The retained coal in the end slope of an open-pit mine can be mined by the highwall mining techniques.However,the instability mechanism of the reserved rib pillar under dynamic loads of mining haul trucks and static l...The retained coal in the end slope of an open-pit mine can be mined by the highwall mining techniques.However,the instability mechanism of the reserved rib pillar under dynamic loads of mining haul trucks and static loads of the overlying strata is not clear,which restricts the safe and efcient application of highwall mining.In this study,the load-bearing model of the rib pillar in highwall mining was established,the cusp catastrophe theory and the safety coefcient of the rib pillar were considered,and the criterion equations of the rib pillar stability were proposed.Based on the limit equilibrium theory,the limit stress of the rib pillar was analyzed,and the calculation equations of plastic zone width of the rib pillar in highwall mining were obtained.Based on the Winkler foundation beam theory,the elastic foundation beam model composed of the rib pillar and roof under the highwall mining was established,and the calculation equations for the compression of the rib pillar under dynamic and static loads were developed.The results showed that with the increase of the rib pillar width,the total compression of the rib pillar under dynamic and static loads decreases nonlinearly,and the compression of the rib pillar caused by static loads of the overlying strata and trucks has a decisive role.Numerical simulation and theoretical calculation were also performed in this study.In the numerical simulation,the coal seam with a buried depth of 122 m and a thickness of 3 m is mined by highwall mining techniques.According to the established rib pillar instability model of the highwall mining system,it is found that when the mining opening width is 3 m,the reasonable width of the rib pillar is at least 1.3 m,and the safety factor of the rib pillar is 1.3.The numerical simulation results are in good agreement with the results of theoretical calculation,which verifes the feasibility of the theoretical analysis of the rib pillar stability.This research provides a reference for the stability analysis of rib pillars under highwall mining.展开更多
In some of the coalfields in India, coal seams are only developed but no extraction of pillars is possible due to the presence of surface or sub-surface structures and also non-availability of stowing materials which ...In some of the coalfields in India, coal seams are only developed but no extraction of pillars is possible due to the presence of surface or sub-surface structures and also non-availability of stowing materials which leads to huge amounts of coal being locked-up underground. Spontaneous heating and fire, accumulation of poisonous gases, severe stability issues leading to unsafe workings and environmental hazards are the major problems associated with the developed coal pillars. So, there is a pressing need for a technology for the mining industry to extract the huge amount of coal locked-up under different constraints. In this study, the locked-up coal is proposed to be extracted by artificially strengthening the rib pillars. The detailed comparative study is carried out to know the increase of extraction percentage of locked-up coal by strengthening the rib pillars with FRP. Extraction methodology is designed and studied through numerical modelling for its stability analysis to evaluate its suitability of application in underground.展开更多
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 ...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.展开更多
Ensuring rib stability during pillar extraction is of prime importance in bord and pillar(B&P) method of underground coal mining with caving. Rib stability has been assessed here by way of assessing factor of safe...Ensuring rib stability during pillar extraction is of prime importance in bord and pillar(B&P) 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.展开更多
In underground mines,sublevel stoping is used among a variety of different methods for mining an orebody,which creates large underground openings.In this case,the stability of these openings is affected by a number of...In underground mines,sublevel stoping is used among a variety of different methods for mining an orebody,which creates large underground openings.In this case,the stability of these openings is affected by a number of factors,including the geometrical characteristics of the rock and mining-induced stresses.In this study,a sensitivity analysis was conducted with the numerical,squat pillar,and Mathews stability methods using the Taguchi technique to properly understand the influence of geometric parameters and stress on stope stability according to Sormeh underground mine data.The results show a full factorial analysis is more reliable since stope stability is a complex process.Furthermore,the numerical results indicate that overburden stress has the most impact on stope stability,followed by stope height.However,the results obtained with Mathews and squat pillar methods show that stope height has the greatest impact,followed by overburden stress and span.It appears that these methods overestimate the impact of stope height.Therefore,it is highly recommended that Mathews and squat pillar methods should not be used in high stope that is divided with several sill pillars.Nonetheless,Mathews method cannot accurately predict how the sill pillar impacts the stope stability.In addition,numerical analysis shows that all geometric parameters affect the roof safety factor,whereas the sill pillar has no significant influence on the safety factor of the hanging wall,which is primarily determined by the stope height–span ratio.展开更多
With a history of more than 100 years, Chuquicamata has become one of the largest open pits in the world. Its current depth of 1100 m, length of 4500 m and width of 3000 m, resulting in haulage distances of over 11,00...With a history of more than 100 years, Chuquicamata has become one of the largest open pits in the world. Its current depth of 1100 m, length of 4500 m and width of 3000 m, resulting in haulage distances of over 11,000 m from pit bottom to the processing plant or waste dumps, with waste/ore ratio greater than 4 and much lower grades, are effectively determining its profitable limit by the end of this decade. Currently, there are over 4300 Mt of geological resources containing 0.7% of copper and 340 ppm (1 ppm = 1 g/t) of molybdenum below the final pit shell. The corresponding orebody geometry is 3000 m northsouth, 300-800 m eastwest and the drilling campaign suggested the existence of more than 900 m of mineable ore from the final pit bottom. This is in spite of the fact that the Chuquicamata orebody is still open at depth. The business case to continue with the mining of the Chuquicamata orebody is to change from the current large open pit to a novel macroblock variant block caving geometry. This requires a production rate of 140,000 t/d (50 Mt per annum), with a continuous material handling system to achieve the 7-year ramp-up to full production. The resolution of a number of known technical, operational and logistical challenges outside current industry practises which Chuquicamata will face over its projected 40-year mine life is therefore essential. These challenges include simultaneous operations of open pit and underground macroblocks and from the initial lift to the second lift, rapid ramp-up and optimum sequencing of the planned macroblocks, early dilution from the west fault and late dilution from potential slope failures, and the potential for major operational hazards. An equally important issue to be addressed is cultural given that the mining history in the northern region of Chile, which includes Chuquicamata, is predominantly open pit. This paper presents a synopsis of the main challenges that the Chuquicamata underground project will face in order to meet the objectives of its corresponding business case. Those discussed and how they were resolved are: simultaneous operations, rapid ramp-up and optimum sequencing of the planned macroblocks, and early and late dilutions. The project is an example of the fact that there are no recipes or cook books in cave mining.展开更多
基金fnancially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.51974295).
文摘The retained coal in the end slope of an open-pit mine can be mined by the highwall mining techniques.However,the instability mechanism of the reserved rib pillar under dynamic loads of mining haul trucks and static loads of the overlying strata is not clear,which restricts the safe and efcient application of highwall mining.In this study,the load-bearing model of the rib pillar in highwall mining was established,the cusp catastrophe theory and the safety coefcient of the rib pillar were considered,and the criterion equations of the rib pillar stability were proposed.Based on the limit equilibrium theory,the limit stress of the rib pillar was analyzed,and the calculation equations of plastic zone width of the rib pillar in highwall mining were obtained.Based on the Winkler foundation beam theory,the elastic foundation beam model composed of the rib pillar and roof under the highwall mining was established,and the calculation equations for the compression of the rib pillar under dynamic and static loads were developed.The results showed that with the increase of the rib pillar width,the total compression of the rib pillar under dynamic and static loads decreases nonlinearly,and the compression of the rib pillar caused by static loads of the overlying strata and trucks has a decisive role.Numerical simulation and theoretical calculation were also performed in this study.In the numerical simulation,the coal seam with a buried depth of 122 m and a thickness of 3 m is mined by highwall mining techniques.According to the established rib pillar instability model of the highwall mining system,it is found that when the mining opening width is 3 m,the reasonable width of the rib pillar is at least 1.3 m,and the safety factor of the rib pillar is 1.3.The numerical simulation results are in good agreement with the results of theoretical calculation,which verifes the feasibility of the theoretical analysis of the rib pillar stability.This research provides a reference for the stability analysis of rib pillars under highwall mining.
基金a part of the 12th Five Year Plan Project(No.ESC 0105),acronymed as‘‘De Coal Art”
文摘In some of the coalfields in India, coal seams are only developed but no extraction of pillars is possible due to the presence of surface or sub-surface structures and also non-availability of stowing materials which leads to huge amounts of coal being locked-up underground. Spontaneous heating and fire, accumulation of poisonous gases, severe stability issues leading to unsafe workings and environmental hazards are the major problems associated with the developed coal pillars. So, there is a pressing need for a technology for the mining industry to extract the huge amount of coal locked-up under different constraints. In this study, the locked-up coal is proposed to be extracted by artificially strengthening the rib pillars. The detailed comparative study is carried out to know the increase of extraction percentage of locked-up coal by strengthening the rib pillars with FRP. Extraction methodology is designed and studied through numerical modelling for its stability analysis to evaluate its suitability of application in underground.
文摘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.
文摘Ensuring rib stability during pillar extraction is of prime importance in bord and pillar(B&P) 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.
文摘In underground mines,sublevel stoping is used among a variety of different methods for mining an orebody,which creates large underground openings.In this case,the stability of these openings is affected by a number of factors,including the geometrical characteristics of the rock and mining-induced stresses.In this study,a sensitivity analysis was conducted with the numerical,squat pillar,and Mathews stability methods using the Taguchi technique to properly understand the influence of geometric parameters and stress on stope stability according to Sormeh underground mine data.The results show a full factorial analysis is more reliable since stope stability is a complex process.Furthermore,the numerical results indicate that overburden stress has the most impact on stope stability,followed by stope height.However,the results obtained with Mathews and squat pillar methods show that stope height has the greatest impact,followed by overburden stress and span.It appears that these methods overestimate the impact of stope height.Therefore,it is highly recommended that Mathews and squat pillar methods should not be used in high stope that is divided with several sill pillars.Nonetheless,Mathews method cannot accurately predict how the sill pillar impacts the stope stability.In addition,numerical analysis shows that all geometric parameters affect the roof safety factor,whereas the sill pillar has no significant influence on the safety factor of the hanging wall,which is primarily determined by the stope height–span ratio.
文摘With a history of more than 100 years, Chuquicamata has become one of the largest open pits in the world. Its current depth of 1100 m, length of 4500 m and width of 3000 m, resulting in haulage distances of over 11,000 m from pit bottom to the processing plant or waste dumps, with waste/ore ratio greater than 4 and much lower grades, are effectively determining its profitable limit by the end of this decade. Currently, there are over 4300 Mt of geological resources containing 0.7% of copper and 340 ppm (1 ppm = 1 g/t) of molybdenum below the final pit shell. The corresponding orebody geometry is 3000 m northsouth, 300-800 m eastwest and the drilling campaign suggested the existence of more than 900 m of mineable ore from the final pit bottom. This is in spite of the fact that the Chuquicamata orebody is still open at depth. The business case to continue with the mining of the Chuquicamata orebody is to change from the current large open pit to a novel macroblock variant block caving geometry. This requires a production rate of 140,000 t/d (50 Mt per annum), with a continuous material handling system to achieve the 7-year ramp-up to full production. The resolution of a number of known technical, operational and logistical challenges outside current industry practises which Chuquicamata will face over its projected 40-year mine life is therefore essential. These challenges include simultaneous operations of open pit and underground macroblocks and from the initial lift to the second lift, rapid ramp-up and optimum sequencing of the planned macroblocks, early dilution from the west fault and late dilution from potential slope failures, and the potential for major operational hazards. An equally important issue to be addressed is cultural given that the mining history in the northern region of Chile, which includes Chuquicamata, is predominantly open pit. This paper presents a synopsis of the main challenges that the Chuquicamata underground project will face in order to meet the objectives of its corresponding business case. Those discussed and how they were resolved are: simultaneous operations, rapid ramp-up and optimum sequencing of the planned macroblocks, and early and late dilutions. The project is an example of the fact that there are no recipes or cook books in cave mining.
