An overview of the thermography-based experimental studies on roadway excavation in stratified rock masses at CUMTB

This paper presents an overview of experimental investigations conducted at China University of Mining and Technology Beijing(CUMTB) on roadway excavation using large-scale geomechanical model tests.The simulated sedimentary rocks are composed by alternating layers of sandstone, mudstone and coal seam inclined at varied angles with respect to the horizontal including 0°, 45°, 60°, and 90°. During the excavation, infrared thermography was employed to detect the thermal response of the surrounding rocks under excavation. The obtained raw thermograms were processed using denoising algorithm, data reduction procedure and Fourier analysis. The infrared temperature(IRT) characterizes the overall rock response; the processed thermal images represent the structural behavior, and the Fourier spectrum describes damage development in the frequency domain. Deeper understanding was achieved by the comparative analyses of excavation in differently inclined rock masses using the image features of IRTs, thermal images and Fourier spectra.

Comparison and rapid prediction of lignocellulose and organic elements of a wide variety of rice straw based on near infrared spectroscopy

Rice straw is a major kind of biomass that can be utilized as lignocellulosic materials and renewable energy.Rapid prediction of the lignocellulose(cellulose,hemicellulose,and lignin)and organic elements(carbon,hydrogen,nitrogen,and sulfur)of rice straw would help to decipher its growth mechanisms and thereby improve its sustainable usages.In this study,364 rice straw samples featuring different rice subspecies(japonica and indica),growing seasons(early-,middle-,and late-season),and growing environments(irrigated and rainfed)were collected,the differences among which were examined by multivariate analysis of variance.Statistic results showed that the cellulose content exhibited significant differences among different growing seasons at a significant level(p<0.01),and the contents of cellulose and nitrogen had significant differences between different growing environments(p<0.01).Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy(NIRS)models for predicting the lignocellulosic and organic elements were developed based on two algorithms including partial least squares(PLS)and competitive adaptive reweighted sampling-partial least squares(CARS-PLS).Modeling results showed that most CARS-PLS models are of higher accuracy than the PLS models,possibly because the CARS-PLS models selected optimal combinations of wavenumbers,which might have enhanced the signal of chemical bonds and thereby improved the predictive efficiency.As a major contributor to the applications of rice straw,the nitrogen content was predicted precisely by the CARS-PLS model.Generally,the CARS-PLS models efficiently quantified the lignocellulose and organic elements of a wide variety of rice straw.The acceptable accuracy of the models allowed their practical applications.

Thermography analyses of rock fracture due to excavation and overloading for tunnel in 30° inclined strata

Large-scale physical model test of 30°inclined strata was conducted to investigate the damage mechanisms during the excavation and overloading using infrared detection.The experiment results were presented with thermal images which were divided into three stages including a full face excavation stage,a staged excavation stage,and an overloading stage.The obtained results were compared with the previously reported results from horizontal,45?,60?,and vertical strata models.Infrared temperature(IRT)for 30°inclined strata model descended with multiple fluctuations during the full-face excavation.For the staged excavation,the excavation damage zone(EDZ)showed enhanced faulting-like strips as compared in the 45?,60?,and vertical models,indicating the intensified stress redistribution occurred in the adjacent rock mass.In contrast,EDZ for the horizontal strata existed in a plastic-formed manner.During the overloading,abnormal features in the thermal images were observed preceding the coalescence of the propagating cracks.The ultimate failure of the model was due primarily to the floor heave and the roof fall.