Reasonable location of stopping line in close‑distance underlying coal seam and partition support of large cross‑section roadway

Close-distance coal seams are widely distributed over China,and the coal pillars left by the overlying coal seams afect the retracement channel of the underlying coal seam in the stopping stage.Based on the engineering background of close-distance seam mining in a coal mine,the reasonable position of the underlying coal seam's stopping line and the support method of the large section roadway during stopping are investigated using feld measurements,similar simulation experiments,and numerical simulations.There are three types of location relationships between the stopping line of the underlying coal seam and the stopping line of the overlying coal seam:"externally staggered with the upper stopping line"(ESUL,stops mining under the overlying goaf),"overlapped with upper stopping line"(OUL),and"internally staggered with the upper stopping line"(ISUL,ISUL-SD for shorter internal staggered distances,ISUL-LD for longer ones).There are diferent stress arch structures in the overlying strata of the above three positions,and the stress arch evolution process exists in the process of ESUL→OUL→ISUL-SD→ISUL-LD:a front and rear double stress arch structure→the front arch gradually decreases→the front arch dies out,and the double arch synthesizes the single arch→the single-arch range expands→the nested double arch.The relationship between the stress arch structure and the position of the stopping line is evaluated as follows:(1)ESUL:the stress concentration in the roof plate of the retracement channel of the underlying coal seam is the highest,because the overburden block of the extensive collapse zone acts directly on the roof plate of the retracement channel,resulting in relative difculties in roof support.(2)OUL:although the retracement channel roof pressure is minimal,the overlying rock structure has the potential for rotation or slippage instability.(3)ISUL-SD:the pressure on the roof of the retracement channel is small and the overburden structure is stable,which is conducive to the safe retraction of the support and not limited by the width of the end-mining coal pillar.(4)ISUL-LD:it is basically the same as the condition of stopping under the non-goaf;however,it has a limitation on the width of the end-mining coal pillar.The location of the stopping line is selected as ISUL-SD,and the retraction process of the self-excavating retraction channel was adopted.A partition asymmetric support scheme which is proven by feld practice is proposed,through a comprehensive analysis of the pre-stress feld simulation of the support scheme,based on the diferent control requirements of the roof above the support and the roof of the retracement channel in the stopping area.This method realizes safe and smooth withdrawal of the support.

A Workable Solution for Reducing the Large Number of Vehicle and Pedestrian Accidents Occurring on a Yellow Light

Traffic intersections are incredibly dangerous for drivers and pedestrians. Statistics from both Canada and the U.S. show a high number of fatalities and serious injuries related to crashes at intersections. In Canada, during 2019, the National Collision Database shows that 28% of traffic fatalities and 42% of serious injuries occurred at intersections. Likewise, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) found that about 40% of the estimated 5,811,000 accidents in the U.S. during the year studied were intersection-related crashes. In fact, a major survey by the car insurance industry found that nearly 85% of drivers could not identify the correct action to take when approaching a yellow traffic light at an intersection. One major reason for these accidents is the “yellow light dilemma,” the ambiguous situation where a driver should stop or proceed forward when unexpectedly faced with a yellow light. This situation is even further exacerbated by the tendency of aggressive drivers to inappropriately speed up on the yellow just to get through the traffic light. A survey of Canadian drivers conducted by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation found that 9% of drivers admitted to speeding up to get through a traffic light. Another reason for these accidents is the increased danger of making a left-hand turn on yellow. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA), left turns occur in approximately 22.2% of collisions—as opposed to just 1.2% for right turns. Moreover, a study by CNN found left turns are three times as likely to kill pedestrians than right turns. The reason left turns are so much more likely to cause an accident is because they take a driver against traffic and in the path of oncoming cars. Additionally, most of these left turns occur at the driver’s discretion—as opposed to the distressingly brief left-hand arrow at busy intersections. Drive Safe Now proposes a workable solution for reducing the number of accidents occurring during a yellow light at intersections. We believe this fairly simple solution will save lives, prevent injuries, reduce damage to public and private property, and decrease insurance costs.

Critical Conditions for Left-Turn Lane's Stop Line Backwards Setting Under Exclusive Left-Turn Phase

Aiming at the problem that the vehicles always turn left in advance which causes heavy conflicts in the intersection and effected traffic efficiency,the solution of the left-turn lane’s stop line backwards setting was proposed,and the critical conditions on the stop line’s setting were studied.Firstly,we studied the characteristics of trajectories distribution in the release process of turning left in advance vehicles.Based on that,we proposed to move the stop line backwards to solve the problem of turning left in advance.Considering the intersection’s geometric features and the vehicle operation features,the geometric critical condition was given for setting the position of left-turn lane’s stop line.And then the model of left-turn vehicles’queuing length was established based on queuing theory and traffic wave theory.By using queuing length model,the flow restrictions of stop line backwards could be found.Assuming left-turn vehicles’arrival rate is stable in a certain period of time,the minimum green time and the maximum red time of left-turn phase were given after the stop line was set up.According to the changes of the vehicles’turning paths,the shortest yellow setting recommendation was given.Finally,the application of the critical limits used in stop line backwards setting was demonstrated.The research result could provide a theoretical basis for traffic signs and markings’setting and perfect the relevant laws and regulations.