Methodology for the estimation of expansive cement borehole pressure

This work is part of a multi-phase project which aims to develop a sound methodology for rock fragmen-tation in underground mines using expansive cement.More specifically,it is the first phase of the project which focuses on laboratory tests to investigate the mechanical performance of expansive cement,also known as soundless chemical demolition agents(SCDA).This paper reports the results of laboratory tests conducted on instrumented thick-walled cylinders filled with expansive cement.Expansive pressure evo-lution and temperature variation with time are first examined for different borehole diameters.The clas-sical analytical method for expansive pressure estimation is validated with direct pressure measurement using high-capacity pressure sensor,and an empirical model is obtained.A new methodology based on iterative procedure is developed using axisymmetric finite element modelling and test results to derive the modulus of elasticity of the expansive cement at peak pressure.The results of this study show that the expansive pressure increases with borehole diameter when the rigidity of the steel cylinder is constant reaching 83 MPa for a 38.1 mm borehole.It is also shown that the expansive pressure decreases signif-icantly with increased cylinder rigidity for the same borehole diameter.The newly developed methodol-ogy revealed that the modulus of elasticity of expansive cement at peak pressure is estimated at 8.2 GPa.A discussion on the extension of the findings of this work to hard rock mining applications is presented.

Large-scale destress blasting for seismicity control in hard rock mines:A case study

Destress blasting is a rockburst control technique where highly stressed rock is blasted to reduce the local stress and stiffness of the rock,thereby reducing its burst proneness.The technique is commonly practiced in deep hard rock mines in burst prone developments,as well as in sill or crown pillars which become burst-prone as the orebody is extracted.Large-scale destressing is a variant of destress blasting where panels are created parallel to the orebody strike with a longhole,fanning blast pattern from cross cut drifts situated in the host rock.The aim of panel destressing is to reduce the stress concentration in the ore blocks or pillars to be mined.This paper focuses on the large-scale destress blasting program conducted at Vale's Copper Cliff Mine(CCM)in Ontario,Canada.The merits of panel destressing are examined through field measurements of mining induced stress changes in the pillar.The destressing mechanism is simulated with a rock fragmentation factor(a)and stress reduction/dissipation factor(b).A 3D model is built and validated with measured induced stress changes.It is shown that the best correlation between the numerical model and field measurements is obtained when the combination of a and b indicates that the blast causes high fragmentation(a=0.05)and high stress release(b=0.95)in the destress panel.It is demonstrated that the burst proneness of the ore blocks in the panel stress shadow is reduced in terms of the brittle shear ratio(BSR)and the burst potential index(BPI).

Geomechanical effects of stress shadow created by large-scale destress blasting

This study aims to determine if large-scale choked panel destress blasting can provide sufficient beneficial stress reduction in highly-stressed remnant ore pillar that is planned for production. The orebody is divided into 20 stopes over 2 levels, and 2 panels are choke-blasted in the hanging wall to shield the ore pillar by creating a stress shadow around it. A linear-elastic model of the mining system is constructed with finite difference code FLAC3 D. The effect of destress blasting in the panels is simulated by applying a fragmentation factor(α) to the rock mass stiffness and a stress reduction factor(β) to the current state of stress in the region occupied by the destress panels. As an extreme case, the destress panel is also modeled as a void to obtain the maximum possible beneficial effects of destressing and stress shadow.Four stopes are mined in the stress shadow of the panels in 6 lifts and then backfilled. The effect of destress blasting on the remnant ore pillar is quantified based on stress change and brittle shear ratio(BSR) in the stress shadow zone compared to the base case without destress blasting. To establish realistic rock fragmentation and stress reduction factors, model results are compared to measured stress changes reported for case studies at Fraser and Brunswick mines. A 1.5 MPa immediate stress decrease was observed 20 m away from the panel at Fraser Mine, and a 4 MPa immediate stress decrease was observed 25 m away at Brunswick Mine. Comparable results are obtained from the current model with a rock fragmentation factor α of 0.2 and a stress reduction factor α of 0.8. It is shown that a destress blasting with these parameters reduces the major principal stress in the nearest stopes by 10-25 MPa.This yields an immediate reduction of BSR, which is deemed sufficient to reduce volume of ore at risk in the pillar.

Laboratory investigation into the use of soundless chemical demolitions agents for the breakage of hard rock

The method of drilling and blasting with explosives is widely used in rock fragmentation applications in the mining industry for mine development and ore production.However,the use of explosives is associated with rigorous safety and environmental constraints as blasting creates toxic fumes,ground vibrations,and dust.This study is focused on the use of Soundless Chemical Demolition Agents(SCDA)as a more environmentally friendly method for rock breakage and a potential replacement of explosives.In this paper,the results of a series of experimental tests are reported to identify the efect of SCDA on hard rock breakage under no load and under uniaxial loading conditions.Stanstead granite prismatic specimens of 152.4 mm(6″)×152.4–203.2 mm(6–8″)×406.4 mm(16″)are used to test the infuence of borehole size on the time to fracturing with SCDA borehole size of 25.4 mm(1″),31.75 mm(1.25″)and 38.1 mm(1.5″).It is shown that the fracturing time decreases with increasing borehole size.It is also shown that specimens subjected to uniaxial compression of 5 MPa fracture as early as 7 h after SCDA mixing.A borehole spacing to borehole diameter ratio of 12.8 to 14.6 is suggested for practical applications.