Structural effect of a soft-hard backfill wall in a gob-side roadway

The stability of a backfill wall is critical to implement gob-side entry driving technology in which a small coal pillar is substituted by a waste backfill wall. Based on features of surrounding rock structures in the backfill wall, we propose a mechanical model on the structural effect of a soft-hard backfill wall using theory analysis, physical experiments and a numerical simulation. The results show thatChe deformation of the structure of the soft-hard backfill wall is coordinated with the roof and floor. The soft structure on the top of the backfill wall can absorb the energy in the roof by its large deformation and adapt to the given deformation caused by the rotation and subsidence of a key rock block. The hard structure at the bottom of the backfill wall can absorb the strong supporting resistance from the top surrounding rock. The soft structure on the top protecting the hard bottom structure by its large deformation contributes to the stability of the entire backfill wall. An application indicated that the stress in the backfill wall effec- tively decreased and its deformation was significantly reduced after the top coal remained. This ensured the stability of the backfill wall.

Stability analysis of shallow tunnels subjected to eccentric loads by a boundary element method

This paper presents the results of the shear strength（frictional strength） of cemented paste backfillcemented paste backfill（CPB-CPB） and cemented paste backfillerock wall（CPB-rock） interfaces. The frictional behaviors of these interfaces were assessed for the short-term curing times（3 d and 7 d） using a direct shear apparatus RDS-200 from GCTS（Geotechnical Consulting ＆ Testing Systems）. The shear（friction） tests were performed at three different constant normal stress levels on flat and smooth interfaces. These tests aimed at understanding the mobilized shear strength at the CPB-rock and CPB-CPB interfaces during and/or after open stope filling（no exposed face）. The applied normal stress levels were varied in a range corresponding to the usually measured in-situ horizontal pressures（longitudinal or transverse） developed within paste-filled stopes（uniaxial compressive strength, s c 150 k Pa）. Results show that the mobilized shear strength is higher at the CPB-CPB interface than that at the CPB-rock interface. Also, the perfect elastoplastic behaviors observed for the CPB-rock interfaces were not observed for the CPB-CPB interfaces with low cement content which exhibits a strain-hardening behavior. These results are useful to estimate or validate numerical model for pressures determination in cemented backfill stope at short term. The tests were performed on real backfill and granite. The results may help understanding the mechanical behavior of the cemented paste backfill in general and, in particular, analyzing the shear strength at backfillebackfill and backfill-rock interfaces.