Construction monitoring of lock head base plate using distributed optical fibre sensing technique

The concrete hydration heat release process of the base plate is monitored using Roman optical time domain reflectometry（ROTDR） sensing sensors. The monitoring data shows that the internal maximum temperature of the base plate is about 54 ℃ after the concrete was cured for 120 h. The fiber Bragg grating （FBG） temperature sensors are adopted to measure the surface temperature of the concrete and the temperature results are used to compensate the data measured by the pulse-prepump Brillouin optical time-domain analyzer （PPP-BOTDA） to obtain the real concrete surface strain of the base plate. The monitoring data is analyzed to obtain a clear understanding of the strain state of the base plate under the effect of concrete hydration heat release. The monitoring results demonstrate the potential of distributed optical fibre sensing techniques as a powerful tool in real-time construction monitoring, and also provide an important insight into the design, construction and maintenance of large hydraulic structures.

An in situ monitoring campaign of a hard rock pillar at great depth within a Canadian mine

A recent research campaign at a Canadian nickel-copper mine involved instrumenting a hard rock sill drift pillar with an array of multi-point rod extensometers,distributed optical fibre strain sensors,and borehole pressure cells(BHPCs).The instrumentation spanned across a 15.24 m lengthwise segment of the relatively massive granitic pillar situated at a depth of 2.44 km within the mine.Between May 2016 and March 2017,the pillar’s displacement and pressure response were measured and correlated with mining activities on the same level as the pillar,including:(1)mine-by of the pillar,(2)footwall drift development,and(3)ore body stoping operations.Regarding displacements of the pillar,the extensometers provided high temporal resolution(logged hourly)and the optical fibre strain sensors provide high spatial resolution(measured every 0.65 mm along the length of each sensor).The combination of sensing techniques allowed centimetre-scale rock mass bulking near the pillar sidewalls to be distinguished from microstrain-scale fracturing towards the core of the pillar.Additionally,the influence and extent of a mine-scale schistose shear zone transecting the pillar was identified.By converting measured rock mass displacement to velocity,a process was demonstrated which allowed mining activities inducing displacements to be categorised by time-duration and cumulative displacement.In over half of the analysed mining activities,displacements were determined to prolong for over an hour,predominately resulting in submillimetre cumulative displacements,but in some cases multi-centimetre cumulative displacements were observed.This time-dependent behaviour was more pronounced within the vicinity of the plumb shear zone.Displacement measurements were also used to assess selected support member load and elongation mobilisation per mining activity.It was found that a combined static load and elongation capacity of reinforcing members was essential to maintaining excavation stability,while permitting gradual shedding of stress through controlled pillar sidewall displacements.

Step change approaches in coal technology and fugitive emissions research

Multi-factor productivity(MFP) in underground coal mining has been on the decline for the last decade.The mining industry requires a viable and sustainable approach to overcome the current downtrend. This is only possible by concurrently focussing on productivity improvement and operating costs reduction,delivered through both incremental and step change technology development. Four technologies are presented in this paper: fibre optic borehole sensing has been demonstrated to reveal detailed information about gas flow influx, water level and borehole blockage events occurring along the length of a surfaceto-inseam lateral. Fibre optic gas sensing has also been investigated, and this technology promises a remote, intrinsically safe, distributed solution. Recent developments in continuous water jet drilling technology have demonstrated a step change increase in drilling rates and flexibility for coal seam degassing,applicable in both surface-to-inseam and underground in-seam applications. The application of water jet technology to the cable bolt drilling problem offers potential to address a serious health and safety and productivity issue in the roadway development process.