Numerical simulation to determine the gas explosion risk in longwall goaf areas:A case study of Xutuan Colliery

Underground gassy longwall mining goafs may suffer potential gas explosions during the mining process because of the irregularity of gas emissions in the goaf and poor ventilation of the working face,which are risks difficult to control.In this work,the 3235 working face of the Xutuan Colliery in Suzhou City,China,was researched as a case study.The effects of air quantity and gas emission on the three-dimensional distribution of oxygen and methane concentration in the longwall goaf were studied.Based on the revised Coward’s triangle and linear coupling region formula,the coupled methane-oxygen explosive hazard zones(CEHZs)were drawn.Furthermore,a simple practical index was proposed to quantitatively determine the gas explosion risk in the longwall goaf.The results showed that the CEHZs mainly focus on the intake side where the risk of gas explosion is greatest.The CEHZ is reduced with increasing air quantity.Moreover,the higher the gas emission,the larger the CEHZ,which moves towards the intake side at low goaf heights and shifts to the deeper parts of the goaf at high heights.In addition,the risk of gas explosion is reduced as air quantities increase,but when gas emissions increase to a higher level(greater than 50 m3/min),the volume of the CEHZ does not decrease with the increase of air quantity,and the risk of gas explosion no longer shows a linear downward trend.This study is of significance as it seeks to reduce gas explosion accidents and improve mine production safety.

A study on the early-warning technique concerning debris flow disasters

According to the principle of the eruption of debris flows, the new torrent classification techniques are brought forward. The torrent there can be divided into 4 types such as the debris flow torrent with high destructive strength, the debris flow torrent, high sand-carrying capacity flush flood torrent and common flush flood by the techniques. In this paper, the classification indices system and the quantitative rating methods are presented. Based on torrent classification, debris flow torrent hazard zone mapping techniques by which the debris flow disaster early-warning object can be ascertained accurately are identified. The key techniques of building the debris flow disaster neural network (NN) real time forecasting model are given detailed explanations in this paper, including the determination of neural node at the input layer, the output layer and the implicit layer, the construction of knowledge source and the initial weight value and so on. With this technique, the debris flow disaster real-time forecasting neural network model is built according to the rainfall features of the historical debris flow disasters, which includes multiple rain factors such as rainfall of the disaster day, the rainfall of 15 days before the disaster day, the maximal rate of rainfall in one hour and ten minutes. It can forecast the probability, critical rainfall of eruption of the debris flows, through the real-time rainfall monitoring or weather forecasting. Based on the torrent classification and hazard zone mapping, combined with rainfall monitoring in the rainy season and real-time forecasting models, the debris flow disaster early-warning system is built. In this system, the GIS technique, the advanced international software and hardware are applied, which makes the system’s performance steady with good expansibility. The system is a visual information system that serves management and decision-making, which can facilitate timely inspect of the variation of the torrent type and hazardous zone, the torrent management, the early-warning of disasters and the disaster reduction and prevention.

Prediction and verification of earthquakes induced by the Xiluodu hydropower station reservoir

Research has been conducted on reservoir-induced earthquakes in China since the Xinfengjiang reservoir-induced earthquakes in the 1960s.Regulations now require the risk of reservoir-induced earthquakes to be evaluated in the pre-research stage of all hydropower projects.Although nearly 40 cases of reservoir-induced earthquakes have been reported in China,analyses comparing the changes in seismic activity following reservoir impoundment with predictions are rare.In this study,we compared seismic activities observed in the reservoir area before and after the impoundment of the Xiluodu hydropower station in terms of the spatial distribution,frequency,and focal depths of the earthquakes,and clarified the correlation between their frequency/timing and reservoir level after impoundment.We then concluded that the seismic events in the head region were karst-type earthquakes,while those in the second segment of the reservoir were tectonic earthquakes.The spatial distribution of the earthquake epicenters and the seismic intensities validated some of the results for the reservoir-induced seismic risk assessment for the Xiluodu hydropower station,indicating that the proposed earthquake triggers and predictive models are reasonable.This study can provide a valuable reference for investigating the mechanism(s)of reservoir-induced earthquakes,revising reservoir-induced earthquake hazard assessment codes,and predicting the hazard zones of reservoir-induced seismicity under similar conditions.