Mechanical properties and damage characteristics of solidified body-coal combination in continuous driving and gangue backfilling

Recovery of the coal buried under buildings,railways and water bodies and the residual coal in irregularly arranged fully mechanized mining faces is a common engineering problem facing underground coal mining.In this study,a mining technology of continuous driving and gangue backfilling(CDGB)was proposed.The technology,which can not only alleviate ground subsidence and gangue discharge,but also release the above-mentioned coals,contributes to green and efficient sustainable development of mining.The stability of the system of the solidified body-reserved coal pillar combination(S-C combination)is crucial to the CDGB technology.Therefore,it is of great significance to explore the mechanical and damage characteristics of S-C combination in the synergistic bearing process.First,four sets of differentshaped S-C combination specimens were fabricated and a S-C combination bearing structure in CDGB was constructed to explore the differences in mechanical characteristics and damage modes of different-shaped S-C combination specimens during CDGB.Subsequently,their surface strain field evolutions and acoustic emission(AE)response characteristics in the load-bearing process were obtained with the aid of the digital image correlation technique and the AE signal monitoring system.Furthermore,a damage evolution model based on AE parameters and mechanical parameters was established to clarify the damage evolution law.The following results were obtained:(1)The free area of S-C combination can serve as a quantitative index to evaluate the stability of the overburden control system;(2)The concept of critical value k of the free area was first proposed.When the free area exceeds the critical value k(free area ratio greater than 1.13),the deformation resistance and the free area changes becomes negatively correlated;(3)As the free area expands,the failure of the S-C combination specimen evolves from tensile failure to shear failure.The distribution characteristics of the axial strain field also verified such a change in the failure mode;(4)When the free area expands,the peak AE count gradually changes from“double peaks”to“a single peak”.In this process,the expansion of free area shortens the time for accumulating and releasing energy during loading.Micro cracks generated in the specimen change from a phased steep growth to a continuous increase,and the process in which micro cracks develop,converge,intersect and connect to form macro cracks accelerates.The damage evolution law concluded based on AE parameters and mechanical parameters can well characterize the damage evolution process of S-C combination,providing certain reference for the study on the synergistic bearing of S-C combination during CDGB.

Coupling mechanism of roof and supporting wall in gob-side entry retaining in fully-mechanized mining with gangue backfilling

We analyzed the deformation characteristics of overlying stratum in backfilling with fully-mechanized and retaining roadways along the gob area coal mining technology, and established a mechanical model for the roof key stratum of retaining roadways along gob under the conditions of backfilling and fully- mechanized coal mining technology. Using Winkler elastic foundation theory, we analyzed a part of the key stratum under the action of elastic foundation coupling problem, and derived deflection analyt- ical expressions. Combined with specific conditions, we obtained the deflection curves for the roof key stratum of retaining roadways along gob under the conditions of backfilling and fully-mechanized coal mining technology. On this basis, we adopted the Coulomb's earth pressure theory to solve the problem of lateral pressure of the gangue filling area on the supporting wall beside the roadway and to provide the theoretical basis for reasonable selection of the distance between gangue concrete wall and roof and fur- ther discussion on the supporting stability of roadway.

Failure mechanisms and destruction characteristics of cemented coal gangue backfill under compression effect of non-uniform load

Backfill mining is one of the most important technical means for controlling strata movement and reducing surface subsidence and environmental damage during exploitation of underground coal resources. Ensuring the stability of the backfill bodies is the primary prerequisite for maintaining the safety of the backfilling working face, and the loading characteristics of backfill are closely related to the deformation and subsidence of the roof. Elastic thin plate model was used to explore the non-uniform subsidence law of the roof, and then the non-uniform distribution characteristics of backfill bodies’ load were revealed. Through a self-developed non-uniform loading device combined with acoustic emission (AE) and digital image correlation (DIC) monitoring technology, the synergistic dynamic evolution law of the bearing capacity, apparent crack, and internal fracture of cemented coal gangue backfills (CCGBs) under loads with different degrees of non-uniformity was deeply explored. The results showed that: 1) The uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of CCGB increased and then decreased with an increase in the degree of non-uniformity of load (DNL). About 40% of DNL was the inflection point of DNL-UCS curve and when DNL exceeded 40%, the strength decreased in a cliff-like manner;2) A positive correlation was observed between the AE ringing count and UCS during the loading process of the specimen, which was manifested by a higher AE ringing count of the high-strength specimen. 3) Shear cracks gradually increased and failure mode of specimens gradually changed from “X” type dominated by tension cracks to inverted “Y” type dominated by shear cracks with an increase in DNL, and the crack opening displacement at the peak stress decreased and then increased. The crack opening displacement at 40% of the DNL was the smallest. This was consistent with the judgment of crack size based on the AE b-value, i. e., it showed the typical characteristics of “small b-value-large crack and large b-value-small crack”. The research results are of significance for preventing the instability and failure of backfill.

Improvement of Cemented Gangue Backfill Material with Barium Hydroxide in Acid Mine Water

As a kind of green concrete,the mechanical properties and durability of cemented gangue backfill material(CGBM)will be affected if they are in acid mine water with sulfate ions in the long term.To improve the performance of CGBM in acid mine water with sulfate ions,CGBM specimens with different doses of barium hydroxide were immersed in sulfuric acid solutions of different concentrations for 270 days.The changes of mass,ultrasonic pulse velocity(UPV)and compressive strength of the specimens at different ages were analyzed.Scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and X-ray diffraction(XRD)were used to analyze the microstructure and composition of the specimens.The results show that incorporation of barium hydroxide into CGBM specimen can promote the formation of barium sulfate precipitation and inhibit the generation of corrosion products such as ettringite.Meanwhile,barium sulfate precipitation blocks the pore channel invaded by sulfuric acid solution,delaying the progress of corrosion reaction and making the interior of CGBM specimen more complete.And the specimen with 2.0 kg/m^(3)barium hydroxide was more effective in improving performance.This study provides a basis for the ratio design of CGBM in acid mine water with sulfate ions.

Analysis of floor failure depth by using electric profiling method in longwall gangue backfill mining

In underground mining, floor failure depth accompanying mining phases usually results from changes in the advance abutment pressure in the coal mass, and changes in stress redistribution in the areas that have already been mined. Although a variety of techniques have been applied to determine the failure depth, and a number of studies have provided the evidence for the decreasing of failure depth under backfilling, these methods and interactions have not been unequivocally identified. Based on the premise of one possible relation between the failure depth and filling body, which is that the filling materials （gangue） in the gob area can not only restrain the movement of the overlying strata effectively, but also can help to decrease failure depth of the floor in the coal mine. The failure depth in a specific longwall gangue backfilling mine was measured using the mine electricity profiling method. These electrode cables are arranged in a crossheading order to measure the depth and position of the destroyed floor using the DC method. After this, several different methods were used to interpret the recorded data from the field study for gaining failure depth, and the results were compared to the theoretical calculation values. And finally, the authors analyzed the reasons for failure depth form values recorded not indicating a large decrease trend when compared to the theoretical calculation. In this area, it is found that： ① The results using the mine electricity profiling method turns out to be robust and can be used in predicting floor failure depth, and the horizontal position of the maximum destroyed in working face of longwall backfilling. The maximum destroyed position and failure space of the floor can be identified by using this method. ②There is a time-delay processing between the advance of the working face and the failure of floor strata in the mining processing. ③Additionally, based on the data collected from field measurements, which includes three different test electrode spacing approaches （single, double and triple electrode spacing）, and the theoretical value from theoretical calculations. The premise mentioned above cannot be supported during the specific field test, and the role of the filling body in the mined area cannot decrease the floor failure depth effectively in comparison to the theory predictions. Basically, the failure depths in the two different methods have similar results and it is possible that there will not be a direct correlation between the filling body and failure depth. ④Although the failure depth cannot decrease effectiveness when using gangue backfilling in the field testing, due to gob gangue, filling materials being able to deliver the abutment pressure from the overburden in most cases, once they were compacted and rammed by the overburden pressure, it still can make the fracture of the gob area clog and be further consolidated. In this way, it is assumed that water-bursting accidents can be prevented effectively under backfill mining. For this reason, gangue backfilling may make a significant contribution to safety mining.

Creep properties and resistivity-ultrasonic-AE responses of cemented gangue backfill column under high-stress area

To investigate the creep and instability properties of a cemented gangue backfill column under a highstress area,the uniaxial compression creep tests were conducted by single-step and multi-step loading of prismatic samples made of cemented gangue backfill material(CGBM)under the high stressstrength ratio.The creep damage was monitored using an electrical resistivity device,ultrasonic testing device,and acoustic emission(AE)instrument.The results showed that the CGBM sample has a creep hardening property.The creep failure strength(CFS)is slightly larger than the uniaxial compressive strength(UCS),ranging in ratio from 108.9%to 116.5%.The instantaneous strain,creep strain,and creep rate increase with increasing stress-strength ratio in the single-step loading creep tests.The instantaneous strain and creep strain decrease first and then increase during the multi-step loading creep process.The axial creep strain of the CGBM column can be expressed by the viscoelastic-plastic creep model.Creep instability is caused by the accumulation of strain energy under multi-step loading and the continuous lateral expansion at the unconstrained middle position during the creep process.The creep stability of a CGBM column in a high-stress area can be monitored based on the variation of electrical resistivity,ultrasonic pulse velocity(UPV),and AE signals.

Effects of curing under step-by-step load on mechanical and deformation properties of cemented gangue backfill column

A step-by-step load was utilized to mimic the load history of the backfill column in the in-situ curing process.The inner damage of the specimen during curing and uniaxial compressive testing was monitored by electrical resistivity and ultrasonic equipment.Results show that:1)Uniaxial compressive strength(UCS)and elastic modulus(EM)of the samples curing under pressure are higher than those of the control samples without pressure,ranging in ratio from 0.5%to 20.2%and 7.1%to 52.3%,respectively,and are influenced by the initial loading age(ILA)and stress strength ratio(SSR).The SSR during curing should not exceed 80%.2)The earlier the ILA is,the higher the total strain becomes.The higher the SSR applies,the larger the total strain gets.The creep strain increases with the increase of SSR and can be described by Burger’s viscoelastic creep model.When SSR is less than 80%,the earlier the ILA is,the smaller the creep strain becomes after the last step-loading.3)The stability of the early age backfill column under pressure can be monitored based on the change of ultrasonic pulse velocity(UPV)and electrical resistivity.

A numerical study of macro-mesoscopic mechanical properties of gangue backfill under biaxial compression

Based on the Particle Flow Code(PFC^(2D)) program,we set up gangue backfill models with different gangue contents and bond strength,and studied the stress-strain behaviours,the pattern of shear band and force chains,motion and fragmentation of particles under biaxial compression.The results show that when the bond strength or contents of gangue are high,the peak strength is high and the phenomena of post-peak softening and fluctuation are obvious.When gangue contents are low,the shape of the shear band is symmetrical and most strong force chains transfer in soil particles.With an increase in gangue content,the shape of the shear band becomes irregular and the majority of strong force chains turn to transfer in gangue particles gradually,most of which distribute along the axial direction.When the gangue content is higher than 50%,the interconnectivity of strong force chains decreases gradually:at the same time,the strong force chains become tilted and the stability of the system tends to decrease.With an increase in external loading,the coordination numbers of the system increase at first and then decrease and the main pattern of force chains changes into columnar from annular.However,after the forming of the advantageous shear band,the force chains external to the shear band maintain their columnar shape while the inner ones bend obviously.As a result,annular force chains form.

Waste-filling in fully-mechanized coal mining and its application

A fully-mechanized coal mining (FMCM) technology capable of filling up the goaf with wastes (including solid wastes) is described. Industrial tests have proved that by using this technology not only can waste be re-used but also coal resources can be exploited with a higher recovery rate without removing buildings located over the working faces. Two special devices, a hydraulic support and a scraper conveyor, run side-by-side on the same working face to simultaneously realize mining and filling. These are described in detail. The tests allow analysis of rock pressure and ground subsidence when backfilling techniques are employed. These values are compared to those from mining without using backfilling techniques, under the same geological conditions. The concept of equivalent mining height is proposed based on theoretical analysis of rock pressure and ground subsidence. The upper limits of the rock pressure and ground subsidence can be estimated in backfilling mining using this concept along with traditional engineering formulae.