A study of rock bolting failure modes

Rock bolting has advanced rapidly during the past 4 decades due to a better understanding of load transfer mechanisms and advances made in the bolt system technology. Bolts are used as permanent and temporary support systems in tunnelling and mining operations. A review of has indicated that three systems of reinforcement devices have evolved as part of rock bolt and ground anchor while the rock is not generally thought of as being a component of the reinforcement system. A classification of rock bolting reinforcement systems is presented, followed by the fundamental theory of the load transfer mechanism. The failure mode of two phases of rock bolting system is formularised. The failure modes of cable bolting are discussed using a bond strength model as well as an iterative method. Finally, the interfacial shear stress model for ribbed bar is introduced and a closed form solution is obtained using a tri-line stress strain relationship.

Experimental and numerical studies on progressive debonding of grouted rock bolts

Understanding the mechanism of progressive debonding of bolts is of great significance for underground safety.In this paper,both laboratory experiment and numerical simulation of the pull-out tests were performed.The experimental pull-out test specimens were prepared using cement mortar material,and a relationship between the pull-out strength of the bolt and the uniaxial compressive strength(UCS)of cement mortar material specimen was established.The locations of crack developed in the pull-out process were identified using the acoustic emission(AE)technique.The pull-out test was reproduced using 2D Particle Flow Code(PFC^(2D))with calibrated parameters.The experimental results show that the axial displacement of the cement mortar material at the peak load during the test was approximately 5 mm for cement-based grout of all strength.In contrast,the peak load of the bolt increased with the UCS of the confining medium.Under peak load,cracks propagated to less than one half of the anchorage length,indicating a lag between crack propagation and axial bolt load transmission.The simulation results show that the dilatation between the bolt and the rock induced cracks and extended the force field along the anchorage direction;and,it was identified as the major contributing factor for the pull-out failure of rock bolt.

Microbiologically influenced corrosion of cable bolts in underground coal mines:The effect of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

Reports on corrosion failure of cable bolts,used in mining and civil industries,have been increasing in the past two decades.The previous studies found that pitting corrosion on the surface of a cable bolt can initiate premature failure of the bolt.In this study,the role of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans(A.ferrooxidans)bacterium in the occurrence of pitting corrosion in cable bolts was studied.Stressed coupons,made from the wires of cable bolts,were immersed in testing bottles containing groundwater collected from an underground coal mine and a mixture of A.ferrooxidans and geomaterials.It was observed that A.ferrooxidans caused pitting corrosion on the surface of cable bolts in the near-neutral environment.The presence of geomaterials slightly affected the p H of the environment;however,it did not have any significant influence on the corrosion activity of A.ferrooxidans.This study suggests that the common bacterium A.ferrooxidans found in many underground environments can be a threat to cable bolts'integrity by creating initiation points for other catastrophic failures such as stress corrosion cracking.

High-resistance controlled yielding supporting technique in deep-well oil shale roadways

In order to avoid the deep-well oil shale roadway being deformed, damaged, or difficult to maintain after excavating and supporting in Haishiwan coal mine, this paper has analyzed the characteristics of the deformed roadway and revealed its failure mechanism by taking comprehensively the methods of field geological investigation, displacement monitoring of surrounding rock, rock properties and hydration properties experiments and field application tests. Based on this work, the high-resistance controlled yielding supporting principle is proposed, which is： to ＂resist＂ by high pre-tightening force and high stiff- ness in the early stage, to ＂yield＂ by making use of the controlled deformation of a yielding tube in the middle stage, and to ＂fix＂ by applying total-section Gunite in the later stage. A high-resistance controlled yielding supporting technique of ＂high pre-tightening force yielding anchor bolt ＋ small-bore pre-tight- ening force anchor cable ＋ rebar ladder beam ＋ rhombic metal mesh ＋ lagging gunite＂ has been estab- lished, and industrial on site testing implemented. The practical results show that the high-resistance controlled yielding supporting technique can effectively control the large deformation and long-time rheology of deep-well oil shale roadways and can provide beneficial references for the maintenance of other con-generic roadways.Deep-well Oil shale