Investigation of mechanical properties of fractured marbles by uniaxial compression tests

Uniaxial compression tests （UCTs） on 34 naturally fractured marble samples taken from the transportation tunnels of Jinping I1 hydropower station were carried out using the MTS815 Flex test GT rock testing system. Rockburst proneness index WET is determined for the marble samples with the UCTs. According to the number, size and spatial structure characteristics of the internal natural fractures of the marble samples, fractures are basically divided into 4 types, namely, single fracture, parallel fracture, intersectant fracture and mixed fracture. The mechanical properties of naturally fractured rocks （4 types） are analyzed and compared with those of intact rock samples （without natural fractures）. Experimental results indicate that failure characteristics of fractured rocks are appreciably controlled by fracture distribution or fracture patterns. In comparison with intact rocks, the failure of fractured marbles is a locally progressive failure process and finally rocks fail abruptly. Statistically, the uniaxial compressive strengths （UCSs） of rocks with single, parallel, intersectant and mixed fractures are 0.72, 0.69, 0.59 and 0.46 times those of the intact rocks, respectively. However, the elastic modulus of the fractured Yantang marbles is generally not different from that of intact rocks. But the elastic moduli of Baishan marble with single, intersectant and mixed fractures are 0.61, 0.62 and 0.45 times those of intact rocks, respectively. Experimental results also indicate that WEt of fractured marbles is generally smaller than that of intact marbles, which implies that rockburst intensity of fractured marble in field may be controlled to some extent. In addition, the bearing capacity of surrounding rocks is also reduced, thus the surrounding rocks should be supported or reinforced timely according to practical conditions.

Analytical and numerical method assessing the risk of sinkholes formation in mining areas

Voids, which have not been liquidated and associated with shallow mining excavations, pose a serious threat of potential formation of sinkholes. This threat is connected with the loss of stability of voids that had been formed as a result of mining operations in the deeper strata. Taking into account the impact of lower coal seams mining on shallow excavations and based on the example of a region that had been intensely exploited, this paper proposes a methodology for analysing the stability of shallow mine voids in the rock mass. Deformations in the excavation region were calculated by using FLAC2D computer pro- gram and assigning the Coulomb-Mohr model to the rock mass. Based on the numerical analysis, this paper evaluated the stability of the void in the event of a roof support fall. The results indicate the like- lihood of void formation. Based on the Budryk-Knotbe theory, the deformations of rock mass and sand- stone strata in the roof of the void, which had been caused by mining exploitation in consecutive years, were calculated. The results of numerical calculations and analyses were compared with the limit defor- mations values of sandstone in tension. It is concluded that the exploitations cause the void to break down. The proposed method can forecast the discontinuous deformations threats in the areas that have undergone shallow undermining exploitation and the areas of underground urban.