"In-situ Recycling" :Monolithic Ladle Repair with Shotcreting

The service life of refractories in ladle walls is limited by corrosion,abrasion,thermal shock and structural spalling mechanisms. When the ladle is lined with bricks they typically need to be completely removed after a certain number of heats to be replaced by new bricks of the same size as the original bricks. Not so for monolithic ladle linings. At the end of their service life the remains of the castable can almost completely be recycled as they can in fact stay in place. Only the worn-out part of the lining has to be replaced by a new castable. 20%-50% of the initial ladle lining can be recycled ＂insitu＂. The installation can efficiently be done by shotcreting technics. But it requires a castable that resists slag penetration very well. Castables based on a calcium magnesium aluminate bond provide the required penetration resistance. Pumping and shotcreting is very well adapted for repairs of blast furnace shafts,torpedo cars,hot metal and steel ladle linings[1]. However,very little is published about how a good pumping and shotcreting performance can be achieved when the installation has to be done under extreme weather conditions. At high ambient temperature the challenge is to ensure a good pumping result without early castable stiffening. Blockage of the pump would be the consequence. At low ambient temperature the difficulty is to de-activate the highly efficient deflocculant fast enough with a gelling agent added intothe wet mix at the nozzle to prevent the gunned material slipping off the wall. This paper studies strategies how to achieve good installed properties even at extreme ambient temperatures. The interactions between deflocculants,retarders,gelling agents,and calcium magnesium aluminate binder as a function of temperature are studied for an alumina- spinel ladle castable. Beside a new gelling agent for this castable type also a special stabilizer to reduce the temperature sensitivity has been investigated. It will be highlighted how the use of the new calcium magnesium aluminate binder in ladle castables and shotcretes maximises their service life and minimises material consumption.

Application Strategies of Shotcrete Anchor Support Technology in Highway Bridge and Tunnel Engineering

This article analyzes the application strategies of shotcrete anchor support technology using a highway bridge-tunnel construction project as an example.The article covers various strategies,including support plan formulation,mortar shotcrete anchor construction,grid steel frame construction,steel mesh construction,and concrete support construction.This analysis aims to provide a guideline for those interested in applying this technology and improving the quality and safety of highway bridges and tunnels construction.

Application of Roadway Spray Material to Fire Prevention in Goaf Excavation

In order to reduce the risk of spontaneous combustion in goaf during goaf excavation process, polymer modified cement mortar spraying material was used to spray and seal the roadway surface. The experimental application was carried out in the upper channel 2304 of a mine in Henan Province. The test results showed that polymer modified cement mortar spraying material could effectively support the roadway and greatly reduce the deformation rate of the roadway. The best spraying thickness is 5 mm. Through the monitoring of tunnel air leakage, it is concluded that the polymer modified cement mortar spraying material can reduce the tunnel air leakage and play a better sealing effect.

Comprehensive utilization of solid waste resources: Development of wet shotcrete for mines

The development of solid waste resources as constituent materials for wet shotcrete has significant economic and environmental advantages. In this study, the concept of using tailings as aggregate and fly ash and slag powder as auxiliary cementitious material is proposed and experiments are carried out by response surface methodology(RSM). Multivariate nonlinear response models are constructed to investigate the effect of factors on the uniaxial compressive strength(UCS) of tailings wet shotcrete(TWSC). The UCS of TWSC is predicted and optimized by constructing Gaussian process regression(GPR) and genetic algorithm(GA). The UCS of TWSC is gradually enhanced with the increase of slag powder dosage and fineness modulus, and it is enhanced first and then decreased with the increase of fly ash dosage. The microstructure of TWSC has the highest gray value and the highest UCS when the fly ash dosage is about 120 kg·m^(-3). The GPR–GA model constructed in this study achieves high accuracy prediction and optimization of the UCS of TWSC under multi-factor conditions.

Fly Ash and Slag as Partial Replacement of Cement for the Synthesis of Low Carbon Cementitious Materials

Tailings known as solid waste are generated by the mining industry.The development of tailings as wet shotcrete aggregates has significant economic and environmental benefits.The fine particle size of the tailings results in a large consumption of traditional cement as a cementitious material and insignificant improvement in strength.Therefore,a composite cementitious system of cement and solid waste resources(fly ash and slag powder)is explored for this study.In this paper,the response surface methodology(RSM)is used to optimize the experimental design and a multivariate nonlinear response model with cement,fly ash and slag powder contents as variables are constructed,which can investigate the effect of the composite cementitious system on the strength of tailing wet shotcrete(TWSC).In addition,the information entropy(IE)is introduced and combined with the RSM to evaluate the composite cementitious system.Finally,the desirability function(DF)combined with RSM is used to optimize the composite cementitious system.The results show that the response model constructed in this paper has R^(2)=0.96 and P-value<0.01(the test result of the model is P-value<0.01),which indicates that the model has high reliability.The higher the content of slag powder and cement in the composite cementitious system,the higher the strength and comprehensive score of the TWSC.There is a critical value of fly ash content,which makes the maximum cementation of the composite cementing system.The optimal mix proportion of the composite cementitious system is obtained based on RSM-DF,which leads to the strength of TWSC at different curing time to achieve the expected index.

Development of Wet Shotcrete with Solid Waste as Aggregate:Strength Optimization and Mix Proportion Design

The super-fine particle size of tailings is its drawback as a recycled resource,which is reflected in the low strength of the new construction and industrial materials formed when it is mixed with cement and other cementitious materials.Therefore,it is crucial to study the effect of tailings particle size and cementitious material on the strength of tailings wet shotcrete(TWSC)and to investigate the optimal mix proportion.In this paper,a multivariate nonlinear response model was constructed by conducting central composite experiments to investigate the effect of different factors on the strength of TWSC.The strength prediction and mix proportion optimization of TWSC are carried out by machine learning techniques.The results show that the response model has R^(2)>0.94 and P<0.01,which indicates that the model has high reliability.Moreover,the strength of TWSC increases with the increase of tailings fineness modulus and decrease of water-binder ratio,while it also increases and then decreases with the increase of replacement rate of slag powder to cement(SRC rate).The extreme learning machine(ELM)constructed in this paper predicts the strength of TWSC with an accuracy of more than 98%and achieves rapid prediction under multi-factor conditions.It is worth mentioning that the ELM combined with the genetic algorithm(ELM-GA)collaboratively solved to obtain the mix proportion for C15 and C20 strength grades of TWSC and the maximum error is verified by experiments to be less than 2%.

Study on Mechanical Properties of High Fine Silty Basalt Fiber Shotcrete Based on Orthogonal Design

In order to improve the comprehensive utilization rate of highfines sand(HFS)produced by the mine,full solid waste shotcrete(HFS-BFRS)was prepared with HFS asfine aggregate in cooperation with basaltfiber(BF).The strength growth characteristics of HFS-BFRS were analyzed.And thefitting equation of compressive strength growth characteristics of HFS-BFRS under the synergistic effect of multiple factors was given.And based on the orthogonal experimental method,the effects on the compressive strength,splitting tensile strength andflex-ural strength of HFS-BFRS under the action of different levels of influencing factors were investigated.The effect of three factors on the mechanical properties of HFS-BFRS,3,and 28 d,respectively,was revealed by choosing the colloidal sand ratio(C/H),basaltfiber volume fraction(BF Vol)and naphthalene high-efficiency water reducing agent(FDN)as the design variables,combined with indoor tests and theoretical analysis.The results show that the sensitivity of the three factors on compressive strength andflexural strength is C/H>FDN>BF Vol,and split-ting tensile strength is BF Vol>FDN>C/H.Finally,thefitting ratio of HFS-BFRS was optimized by the factor index method,and the rationality was verified by thefield test.For thefluidity of HFS-BFRS,the slump can be improved by 139%under the action of 1.2%FDN,which guarantees the pump-ability of HFS-BFRS.

Engineering study on roadway support in high-stress composite soft rock

The present study is focused on the roadway support in high stress composite soft rock. This paper expounds the two main features of roadway in soft rock, i.e., great deformation of surrounding rock and remarkable rheological deformation. Furthermore, on the basis of analyzing physico chemical component of surrounding rock and the situation of the damaged roadway, the method of adopting strong bolting and shotcreting mesh for the primary support, bolting and grouting for the secondary support is put forward in light of the on the spot investigation of stress tension, mechanical parameter and engineering geology. The application reveals the method facilitates the continuation of west main roadway and the restoration of shaft station and chambers. Consequently, better techno economic results have been achieved.

SUPPORTING PROCEDURE AND FIELD MEASUREMENT IN THE SHAFT THROUGH GLIDING TECTONIC GROUN

The paper describes mechacal properties and deformation features of shaft adjoining rocks in gliding tectonic ground and presents the shaft-supporting procedure of smooth-wall cushion blasting,preliminary bolting and shotcreting and pouring reioforced coocrete liner in one-time-whole-section on the basis of adjoining rock deformations measured dynamically site. Field measurements of the pressur exerted on shaft wall show that this supponing procedare has enough safety reserve to meet the safety requirements in mining production.

Mechanism of wet shotcrete interacting with rock in support systems

In order to have a good understanding of the behavior of wet shotcrete as a support element interacting with the rock mass,mechanism of wet shotcrete interacting with rock in support systems was analyzed through theoretical,numerical study and analytical analysis.A new model of distribution of rock stress state after wet shotcrete was applied,which includes shotcrete layer,composite layer,strengthening layer,plastic layer and elastic layer,and a full illustration of the rock mass stress state was given after shotcrete interacting with rock mass.At the same time,numerical analysis with FLAC gives a stress distribution along the monitor line,respectively,at the sidewall and roof of the tunnel.The displacement obviously decreases with the depth of rock,the tangential stress for tunnel supported by shotcrete is lower than that without shotcrete,and radial stress for tunnel supported by shotcrete is higher than that without shotcrete.It has been demonstrated by AIRY'S stress function,which gives a reasonable solution.Finally,the application of wet shotcrete in Jinfeng Gold Mine shows that the displacement of tunnel decreases obviously in sidewall and roof.

In-situ measure to internal stress of shotcrete layer in soft-rock roadway

In order to solve the difficult conditions of soft rock,water-trickling and hard-maintain of main air-return roadway in Tarangaole Colliery,high pretensioned stress and intensive bolt-shotcrete support program was designed and mechanical property of shotcrete layer was specially monitored through utilizing a type of concrete stress meter with oscillating chord after the program was carried out.It was indicated that,due to rock pressure and support resistance,the interior of shotcrete layer would emerge diverse stresses in axial,radial and tangential directions.With time passing internal stresses in three directions,whose average values were-0.061,0.043 and 0.517 MPa respectively,fluctuated first and then tended to stability slowly.The axial and radial stresses were relatively smaller than tangential stress which was 11,12 times the two formers respectively.Along the section of roadway,axial and tangential stresses distributed symmetrically and increased gradually from the top of arch to the waist of wall,but reduced at the foot of wall.Radial stresses reduced from the top of arch to the waist of arch first,and then increased in the waist of wall.Axial stresses were tensile substantially,except for stresses in arch vault tending to compressive,but all the radial stresses were compressive.Nevertheless,tangential stresses in the wall were compressive and tangential stresses in the arch were tensile.During the period of roadway excavating,the stress of shotcrete layer was less than its ultimate bearing capacity,with no significant stress concentration.At the end of this article,some suggests are given to shotcrete support design.

Numerical investigation on the tensile fracturing behavior of rock-shotcrete interface based on discrete element method

Four groups of numerical models of Brazilian tests on rock-shotcrete interfaces were successfully conducted by PFC2D. The tensile strength and Young’s modulus of shotcrete were considered. Six different undulations of rock-shotcrete interface were set up. The influences of multiple parameters on the bearing characteristics of the rock-shotcrete interface were studied. The results showed that a better support performance can be obtained by increasing the Young’s modulus of shotcrete rather than the tensile strength of shotcrete. For different tensile strength and Young’s modulus, the increase of sawtooth height has different effects on the support performance. The failure mechanism of the rock-shotcrete interfaces was analysed in detail. The stress shielding effect and stress concentration effect caused by the shape characteristics of rock-shotcrete interface were observed. The influence of these parameters on the overall support performance should be fully considered in a reasonable support design.

Principles and methods of rock support for rockburst control

This paper presents the principles of rock support for rockburst control and three rockburst support systems used in deep metal mines.Before the principles of rock support are presented,rock fracture related to strain burst is first discussed with the help of photos taken on site,and the energy sources and transformations during bursting are illustrated through conceptual models.Surface parallel extension fracture usually occurs in the ejected and surrounding rocks in a strain burst event,while the ejected rock in a fault-slip rockburst is often already pre-fractured before the event.There must be excessive release energy available for rock ejection.The excessive release energy comes from both the ejected rock itself and the surrounding rock.To prevent rock ejection in a rockburst,the support system must be able to dissipate the excessive release energy.All support devices in a support system for rockburst control must be able to dissipate energy,be firmly linked,and be compatible in deformability.A support system for rockburst control comprises surface-retaining devices and yield rockbolts as well as yield cablebolts when needed.Laying mesh on the top of shotcrete liner is a good practice to enhance the surfaceretaining capacity of the support system.Energy-absorbing yield rockbolts dissipate energy either by stretching of the bolt shank or by sliding of the inner anchor in the borehole.Mesh,mesh strap and shotcrete are the surface-retaining devices widely used in the current rock support systems.The three types of rock support used for rockburst control at present are soft support system using Split Set bolts,hybrid support system using rebar and two-point anchored yield bolts,and entirely yieldable support system using strong yield bolts.

Effects of fibers on expansive shotcrete mixtures consisting of calcium sulfoaluminate cement,ordinary Portland cement,and calcium sulfate

The mining industry often uses shotcrete for ground stabilization. However, cracking within shotcrete is commonly observed, which delays production schedules and increases maintenance costs. A possible crack reduction method is using expansive shotcrete mixture consisting of calcium sulfoaluminate cement(CSA), ordinary Portland cement(OPC), and calcium sulfate(CS) to reduce shrinkage. Furthermore, fibers can be added to the mixture to restrain expansion and impede cracking. The objective of this paper is to study the effects of nylon fiber, glass fiber, and steel fiber on an expansive shotcrete mixture that can better resist cracking. In this study, parameters such as density, water absorption, volume of permeable voids, unconfined compressive strength(UCS), splitting tensile strength(STS), and volume change of fiber-added expansive mixtures were determined at different time periods(i.e. the strengths on the 28 th day, and the volume changes on the 1 st, 7 th, 14 th, 21 st, and 28 th days). The results show that addition of fibers can improve mixture durability, in the form of decreased water absorption and reduced permeable pore space content. Moreover, the expansion of the CSA-OPC-CS mixture was restrained up to50% by glass fiber, up to 43% by nylon fiber, and up to 28% by steel fiber. The results show that the STS was improved by 57% with glass fiber addition, 43% with steel fiber addition, and 38% with nylon fiber addition. The UCS was also increased by 31% after steel fiber addition, 26% after nylon fiber addition, and16% after glass fiber addition. These results suggest that fiber additions to the expansive shotcrete mixtures can improve durability and strengths while controlling expansion.

Porosity,Pore Size Distribution and Chloride Permeability of Shotcrete Modified with Nano Particles at Early Age

Nano particles have been found to be effective in enhancing many properties of regular concretes. However, there is little information on the effect of nano particles on shotcrete. In fact, if similar positive effect of nano particles can also appear in shotcrete, they will greatly benefit the wide application of shotcrete in more and more repair and strengthening of structures in civil engineering, especially in corrosive environments. In this study, through experiments on 70 specimens, the effects of nano SiO2, CaCO3 and Al2O3 particles on the early-age porosity, pore size distribution, compressive strength and chloride permeability of shotcrete were investigated.Test results indicated that nano SiO2 particles significantly increased the compressive strength and chloride penetration resistance; nano Al2O3 and CaCO3 particles had slight enhancing effect on the compressive strength; nano CaCO3 particles were most effective in promoting the chloride penetration resistance of shotcrete. As a conclusion, nano SiO2 particles were recommended when both early age compressive strength and chloride penetration resistance were crucial, and nano CaCO3 particles were recommended when only chloride penetration resistance was concerned for their high cost-effectiveness.

Evaluation of earthquake impact on magnitude of the minimum principal stress along a shotcrete lined pressure tunnel in Nepal

In situ stress condition in rock mass is influenced by both tectonic activity and geological environment such as faulting and shearing in the rock mass.This influence is of significance in the Himalayan region,where the tectonic movement is active,resulting in periodic dynamic earthquakes.Each large-scale earthquake causes both accumulation and sudden release of strain energy,instigating changes in the in situ stress environment in the rock mass.This paper first highlights the importance of the magnitude of the minimum principal stress in the design of unlined or shotcrete lined pressure tunnel as water conveyance system used for hydropower schemes.Then we evaluated the influence of local shear faults on the magnitude of the minimum principal stress along the shotcrete lined high pressure tunnel of Upper Tamakoshi Hydroelectric Project(UTHP)in Nepal.A detailed assessment of the in situ stress state is carried out using both measured data and three-dimensional(3D)numerical analyses with FLAC3D.Finally,analysis is carried out on the possible changes in the magnitude of the minimum principal stress in the rock mass caused by seismic movement(dynamic loading).A permanent change in the stress state at and nearby the area of shear zones along the tunnel alignment is found to be an eminent process.

Preparation and Performance of a Fluorine-Free and Alkali-Free Liquid Accelerator for Shotcrete

Based on aluminum sulfate,a fluorine-free and alkali-free liquid accelerator(FF-AF-A)was prepared in this study.The setting time and compressive strength of three cement types with different FF-AF-A dosages were fully investigated.The compatibility of the FF-AF-A with the superplasticizers were also investigated,and the early hydration behavior and morphology of the hydration products of reference cement paste with the FF-AF-A were explored by hydration heat,X-ray diffractometry(XRD),and scanning electron microscopy(SEM).Test results indicated that adding the FF-AF-A at 8 wt%of the cement weight resulted in 2 min 35 s initial setting time and 6 min 30 s final setting time.The 1-day compressive strength of the cement mortar with 8 wt%of FF-AF-A reached 13.5 MPa,which represents an increase of 35%as compared to the strength of cement mortar without the FF-AF-A,and the 28-day compressive strength ratio was 119%.In addition,the FF-AF-A also showed good compatibility with different superplasticizer dosages.The results show that,when the FF-AF-A was added to the cement paste,it promoted the formation of ettringite crystals due to the aluminum ions(Al^(3+))and sulfate ions(SO_(4)^(2-))reacted with gypsum in the cement,as well as promoted the hydration of tricalcium aluminate(C_(3)A)and tricalcium silicate(C3S)leading to the overall structure becomes more compact.As a consequence,the hydration heat rate of the cement sharply increased,the cement paste setting time is shortened,and the compressive strength of cement mortar is improved.

A Combined Experimental and Numerical Study of Shotcrete Jets and Related Wet Spray Nozzles

In this research,the dynamics of wet spray nozzles with different geometries,used to accelerate shotcrete,are investigated on the basis of a suitable three-dimensional mathematical model and related numerical method.Simulations have been conducted in the frame of the SIMPLEC algorithm.The k-εturbulence model has been used to account for turbulent effects.The study shows that when the angle of the convergent section is less than 3°,it has a scarce effect on the dynamics of the jet of shotcrete;with the increase of the convergence angle,the shotcrete jet velocity decreases and the nozzle wear increases;when this angle is greater than 6°,the concrete outlet jet velocity is very small and the nozzle can easily be blocked.Experimental results are in good agreement with the outcomes of the numerical simulations,which indicates that the used approach is reliable.

THE DESIGN AND ACCOMPLISHMENT OF SHOTCRETE ROBOT

The design and accomplishment of shotcrete robot is presented in this paper. This shotcrete robot is the first robot for underground coal mine in our country. It is a specific machine used for spraying concrete in underground coal mine. It has many advantages such as simple structure convenient operation and high reliability. The on-site experiments indicate that the sprayed layer is even, at the same time, the quantity of rebound and dust content decrease largely. The robot can satisfy the requirement of shotcrete process completely.

Investigation of Sulfate Attack Resistance of Shotcrete under Dry-wet Cycles

In order to research the sulfate attack resistance of shotcrete, the sulfate attack of shotcrete in the presence and absence of steel fiber was experimentally studied by using dry-wet cycle method. Meanwhile, compared with ordinary concrete by the same mixture, the difference of sulfate attack resistance of shotcrete was studied. The experimental results showed that, with dry-wet cycles increasing, the changes of loss rate of relative dynamic elastic modulus and mass loss rate of specimens included three stages： initial descent stage, stable stage, and rapid descent stage, respectively. However, the changes of mechanical properties first increased and then decreased. Furthermore, the corrosion products of shotcrete after sulfate attack were observed by using the method of XRD, thermal analysis, and SEM, respectively, and the failure mode of shotcrete turned from ettringite destruction to ettringite-gypsum comprehensive failure. Meanwhile, the contents of ettringite and gypsum increased with increasing dry-wet cycle. Simultaneously, the stratified powders drilled from shotcrete under 150＇s dry-wet cycle were analyzed for the mineral phase composition and thermal analysis. With the drywet cycle increasing, the content of ettringite first increased and then decreased and tended to stable. However, the determination of gypsum decreased gradually and even to 0 when the depth was more than 12 mm.