Ground subsidence mechanism of a filling mine with a steeply inclined ore body

Long-term field monitoring finds that serious surface subsidence can still occur even if the high strength cemented fill method is adopted.Combining the results of numerical simulations with global position system(GPS)monitoring,we took a typical filling mining mine with a steeply inclined ore body as an example,and explored its ground subsidence mechanism.The results show that the ground subsidence caused by the mining of steep ore body is characterized by two settlement centers and a significantly uneven spatial distribution,which is visibly different from ground subsidence characteristic of the coal mine.The subsidence on the hanging wall is much larger than that on the footwall,and the settlement center tends to move to the hanging wall with the increase of mining depth.The backfill improves the strength and surrounding rock bearing capacity,which leads to a lag of about 3 years of the subsidence.However,under the actions of continuous and repeated mining disturbances,the supporting effect of the backfill can only reduce the amplitude of the deformation,but it cannot prevent the occurrence of settlement.

Seepage effects of groundwater and its make-up water on triggering ground subsidence

The functioning mechanism of groundwater and its make-up water in the process of ground subsidence was studied from such three aspects as osmotic corrasion, osmotic pressure effect and concretion effect, As to osmotic corrasion, its forming conditions, mechanical mechanism and process were analyzed, As to osmotic pressure effect, it was mainly studied from hydrostatic pressurizing effect, sop softening effect and negative pressure sealing effect. Through concretion and saturation of soil, the factors of concretion settlement were analyzed. The results showed that both groundwater and its make-up water are important triggering factors to ground subsidence.

Ground Subsidence in Areas of Loose Porous Aquifers

Groundwater is one of the important water resources in northern China's plain areas. Many severe geological hazards have occurred in these areas due to ground subsidence which is caused by over exploitation of groundwater. This paper introduces and analyses the ground subsidence caused by groundwater exploitation and its mechanism in the northern China's plains. A ground subsidence prediction model has been developed based on the consolidation theory. The authors have tested this model in a case study of Fuyang City, Anhui Province, where ground subsidence is a severe environmental problem. In the case study, the model results match very well with those of the actual measurement. Two schemes of groundwater exploitation are assessed. The conclusion from the study could be used in the long-term water and economical management planning. The strategies for the control of ground subsidence are discussed.

Field Investigation and FEM Analysis of Ground Subsidence in a Chinese Underground Gold Mine

Ground subsidence in a Chinese underground gold mine is remarkable. To find out reasons and regularities of the subsidence, following research work was carried out: (1) systemetical investigations of engineering geological conditions, including in situ stress sta- te, locstion and size of old river beds, ponds and unfilled mined-out areas, (2) in situ monitoring of strata movement by multi-point ex tensometers in 3 vertical boreholes; (3) FEM (Finite Element Method) analysis to study the relationship between the ground subsidence and mining excavation, especially to inspect the influence of unfilled mined-out areas at shallow depth on the subsidence. Based on the research results, measures to control the ground subsidence and to prevent buildings from damage are provided.

Spatial-Temporal Ground Deformation Study of Baotou Based on the PS-InSAR Method

Ground subsidence is an emerging geological hazard in Baotou,Inner Mongolia.Four areas of Baotou with relatively large subsidence range and rate were selected for analysis.Focusing on investigation of ground subsidence using PS-In SAR technology,a total of 43 frames of ALOS PALSAR images yielded a SAR data span from December 2006 to January 2011,allowing ground subsidence scope,subsidence velocity,time-series deformation to be obtained.Major causes and influencing factors of the ground subsidence are closely related to soft soil consolidation and compaction and the decrease in the level of groundwater caused by increased development and utilization of groundwater.

Ground fissure hazards in USA and China

Tremendous losses were caused by ground fissure hazard both in USA and China. Six states of southwestern USA and seven provinces of central China were affected by the destructive ground fissures. The aseismic ground fissure hazards usually take place in land subsidence area. The comparison of the two countries' ground fissures were given including ground fissure formation, evolution, mechanics of destruction and countermeasures against them. The destructive ground fissures occurred about a half century earlier in USA than in China The mechanisms of various ground fissures were analyzed with interdisciplinary studies. It has been found that the preexisted faults are serving as the bases of forming modem ground fissure, and human activities, e.g. over pumping ground water, or oil, can accelerate the creeping of the fissures and make them destructive to many kinds of civil engineering. The countermeasures to mitigate ground fissure hazard were put forward, not only in science and technology but also in social administration. The successful practices in the two countries were introduced as examples.

Twenty years of coal mining-induced subsidence in the Upper Silesia in Poland identified using InSAR

The paper presents the results of terrain subsidence monitoring in Poland's Upper Silesian Coal Basin(USCB)mining area using Differential Interferometry Synthetic Aperture Radar(DInSAR)and Persistent Scatterer Interferometry(PSI).The study area accounts for almost three million inhabitants where mining which started in the 19th century,has produced severe damage to buildings and urban infrastructures in past years.The analysis aimed to combine eight different datasets,processed in two techniques,coming from various sensors and covering different periods.As a result,a map of areas that have been exposed to subsidence within 3045 square kilometers was obtained.The map covers a period of twenty years of intensive mining activities,i.e.1992-2012.A total of 81 interferograms were used in the study.The interferograms allowed not only to determine subsidence troughs(basins)formed from 1992 to 2012 but also to observe subsidence development over time.The work also included five sets of PSI processing,covering different temporal and spatial ranges,which were used to determine zones of residual subsidence.Based on InSAR datasets,an area of 521 square kilometers under the influence of mining activities were determined.Within the subsiding zones,an area of 312.5 square kilometers of the rapid increase in subsidence was identified on the interferograms.The study of combined different InSAR datasets provided large-area and long-term information on the impact of mining activities in the Upper Silesia Coal Basin.

Strata consolidation subsidence induced by metro tunneling in saturated soft clay strata

To choose the optimum construction method of metro tunneling, we conducted research with numerical simulation on strata consolidation subsidence by dewatering, dynamic dewatering, and non-dewatering construction method, taking the integrated effects of fluid-solid coupling and tunneling mechanics into account. We obtained the curved surfaces of ground surface subsidence and strata consolidation subsidence. The results show that the quantity of ground surface subsidence is 31 mm for the non-dewatering method, 39 mm for the dynamic dewatering method, and 105 mm for the dewatering method. Their ratio is 1：1.3：3.4; and the percentages of strata consolidation subsidence to whole ground surface subsidence of each construction method is 27% （no-dewatering）, 50% （dynamic dewatering）, and 79% （dewatering）. It is obvious that the non-dewatering construction method is the most effective method to control the strata consolidation subsidence induced by metro tunneling in saturated soft clay strata, and it has been successfully applied to the construction of the Shenzben metro line 1.

Impact of Sea-Level-Rise and Human Activities in Coastal Regions:An Overview

Coastal regions are becoming increasingly vulnerable to flooding because of accelerating sea-level-rise(SLR),local ground subsidence,and the changes in topography and morphology.Moreover,coastal areas are usually highly urbanized and increased human activities have an effect on the stability and preservation of the environment.For instance,the growing demand for new lands to accommodate the population and the industrial facilities in China has required the design and the deployment of land-reclamation projects from the ocean,with a marked impact on fragile coastal eco-systems.Specifically,the Yangtze River and Pearl River Estuary,two major estuaries of the world,have long been subject to intensive human activities over the past decades.Long-term ground subsidence evolution,topographic changes,and morphological variation of the coastal regions have drawn great attention.This paper provides an overview of well-established Earth Observation(EO)remote sensing(RS)technologies that are employed to continuously monitor the changes of urbanized regions.The combined use of EO-based DInSAR analyses along with the knowledge of the geomorphology of the coastal regions allows a more precise picture of the SLR risk in the investigated coastal regions.In this paper,we will concentrate on remote sensing technologies that allow the gathering of heterogeneous information,such as those based on the use of synthetic aperture radar(SAR),satellite altimeters and tide gauge data.We will underline how human activities trigger changes in the living environment of coastal zones and the associated risks for the population.Observed coastline changes,coastal regions terrain subsidence,and offshore bathymetry have a pronounced effect on the increasing risk of flooding.Accordingly,we also present insights into some inundation model projections employed for evaluating the potential flooding risk in coastal regions.

Vertical deformation and tectonic activity in Tianjin area

Vertical deformation in Tianjin area during 1992 -2008 was calculated from leveling data. The effect of large surface subsidence caused by extensive groundwater pumping was removed by fitting the data along each survey line with a polynomial function. The results are fitted with crustal blocks individually in this area. Vertical deformation rates are mapped, vertical rates of the main fault zones were calculated, and the activities of the blocks and fault zones were investigated. The observed vertical deformation shows that some of the blocks tilted and some blocks rose or subsided as a whole. The vertical rates at fault zones in the area vary within the range of 0. 13-0. 48 mm/a,with an average value of 0.29 mm/a.

A novel ground surface subsidence prediction model for sub-critical mining in the geological condition of a thick alluvium layer

A substantial number of the coal mines in China are in the geological condition of thick alluvium layer. Under these circumstances, it does not make sense to predict ground surface subsidence and other deformations by using conventional prediction models. This paper presents a novel ground surface subsidence prediction model for sub-critical mining in the geological condition of thick alluvium layer. The geological composition and mechanical properties of thick alluvium is regarded as a random medium, as are the uniformly distributed loads on rock mass; however, the overburden of the rock mass in the bending zone is looked upon as a hard stratum controlling the ground surface subsidence. The different subsidence and displacement mechanisms for the rock mass and the thick alluvium layer are respectively considered and described in this model, which indicates satisfactory performances in a practical prediction case.

An analytical model to predict the volume of sand during drilling and production

Over the past few decades, many optical fiber sensing techniques have been developed. Among these available sensing methods, optical fiber Bragg grating（FBG） is probably the most popular one. With its unique capabilities, FBG-based geotechnical sensors can be used as a sensor array for distributive（profile） measurements, deployed under water（submersible）, for localized high resolution and/or differential measurements. The authors have developed a series of FBG-based transducers that include inclination, linear displacement and gauge/differential pore pressure sensors. Techniques that involve the field deployment of FBG inclination, extension and pore-pressure sensor arrays for automated slope stability and ground subsidence monitoring have been developed. The paper provides a background of FBG and the design concepts behind the FBG-based field monitoring sensors. Cases of field monitoring using the FBG sensor arrays are presented, and their practical implications are discussed.

Taiyuan City Subsidence Observed with Persistent Scatterer InSAR

C- and X-bands Synthetic Aperture Radar（SAR） images acquired from February 2009 to September 2010 were processed with Persistent Scatterer Interferometry（PS-InSAR） algorithm to investigate spatial and temporal variations in deformation over Taiyuan City, China. The spatial pattern of subsidence and the magnitude of subsidence rate are similar in the velocity field maps achieved by the algorithm from these two data sets. It shows that there are four primary subsidence centers in Taiyuan City：Xiayuan, Wujiabao, Xiaodian, Sunjiazhai, which are near the groundwater extraction wells. The maximum subsidence rate is up to 70 mm/year at Sunjiazhai. The locus of maximum subsidence has shifted from its historical location in the north to the south. In view of the severe shortage of water resources and presented features of subsidence over Taiyuan City, we inferred that excessive pumping of groundwater was the dominant reason of land subsidence.

Revitalization of Urban Brownfield:Case Study on the Planning of the Central Park of Nanhu Eco-City in Tangshan

The redevelopment and regeneration of coal mining subsidence area has always been a hot topic in the?eld of social and scienti?c research.Relying on remote sensing and the geographic information system(GIS)platform and considering the opinions of experts from various disciplines,this paper intends to take the landscape planning and design of the coal mining subsidence area in Nanhu of Tangshan as an example to discuss the planning design strategies and substantial implementing approaches to transform abandoned urban land into a national urban wetland park,which specifically includes:①anticipation of geological subsidence disaster and construction of ecological security pattern;②coal ash management;③garbage mountain transformation;④application of eco-technologies for solving ground subsidence,etc.,so as to provide technical methods and research ideas for the utilization directions,ecological protection,and construction of urban brown?eld in similar areas all over the world.