Dynamic disasters in Chinese coal mines pose a significant threat to coal productivity. Thus, a thorough understanding of the deformation and failure processes of coal is necessary. In this study, the energy dissipation rate is proposed as a novel indicator of coal deformation and failure under static and dynamic compressive loads. The relationship between stress-strain, uniaxial compressive strength, displacement rate, loading rate, fractal dimension, and energy dissipation rate was investigated through experiments conducted using the MTS C60 tests(static loads) and split Hopkinson pressure bar system(dynamic loads). The results show that the energy dissipation rate peaks are associated with stress drop during coal deformation, and also positively related to the uniaxial compressive strength. A higher displacement rate of quasi-static loads leads to an initial increase and then a decrease in energy dissipation rate, whereas a higher loading rate of dynamic loads results in larger energy dissipation rate. Theoretical analysis indicates that a sudden increase in energy dissipation rate suggests partial fracture occurring within coal under both quasi-static and dynamic loads. Hence, the energy dissipation rate is an essential indicator of partial fracture and final failure within coal, as well as a prospective precursor for catastrophic failure in coal mine.     

钢管混凝土拱桥拱肋抗震能力评估方法

钢管混凝土（CFST）拱桥的抗震能力取决于拱肋抗震能力,为了准确地评估CFST拱桥拱肋的抗震能力,提出基于CFST截面屈服状态的评估方法,把拱肋截面屈服状态分为5个阶段,并结合N-M曲线得出抗震能力评估区域。采用地震反应时程分析方法计算地震效应,对CFST拱桥拱肋的抗震能力进行评估,以南宁永和大桥为工程背景进行拱肋的抗震能力评估。得出以下结论：拱顶和拱脚为最危险的截面;7度地震作用下拱肋的大部分仍处于Ⅰ阶段;8度地震作用下拱肋的大部分截面已处于Ⅱ阶段,只有少数截面仍处于Ⅰ阶段;9度地震作用下拱肋的大部分截面已处于Ⅱ阶段,少数截面已处于Ⅲ阶段。基于截面屈服状态的方法是抗震能力评估的一个有效方法。     

Evaluation of load transfer mechanism under axial loads in a novel coupler of dual height rock bolts

The effective reinforcement of two or more overlying layers of mine openings in a single installation is usually done by coupling of two standard rock bolts mainly during the extraction of medium-thick coal seams. However, field observations show that the couplers of multiple bolts often degrade or break mostly at their connections. These types of failures can be avoided by strengthening the couplers of such multi-bolts assemblies. To achieve this, a novel threaded coupler system with an expansion shell was suggested in this paper. The newly designed coupler consists of a threaded tapered-plug-cumconnector with an expansion shell for connecting and tightening two standard rock bolts. An analytical model for evaluating the load distribution along the coupler subject to axial load was derived. Numerical analysis was performed to analyse the load transfer, deformation, and strains across the coupler including the factor of safety for the bolt-coupler-resin and bolt-coupler-expansion shell. The results validated the analytical model of the proposed coupler design, which provides better anchorage near the interface of the host rock mass. Thus, the developed coupler design would reduce the failures of the proposed coupler and stabilize laminated roof strata above the medium-thick coal seams in underground mines.