Pulses in ground motions identified through surface partial matching and their impact on seismic rocking consequence

In seismology and earthquake engineering,it is fundamental to identify and characterize the pulse-like features in pulse-type ground motions.To capture the pulses that dominate structural responses,this study establishes congruence and shift relationships between response spectrum surfaces.A similarity search between spectrum surfaces,supplemented with a similarity search in time series,has been applied to characterize the pulse-like features in pulse-type ground motions.The identified pulses are tested in predicting the rocking consequences of slender rectangular blocks under the original ground motions.Generally,the prediction is promising for the majority of the ground motions where the dominant pulse is correctly identified.

Development and evaluation of corrosion resistant coating for expandable rock bolt against highly corrosive ground conditions

Expandable rock bolts are widely used in hard rock mines as an efficient ground control product.However, capacity and service life can be significantly reduced if the metallic body is subjected to corrosion.In some hard rock mines in the U.S., highly corrosive ground conditions exist, and it has been reported that inflatable rock bolts have corroded within a few months after installation.To provide mining industry a cost-effective inflatable bolt and combat the corrosion issues, Jennmar Corporation, Inc.,and its subsidiary Keystone Mining Services, LLC(KMS), analyzed corroded bolt samples, identified root causes, evaluated properties of various coating materials, and developed a new inflatable rock bolt,Python M3^(TM), that is protected with an innovative PyFlexU2^(TM)coating.The new generation Python M3^(TM) features improved steel chemistry for reliable performance, modified profile for better inflation, and surface preparation and coating application.The PyFlexU2^(TM)is impervious to liquid and air, durable, and UV resistant.With a flexible, adhesive, and highly corrosion-resistant undercoating, and a very hard sacrificial surface coating, the PyFlexU2^(TM)coating system provides the Python M3^(TM)superior protection against chemical corrosion and physical scratch damage.The under-coating has exceptional flexibility and adhesion to prevent coating micro-cracks or fractures after bolt inflation and possesses excellent corrosion resistance to acids(pH < 3), alkalis(p H > 11), fuels, and salt solvents.The corrosion and scratch resistant PyFlexU2^(TM)coating offers very effective bolt protection for extra longevity in highly corrosive environments.The Python M3^(TM)coated with PyFlexU2^(TM)has been tested in the most challenging conditions,including laboratory corrosion tests in extreme acidic and basic solvents, rock slurry, and borehole scratch insertion tests.With demonstrated corrosion and scratch resistance, the product has been greatly welcomed by hard rock mines in the West and is currently installed in large scale.This paper identifies the root causes of the bolt corrosion, discusses the analysis process, and details laboratory and underground tests carried out on the Python M3^(TM)coated with PyFlexU2^(TM).The Python M3^(TM)and PyFlexU2^(TM) are subjects covered by pending U.S.Patent Applications assigned to FCI Holdings Delaware, LLC.

Investigation on fracture models and ground pressure distribution of thick hard rock strata including weak interlayer

Dynamic disasters,such as rock burst due to the breaking of large area stiff roof strata,are known to occur in the hard rock strata of coal mines.In this paper,mechanical models of the fracturing processes of thick hard rock strata were established based on the thick plate theory and numerical simulations.The results demonstrated that,based on the fracture characteristics of the thick hard rock strata,four fracture models could be analyzed in detail,and the corresponding theoretical failure criteria were determined in detail.In addition,the influence of weak interlayer position on the fracture models and ground pressure of rock strata is deeply analyzed,and six numerical simulation schemes have been implemented.The results showed that the working face pressure caused by the independent movement of the lower layer is relatively low.The different fracture type of the thick hard rock strata had different demands on the working resistance of the hydraulic powered supports.The working resistance of the hydraulic powered supports required by the stratified movements was lower than that of the non-stratified movements.

Influence of dynamic pressure on deep underground soft rock roadway support and its application

Due to high ground stress and mining disturbance, the deformation and failure of deep soft rock roadway is serious, and invalidation of the anchor net-anchor cable supporting structure occurs. The failure characteristics of roadways revealed with the help of the ground pressure monitoring. Theoretical analysis was adopted to analyze the influence of mining disturbance on stress distribution in surrounding rock,and the change of stress was also calculated. Considering the change of stress in surrounding rock of bottom extraction roadway, the displacement, plastic zone and distribution law of principal stress difference under different support schemes were studied by means of FLAC3D. The supporting scheme of U-shaped steel was proposed for bottom extraction roadway that underwent mining disturbance. We carried out a similarity model test to verify the effect of support in dynamic pressure. Monitoring results demonstrated the change rules of deformation and stress of surrounding rock in different supporting schemes. The supporting scheme of U-shaped steel had an effective control on deformation of surrounding rock. The scheme was successfully applied in underground engineering practice, and achieved good technical and economic benefits.

Rock characterization while drilling and application of roof bolter drilling data for evaluation of ground conditions

Despite recent advances in mine health and safety, roof collapse and instabilities are still the leading causes of injury and fatality in underground mining operations. Improving safety and optimum design of ground support requires good and reliable ground characterization. While many geophysical methods have been developed for ground characterizations, their accuracy is insufficient for customized ground support design of underground workings. The actual measurements on the samples of the roof and wall strata from the exploration boring are reliable but the related holes are far apart, thus unsuitable for design purposes. The best source of information could be the geological back mapping of the roof and walls, but this is disruptive to mining operations, and provided information is only from rock surface.Interpretation of the data obtained from roof bolt drilling can offer a good and reliable source of information that can be used for ground characterization and ground support design and evaluations. This paper offers a brief review of the mine roof characterization methods, followed by introduction and discussion of the roof characterization methods by instrumented roof bolters. A brief overview of the results of the preliminary study and initial testing on an instrumented drill and summary of the suggested improvements are also discussed.

Ground reaction curves for circular excavations in non-homogeneous,axisymmetric strain-softening rock masses

Fast methods to solve the unloading problem of a cylindrical cavity or tunnel excavated in elasto-perfectly plastic, elasto-brittle or strain-softening materials under a hydrostatic stress feld can be derived based on the self-similarity of the solution. As a consequence, they only apply when the rock mass is homogeneous and so exclude many cases of practical interest. We describe a robust and fast numerical technique that solves the tunnel unloading problem and estimates the ground reaction curve for a cylindrical cavity excavated in a rock mass with properties depending on the radial coordinate, where the solution is no longer self-similar. The solution is based on a continuation-like approach(associated with the unloading and with the incremental formulation of the elasto-plastic behavior), fnite element spatial discretization and a combination of explicit sub-stepping schemes and implicit techniques to integrate the constitutive law, so as to tackle the diffculties associated with both strong strain-softening and elasto-brittle behaviors. The developed algorithm is used for two practical ground reaction curve computation applications. The frst application refers to a tunnel surrounded by an aureole of material damaged by blasting and the second to a tunnel surrounded by a ring-like zone of reinforced(rock-bolted) material.

GROUND TEMPERATURE AND ROCK THERMOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES IN FILDES PENINSULA

During 1985-1986, 1986-1987, and 1988-1989 expeditions on Fildes Peninsula the ground temperature was measured. A total number of 218 ground temperature data were obtained. The thermal conductivity measurements were made on 121 rock samples collected during expedition. This article gives a brief analysis and summarization of these data.

Ground stress and its impact on the stability of the surrounding rock in the Lüliang mining area

Ground stress is the fundamental cause of deformation and failure during underground structural engineering. Field stress measurements in the main coal bed in the Lueliang mining area were made by the bore hole, stress relief method. From these data the ground stress distribution of the mining area was obtained. The relationship between the horizontal principal stress and the deformation and failure of a roadway is discussed with an engineering example. The results indicate that horizontal stress dominates in the shallow crust in the Ltiliang mining area. Roadways at different angles to the maximum principal stress have different levels of stress concentration. This leads to a significant difference in stability of the corresponding roadways. These research results provide an important criterion for determining roadway position and direction, stope layout, and roadway support design.

Hydrochemistry of Surface and Groundwater in the Vicinity of a Mine Waste Rock Dump: Assessing Impact of Acid Rock Drainage (ARD)

Acid Rock Drainage (ARD) is a well-known problem related to the mining industry due to its hazardous environmental effects. Metal-rich drainage and acid effluent transmitted from mine waste dumps compromise environmental quality of groundwater and surface water systems destroying aquatic life and increasing human health risks. This study was aimed at assessing the acid and metal drainage potential from the Subriso East Rock Dump (SERD) located in the Wassa East district of Ghana on ground and surface water quality in the catchment using a system of monitoring boreholes, reference boreholes and river samples. Water samples were collected from deep and shallow monitoring boreholes and surface water within the immediate environs of the SERD from August 2012 to February 2013 for laboratory and statistical analysis. Parameters analyzed include sulphate, alkalinity, Arsenic (As), Manganese (Mn), Iron (Fe), Zinc (Zn), Copper (Cu), Cadmium (Cd), Mercury (Hg), Aluminum (Al), Silver (Ag) and lead (Pb) and their concentrations compared with Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) GSB (2009) and WHO (2017) standards. Results indicate that surface and groundwater were not impacted by the SERD possibly because there was no generation of acid or metal-loaded effluent from the SERD into the environment. Physicochemical variables between monitoring boreholes did not differ significantly from conditions in the reference boreholes. Similarly, comparison of upstream and downstream river conditions did not yield any statistical significance (p > 0.05). Mn and Fe concentrations were above the WHO (2017)/GSB (2009) standards. Heavy metal concentrations in surface and groundwater were below detection limits except manganese and iron whose concentrations exceeded the recommended guidelines. No significant environmental impacts exist that could be attributed to the waste rock dump and may be as a result of engineering designs and mechanisms which prevent acid generated water from reaching the external environment. Furthermore, the geology of the study area potentially could be slightly inert having the potential to generate ARD under appropriate conditions. Again, the young age of the waste rock dump is a factor that may contribute to ARD generation under appropriate condition. Routine monitoring of groundwater and surface water sources is required to determine future acid generation of the SERD and its environmental impacts. The results of this study will assist decision makers and environmental managers to plan effectively to mitigate future impacts as mining waste rock dumps are known to increase in acid generation potential with age.

Asymmetric Rock Pressure on Shallow Tunnel in Strata with Inclined Ground Surface

By building a tunnel model with a semi-circular crown, the asymmetric rock pressure applied to the shallow tunnel in strata with inclined ground surface is analyzed. Formulae, which not only include the parameters .related to both tunnel structure and surrounding rock mass, but the overburden depth, are developed. The computation for four tunnel models show that the method presented is feasible and convenient. Furthermore, the influence of the overburden depth on the rock pressure is elaborated, and the criterion to identify the deep or shallow tunnels is formulated as well.

Discussion on bearing capacity of soft rock ground based on in-situ load test

The suitability of five methods was discussed here,taking the typical results from in-situ load test of Renshou Mansion and Caifu Plaza in Yueyang City for example.It shows that bearing capacity can be obtained by the proportion load and limit load from p-s curve with the first and the second point of contraflexure easily.It is recommended that the accurate value of bearing capacity can be obtained by hyperbola fitting method and minimum curvature radius method theoretically.The rebound method is clear in principle,in which the elastoplasticity characteristic is thought about.Out of consideration for the unsteadiness and unobviousness of bearing capacity from relative settlement method,it can be only adopted as reference.So bearing capacity of soft rock ground should be determined by weathering condition of soft rock and curve type.

Failure behavior and strength model of blocky rock mass with and without rockbolts

To better understand the failure behaviours and strength of bolt-reinforced blocky rocks,large scale extensive laboratory experiments are carried out on blocky rock-like specimens with and without rockbolt reinforcement.The results show that both shear failure and tensile failure along joint surfaces are observed but the shear failure is a main controlling factor for the peak strength of the rock mass with and without rockbolts.The rockbolts are necked and shear deformation simultaneously happens in bolt reinforced rock specimens.As the joint dip angle increases,the joint shear failure becomes more dominant.The number of rockbolts has a significant impact on the peak strain and uniaxial compressive strength(UCS),but little influence on the deformation modulus of the rock mass.Using the Winkler beam model to represent the rockbolt behaviours,an analytical model for the prediction of the strength of boltreinforced blocky rocks is proposed.Good agreement between the UCS values predicted by proposed model and obtained from experiments suggest an encouraging performance of the proposed model.In addition,the performance of the proposed model is further assessed using published results in the literature,indicating the proposed model can be used effectively in the prediction of UCS of bolt-reinforced blocky rocks.

Rock engineering evaluation of existing and planned Salang Tunnels with high overburden through Hindukush Mountains,Afghanistan

The Kabul-Mazar Highway connects Kabul,the capital of Afghanistan,to northern provinces of the country,and further extends into Central Asian countries through the Hindukush mountains.The Salang Tunnel,which is 2600 m long,was designed by Soviet engineers in 1958 and constructed using conventional techniques in 1964.During its construction,the tunnel ranked the distinction of being the highest-altitude tunnel at 3400 m.The socioeconomic importance of the tunnel is exceptionally high,as the Hindukush Mountain range to the east and south of the country is crossed by it.Since 1964,there has been a significant increase in traffic volume.Due to the narrowness of the existing tunnel,the Ministry of Public Works(MOPW)of Afghanistan has planned the con-struction of new twin-tube tunnels.Although there have been rehabilitation and enlargement efforts for the existing tunnel,none of these renovation works have been proven effective,and challenges persist.In 2008,the MOPW initiated a pre-feasibility study for new tunnels,which was finalized in 2012,presenting various options.Subsequently,in early 2018,the MOPW commenced feasibility and detailed studies,leading to the proposal of new twin-tube tunnels,which are designated as the planned tunnels in this paper.In this study,the available geotechnical and environmental data are used to evaluate the rock engineering aspects of the tunnels,including an assessment of the in-situ stress state.A particular emphasis is placed on the reassessment and design of the support system for both the existing and planned tunnels according to RMQR and another system,respectively.The evaluation of the response and stability of the tunnels is concluded,and the implications are subsequently discussed.

Response spectra for nuclear structures on rock sites considering the near-fault directivity effect

Near-fault ground motions, potentially with large amplitude and typical velocity pulses, may significantly impact the performance of a wide range of structures. The current study is aimed at evaluating the safety implications of the near-fault effect on nuclear power plant facilities designed according to the Chinese code. To this end, a set of near- fault ground motions at rock sites with typical forward-directivity effect is examined with special emphasis on several key parameters and response spectra. Spectral comparison of the selected records with the Chinese and other code design spectra was conducted. The bi-normalized response spectra in terms of different comer periods are utilized to derive nuclear design spectra. It is concluded that nuclear design spectra on rock sites derived from typical rupture directivity records are significantly influenced both by the earthquake magnitude and the rupture distance. The nuclear design spectra specified in the code needs to be adjusted to reflect the near-fault directivity effect of large earthquakes.

Influences of strain softening and seepage on elastic and plastic solutions of circular openings in nonlinear rock masses

Considering the influence of strain softening, the solutions of stress, displacement, plastic softening region radius and plastic residual region radius were derived for circular openings in nonlinear rock masses subjected to seepage. The radial stress distribution curve, ground reaction curve, and relation curve between plastic softening region radius and supporting force in three different conditions were drawn respectively. From the comparisons among these results for different conditions, it is found that when the supporting force is the same, the displacement of tunnel wall considering both seepage and strain softening is 85.71% greater than that only considering seepage. The increase values of radial displacement at 0.95 m and plastic softening region radius at 6.6 m show that the seepage and strain softening have the most unfavorable effects on circular opening stability in strain softening rock masses.

Tunnel boring machine vibration-based deep learning for the ground identification of working faces

Tunnel boring machine(TBM) vibration induced by cutting complex ground contains essential information that can help engineers evaluate the interaction between a cutterhead and the ground itself.In this study,deep recurrent neural networks(RNNs) and convolutional neural networks(CNNs) were used for vibration-based working face ground identification.First,field monitoring was conducted to obtain the TBM vibration data when tunneling in changing geological conditions,including mixed-face,homogeneous,and transmission ground.Next,RNNs and CNNs were utilized to develop vibration-based prediction models,which were then validated using the testing dataset.The accuracy of the long short-term memory(LSTM) and bidirectional LSTM(Bi-LSTM) models was approximately 70% with raw data;however,with instantaneous frequency transmission,the accuracy increased to approximately 80%.Two types of deep CNNs,GoogLeNet and ResNet,were trained and tested with time-frequency scalar diagrams from continuous wavelet transformation.The CNN models,with an accuracy greater than 96%,performed significantly better than the RNN models.The ResNet-18,with an accuracy of 98.28%,performed the best.When the sample length was set as the cutterhead rotation period,the deep CNN and RNN models achieved the highest accuracy while the proposed deep CNN model simultaneously achieved high prediction accuracy and feedback efficiency.The proposed model could promptly identify the ground conditions at the working face without stopping the normal tunneling process,and the TBM working parameters could be adjusted and optimized in a timely manner based on the predicted results.

Performance characteristics of tunnel boring machine in basalt and pyroclastic rocks of Deccan traps–A case study

A12.24km long tunnel between Maroshi and Ruparel College is being excavated by tunnel boring machine(TBM)to improve the water supply system of Greater Mumbai,India.In this paper,attempt has been made to establish the relationship between various litho-units of Deccan traps,stability of tunnel and TBM performances during the construction of5.83km long tunnel between Maroshi and Vakola.The Maroshi–Vakola tunnel passes under the Mumbai Airport and crosses both runways with an overburden cover of around70m.The tunneling work was carried out without disturbance to the ground.The rock types encountered during excavation arefine compacted basalt,porphyritic basalt,amygdaloidal basalt pyroclastic rocks with layers of red boles and intertrappean beds consisting of various types of shales Relations between rock mass properties,physico-mechanical properties,TBM specifications and the cor responding TBM performance were established.A number of support systems installed in the tunne during excavation were also discussed.The aim of this paper is to establish,with appropriate accuracy the nature of subsurface rock mass condition and to study how it will react to or behave during under ground excavation by TBM.The experiences gained from this project will increase the ability to cope with unexpected ground conditions during tunneling using TBM.

Geotechnical characterization of red shale and its indication for ground control in deep underground mining

Geotechnical properties of red shale encountered in deep underground mining were characterized on both laboratory and field scale to reveal its unfavorably in geoenvironment.Its constituents,microstructure,strength properties and water-weakening properties were investigated.In situ stress environment and mining-induced fractured damage zone after excavation were studied to reveal the instability mechanism.The results show that red shale contains swelling and loose clayey minerals as interstitial filling material,producing low shear strength of microstructure and making it vulnerable to water.Macroscopically,a U-shaped curve of uniaxial compressive strength(UCS)exists with the increase of the angle between macro weakness plane and the horizon.However,its tensile strength reduced monotonically with this angle.While immersed in water for72h,its UCS reduced by91.9%comparing to the natural state.Field sonic tests reveal that an asymmetrical geometrical profile of fractured damage zone of gateroad was identified due to geological bedding plane and detailed gateroad layout with regards to the direction of major principle stress.Therefore,red shale is a kind of engineering soft rock.For ground control in underground mining or similar applications,water inflow within several hours of excavation must strictly be prevented and energy adsorbing rock bolt is recommended,especially in large deformation part of gateroad.

Vibration reduction technology and the mechanisms of surrounding rock damage from blasting in neighborhood tunnels with small clearance

Interlaid rock is an important component in the construction of neighborhood tunnels that supports and reinforces the area between two tunnels.However,the blasting load during excavation can sometimes damage the interlaid rock and threaten the stability of a tunnel’s structure.This paper presents a case study of the small clearance section of the Liantang highway tunnel project in Shenzhen,China,where the minimum distance between the two tunnels involved is only 0.5 m.To reduce the damage to the interlaid rock caused by blasting loads,we proposed a four-part excavation method with a vibrationcushioning rock layer in the following tunnel of neighborhood tunnels.Numerical simulation was used to model the damage prevention mechanism of the vibration-cushioning rock layer and to better understand the propagation of cracks in the interlaid rock.Furthermore,based on the simulation results,combined microseismic controlled-blasting technology was implemented,using innovative blasting patterns combined with different charge structures and blasting equipment designed according to the varying thickness of the interlaid rock.Finally,this implementation succeeded in protecting interlaid rock during blasting operations.

Performance of identical rockbolts tested on four dynamic testing rigs employing the direct impact method

Impact drop tests are routinely used to examine the dynamic performance of rockbolts.Numerous impact tests have been carried out in the past decades on independently designed,constructed and operated testing rigs.Each laboratory has developed testing procedures;thus,the results are often reported in different ways by various laboratories.The inconsistency in testing procedures and reporting formats presents a challenge when comparing results from different laboratories.A series of impact tests of identical rockbolts was carried out using the direct impact method(i.e.the mass free-fall method)on the rigs in four laboratories in different countries.The purpose of these tests was to investigate the level of consistency in the results from the four rigs.Each rig demonstrated a high level of repeatability,but differences existed between the various rigs.The differences would suggest that there is noticeable equipment-dependent bias when test results obtained from different laboratories are compared.It was also observed that the energy dissipated for the plastic displacement of the bolt was smaller than the impact energy in the tests.The average impact load(AIL)and the ultimate plastic displacement(D)of the bolt describe the ultimate dynamic performance of the bolt.In the case where the bolt does not rupture,the specific plastic energy(SPE)is an appropriate parameter in describing the impact performance of the bolt.Two other relevant parameters are the first peak load(FPL)and the initial stiffness(K)of the bolt sample.The information from this test series will guide the formulation of standardised testing procedures for dynamic impact tests of rockbolts.