Analysis of drilling failure in soft and hard sandwiching of coal seam

The severe abrasion of drill bits will be confronted during drilling in soft and hard sandwiching of coal seam. Not only does this failure result in the increasing consumption of bits, but also it delays the construction period, significantly extending the duration of the delay, even causing borehole instability, resulting in a catastrophic buried well accident. In order to reveal the failure causes, the authors of this paper researched the wear properties of the tooth of bit. As the thermal damage is one of the main threats to drilling failure in soft and hard sandwiching, thermal related effects on the wear performance of polycrystalline diamond compacts (PCD) were studied by an Amsler friction and wear testing machine. Meanwhile, silica sands were added to the interface of wear couples throw a funnel instrument to meet the demand that wear conditions correspond more closely to those in actual coal seam drilling. The friction coefficient and wear rates was measured. The X-ray diffraction analysis was used to investigate the chemical composition and crystal structure of the PCDs soaked at different temperatures. The morphologies of the surface of PCDs were examined by metalloscope and scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the wear rate and wear coefficient all rose with the increase of wear load. So the drilling load over proper operation limits especially when the equipment stuck happened is the primary threat to bit failure. On the other hand, the wear coefficient is not sensitive to the soaking temperature when it is under 700 °C. But it decreases obviously when the temperature was over 800 °C, which seems to be corresponding to the graphitization of diamond and the oxidation of Co. This phenomenon indicates that the high temperature over 700 °C is the main cause of the drilling failure.     

Development and experimental validation of an overlay mortar with biocide activity

Biodeterioration of concrete by microorganism colonisation may be a problem in several structures, especially in irrigation and hydroelectric canals. The main problem in such structures is the proliferation of algae and cyanobacteria that affect the performance of the structure, increase the maintenance costs and affects its durability. A research was conducted to develop a novel cement-based material with biocide activity that can be used as an overlay mortar in existing structures, such as canals and pipes. With this aim, ten commercial biocides were evaluated in a laboratory campaign to assess the effectiveness of the compounds against the microbial colonisation of concrete. Both mono- and multicomponent formulations were designed from the commercial products, to increase their antimicrobial effect obtaining a set of biocide formulations. The formulations were submitted to a flowchart process to determine their influence on the physical properties of the concrete, evaluate the release of the actives, and their antimicrobial efficiency both before and after accelerated aging processes. During the campaign, some formulations were observed to diminish the strength of the concrete. Such behaviour was normally due to the interaction of the active with the cement hydration process. Other formulations showed a high release of active from the concrete in water, compromising the durability of the treatment. In general, monocomponent formulations did not succeed to fulfill all the requirements, thus multicomponent formulations were analysed. One studied multicomponent formulation presented particularly good results in all properties analysed. This product did not significantly change the properties of concrete and the release of active in water from the concrete was low, while the antimicrobial effects were long lasting.     

Underground space needs an interdisciplinary approach

During a very long period of time, civil engineers have been the only ones to be designated as the experts for underground space, while the planners and architects were the ones of the development at the surface. This silo approach to work is now a thing for the past in most major cities, but solving this fragmentation of the disciplines does not happen overnight. It first took a few thinkers to promote and publish on the subject, such as Edouard Utudjian, founder of GECUS in 1937, and also that planners abandon their ambiguous position on this invisible space, become part of multi-disciplinary teams and participate in the dissemination of new knowledge, particularly through some international associations such as ACUUS. With biennial scientific conferences dating back to 1983, the organization actively promotes since partnerships amongst all actors in the field of planning, management, research and uses of urban underground space in all its forms. The originality of ACUUS comes from its success in attracting public, private and university levels into a cohesive network of mutual cooperation, which is not so common in international organizations.     

Associated computational plasticity schemes for nonassociated frictional materials

A new methodology for computational plasticity of nonassociated frictional materials is presented. The new approach is inspired by the micromechanical origins of friction and results in a set of governing equations similar to those of standard associated plasticity. As such, procedures previously developed for associated plasticity are applicable with minor modification. This is illustrated by adaptation of the standard implicit scheme. Moreover, the governing equations can be cast in terms of a variational principle, which after discretization is solved by means of a newly developed second‐order cone programming algorithm. The effects of nonassociativity are discussed with reference to localization of deformations and illustrated by means of a comprehensive set of examples. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stress arch bunch and its formation mechanism in blocky stratified rock masses

Stress arch is a common phenomenon occurring in continuous materials and has also been proved to have great influences on the self-stabilization of soils or rock masses after excavation.In this paper,based on UDEC simulation,stress redistribution after excavation is investigated for a kind of special discontinuous material,i.e.blocky stratified rock mass.A layered stress arch system is observed with each stress arch lying over another.This special phenomenon is defined herein as "stress arch bunch".Effects of dip angle of bedding plane,lateral pressure and joint offset on this stress arch bunch are studied.Its formation mechanism is also discussed based on voussoir beam theory.     

Influence of the Tunnel Shape on Shotcrete Lining Stresses

Tunnel excavation is frequently carried out in rock masses by the drill and blast method and the final shape of the tunnel boundary can be irregular due to overbreaks. In order to investigate the effects of overbreaks a study of the effect of tunnel boundary irregularity has been carried out. This is done developing a computational tool able to take into account fuzzy variables (i.e., thickness of the beams of the bedded spring approach used for the model). The obtained results show that irregularity effects should be considered when a shotcrete lining is used as the final tunnel lining (for the case where the tunneling procedure does not permit a smooth surface to be obtained). This is crucial to obtain a durable lining.     

Why underground space should be included in urban planning policy – And how this will enhance an urban underground future

Cities worldwide tend to overlook an invaluable asset that lies beneath their surfaces. Most cities and urban regions are unaware of the benefits underground space use has to offer, both for climate inflicted and spatial constraints: In many cities, infrastructure development is being outpaced by population growth. Climate change effects are requiring radical new approaches in terms of coping with for example excessive rainfall. The available space at the surface is rapidly being used up and the biggest danger is that built-up spaces are taking over the public green spaces of cities thereby threatening livability and quality of life. Urban underground space forms a societal asset, which is often unappreciated and underestimated in terms of the role it can play within dynamic city environments and associated challenges.This paper will explore the ways in which urban underground space can be optimally integrated into the dynamic urban context. It also explores the often contradictory functions that make underground space use complicated from a planner’s perspective. The first-come-first-served strategy of underground space use has left many cities wondering how they are going to cope with the self-inflicted “chaos” under the surface. The often mono-functional uses of the underground lead to sub-optimal space use. Most cities and urban regions are unaware of the benefits underground space use has to offer. In guiding the future use of urban underground space, a comprehensive policy framework guiding its development is lacking on which decisions can be based. This often leads to the non-sustainable use of this important asset. It will be argued that both vision and planning are needed to be able to make the best use of this underrated underground real estate.The authors will also debate that just understanding the potential of underground space is not enough. Realising its actual potential and facilitating its development will require a spatial dialogue between many stakeholders, including planners, engineers, developers and public decision makers.     

Dynamic response of a double-deck circular tunnel embedded in a full-space

A three-dimensional dynamic model for calculating the ground-borne vibrations generated by harmonic loads applied on the interior floor of a double-deck circular tunnel is developed. The response of the system is obtained coupling the interior floor subsystem and the tunnel-soil subsystem in the wavenumber-frequency domain. The interior floor is modeled as a thin plate of infinite length in the train circulation direction and the tunnel-soil system is described using the Pipe in Pipe model. Some numerical instabilities of the resulting expressions are overcome by using analytic approximations. The results show that the dynamic behavior of the interior floor clearly influences the magnitude of the coupling loads acting on the tunnel structure. The soil response to a harmonic load acting on the double-deck tunnel is compared to the one obtained for the case of a simple tunnel finding significant differences between them for the whole range of frequencies studied. The proposed model extends the prediction of train-induced vibrations using computationally efficient models to this type of tunnel structure.     

Economic feasibility of algal biodiesel under alternative public policies

The motivation for this research was to determine the influence of public policies on economic feasibility of producing algal biodiesel in a system that produced all its energy needs internally. To achieve this, a steady-state mass balance/unit operation system was modeled first. Open raceway technology was assumed for the production of algal feedstock, and the residual biomass after oil extraction was assumed fermented to produce ethanol for the transesterification process. The project assumed the production of 50 million gallons of biodiesel per year and using about 14% of the diesel output to supplement internal energy requirements. It sold the remainder biodiesel and ethanol as pure biofuels to maximize the rents from the renewable fuel standards quota system. Assuming a peak daily yield of 500 kg algal biomass (dry basis)/ha, the results show that production of algal biodiesel under the foregoing constraints is only economically feasible with direct and indirect public policy intervention. For example, the renewable fuel standards' tracking RIN (Renewable fuel Identification Number) system provides a treasury-neutral value for biofuel producers as does the reinstatement of the renewable fuel tax credit. Additionally, the capital costs of an integrated system are such that some form of capital cost grant from the government would support the economic feasibility of the algal biodiesel production.     

Analysis on the damage behavior of mixed ground during TBM cutting process

Accurate prediction of rock cutting forces of disc cutters is especially significant for the design and construction of tunnel boring machine (TBM). Through the analysis of motion trajectory of TBM disc cutters, a three-dimensional model of rock breaking process of disc cutters is established. In terms of the rock strain which is resulted from the interaction between disc cutters and rock during the process of rock breaking, a three-dimensional cutting forces model is proposed with disc cutters set at certain parameters and in certain sizes. Subsequently, the equation of contacting forces between rock and disc cutter is derived. Moreover, a new method has been presented for the study of the rock breaking theory of the disc cutter and it also provides guidance for the design and application of TBM in tunnel excavation. The three-dimensional model for the rock breaking mechanism is used for predicting the cutting force for the situation of mixed ground.The damage field and the rock failure zone induced by disc cutter for mixed ground are also discussed in this study. In detail, the rock damage zones are divided into two parts, one is the left damage field which located in the outside of disc cutter. The other is the right damage field which located in the outside of disc cutter. The influence of the rock ground dip on the rock failure zone was also studied by parameter analysis.