Topographical Effects on Stress Distribution in Partially Mined Sites in Mountainous Areas
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 33, Issue 6
Abstract
Partial mining, including room-and-pillar mining and strip pillar mining, is a widely accepted method for mining coal because it can effectively control ground subsidence and reduce damage to surface structures. Because coal mines can be in mountainous area, terrain profile can have a significant effect on the stress distribution in the mine roof–pillar–floor system. This paper reports an investigation of the terrestrial effect using numerical simulation. The results showed that the horizontal stress concentration at positions beneath the slope bottom [defined as bottom abrupt stress (BAS)] is influenced by the slope angle and the depth of mine. The BAS value can vary significantly compared with the maximum horizontal stress for a lateral ground surface, and the BAS is responsible for the mine roof instability in mountainous areas. The results were validated by comparison with a physical model and field measurements.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
Financial support for this work is provided by National Nature Science Fund of China (41604005). The authors acknowledge the support of UNC Charlotte Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering and INES PhD program and CDC Stacks. The authors also acknowledge the editor and the anonymous reviewers for proposing some very critical comments and valuable suggestions to improve the paper.
References
An, B., X. Miao, J. Zhang, F. Ju, and N. Zhou. 2016. “Overlying strata movement of recovering standing pillars with solid backfilling by physical simulation.” Int. J. Min. Sci. Technol. 26 (2): 301–307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmst.2015.12.017.
Basarir, H., I. F. Oge, and O. Aydin. 2015. “Prediction of the stresses around main and tail gates during top coal caving by 3D numerical analysis.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 76 (Jun): 88–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2015.03.001.
Bois, T., E. Tric, and T. Lebourg. 2014. “Influence of inherited topography on gravitational slope failure: three-dimensional numerical modelling of the La Clapière slope, Alpes-Maritimes, France.” Terra Nova 26 (5): 354–362. https://doi.org/10.1111/ter.12105.
Coutinho, C. P., A. J. Baptista, and J. D. Rodrigues. 2016. “Reduced scale models based on similitude theory: A review up to 2015.” Eng. Struct. 119 (Jul): 81–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2016.04.016.
Griffith, W. A., J. Becker, K. Cione, T. Miller, and E. Pan. 2014. “3D topographic stress perturbations and implications for ground control in underground coal mines.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 70 (Sep): 59–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2014.03.013.
He, G., L. Yang, G. Ling, F. Jia, and D. Hong. 1994. Mine subsidence science. [In Chinese.] Xuzhou, China: China Univ. of Mining and Technology Press.
Heasley, K. 2000. “The forgotten denominator, pillar loading.” In Proc., 4th North American Rock Mechanics Symp., 457–464. Alexandria, VA: American Rock Mechanics Association.
Heasley, K. 2008. “Some thoughts on calibrating LaModel.” In Proc., 27th Int. Conf. on Ground Control in Mining. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia Univ.
Li, X., Q. Li, D. Zhang, B. Jia, H. Luo, and Y. Hu. 2015. “Model for induced airflow velocity of falling materials in semi-closed transfer station based on similitude theory.” Adv. Powder Technol. 26 (1): 236–243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apt.2014.10.003.
Mark, C. 1987. “Analysis of longwall pillar stability.” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of Mineral Engineering, Pennsylvania State Univ.
Mark, C. 2016. “Science of empirical design in mining ground control.” Int. J. Min. Sci. Technol. 26 (3): 461–470. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmst.2016.02.015.
Martel, S. J. 2000. “Modeling elastic stresses in long ridges with the displacement discontinuity method.” Pure Appl. Geophys. 157 (6–8): 1039–1057. https://doi.org/10.1007/s000240050016.
Martel, S. J. 2016. “Effects of small-amplitude periodic topography on combined stresses due to gravity and tectonics.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 89 (Nov): 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2016.07.026.
Miller, D., and T. Dunne. 1996. “Topographic perturbations of regional stresses and consequent bedrock fracturing.” J. Geophys. Res. 101 (B11): 25523–25536. https://doi.org/10.1029/96JB02531.
Molinda, G. M. 2003. “Geologic hazards and roof stability in coal mines.” Accessed November 1, 2017. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/UserFiles/works/pdfs/2003-152.pdf.
Molinda, G. M., K. A. Heasley, D. C. Oyler, and J. R. Jones. 1992. Effects of horizontal stress related to stream valleys on the stability of coal mine openings. Washington, DC: US Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Mines.
Molnar, P. 2004. “Interactions among topographically induced elastic stress, static fatigue, and valley incision.” J. Geophys. Res.-Earth 109 (F02010): 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1029/2003JF000097.
Najafi, M., A. Shishebori, and J. Gholamnejad. 2016. “Numerical estimation of suitable distance between two adjacent panels’ working faces in shortwall mining.” Int. J. Geomech. 17 (4): 04016090. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0000784.
Pan, E., B. Amadei, and W. Z. Savage. 1995. “Gravitational and tectonic stresses in anisotropic rock with irregular topography.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr. 32 (3): 201–214. https://doi.org/10.1016/0148-9062(94)00046-6.
Peng, H., Q. Cai, W. Zhou, J. Shu, and G. Li. 2011. “Study on stability of surface mine slope influenced by underground mining below endwall slope.” Proc. Earth Planet. Sci. 2 (Jan): 7–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeps.2011.09.002.
Poulsen, B. A. 2010. “Coal pillar load calculation by pressure arch theory and near field extraction ratio.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 47 (7): 1158–1165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2010.06.011.
Qian, M., P. Shi, and J. Xu. 2010. Mine pressure and strata control. [In Chinese.] Xuzhou, China: Univ. of Mining and Technology Press.
Sherizadeh, T., and P. H. S. W. Kulatilake. 2016. “Assessment of roof stability in a room and pillar coal mine in the US using three-dimensional distinct element method.” Tunnelling Underground Space Technol. 59 (Oct): 24–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2016.06.005.
Shi, B. 2012. “Study on influence factors of water conservation mining in shallow seam mine area in the north Shaanxi province.” [In Chinese.] Ph.D. dissertation, School of Energy Engineering, Xi’an Univ. of Science and Technology.
Singh, A. K., R. Singh, J. Maiti, R. Kumar, and P. K. Mandal. 2011. “Assessment of mining induced stress development over coal pillars during depillaring.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 48 (5): 805–818. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2011.04.004.
Slim, M., J. T. Perron, S. J. Martel, and K. Singha. 2015. “Topographic stress and rock fracture: A two-dimensional numerical model for arbitrary topography and preliminary comparison with borehole observations.” Earth Surf. Processes Landforms 40 (4): 512–529. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3646.
Tan, C., R. Wang, Y. Sun, W. Lei, S. Wu, M. Yang, and W. Sun. 2004. “Numerical modelling estimation of the ‘tectonic stress plane’ (TSP) beneath topography with quasi-U-shaped valleys.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 41 (2): 303–310. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1365-1609(03)00096-0.
Wu, K., G. L. Cheng, and D. W. Zhou. 2015. “Experimental research on dynamic movement in strata overlying coal mines using similar material modeling.” Arabian J. Geosci. 8 (9): 6521–6534. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-014-1685-3.
Wu, L., J. Wang, and Z. Guo. 2000. Foundation for coal pillar design and monitoring. [In Chinese.] Xuzhou, China: China Univ. of Mining and Technology Press.
Xu, T. 1982. Similarity theory and model experiment. [In Chinese.] Beijing: China Agriculture Machinery Press.
Xu, Y., K. Wu, L. Li, D. Zhou, and Z. Hu. 2019. “Ground cracks development and characteristics of strata movement under fast excavation: A case study at Bulianta coal mine, China.” Bull. Eng. Geol. Environ. 78 (1): 325–340. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-017-1047-y.
Yu, Y., S. E. Chen, K. Z. Deng, and H. D. Fan. 2017. “Long-term stability evaluation and pillar design criterion for room-and-pillar mines.” Energies 10 (10): 1644. https://doi.org/10.3390/en10101644.
Yu, Y. X., R. B. Huang, and B. Q. Wang. 2016. “Analysis on limit equilibrium zone of coal pillar in mining roadway based on mechanical model of elastic foundation beam.” J. Eng. Mech. 142 (4): 04016009. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EM.1943-7889.0001032.
Zhang, C., X. T. Feng, and H. Zhou. 2012. “Estimation of in situ stress along deep tunnels buried in complex geological conditions.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. 52 (Jun): 139–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2012.03.016.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 33 • Issue 6 • December 2019
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 9, 2017
Accepted: Mar 12, 2019
Published online: Sep 3, 2019
Published in print: Dec 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Feb 3, 2020
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.