Rock Mining Research Articles

Experimental Study on Strength Enhancement and Porosity Variation of 3D-Printed Gypsum Rocks: Insights on Vacuum Infiltration Post-Processing

Three-dimensional printing (3DP) technology has shown great potential in rock mechanics and mining engineering due to its ability to create complex and customized objects with high precision and accuracy. At present, an emerging research focus is improving the mechanical properties of 3D-printed samples, which originally has low strength and stiffness, to match those of natural rocks. The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of different post-treatments on the strength enhancement of 3D-printed gypsum samples. To achieve this goal, 3D-printed gypsum samples were subjected to different post-treatments including dipped infiltration treatment and vacuum infiltration treatment using different infiltrants: water, saltwater, ColorBond, and StrengthMax. Subsequently, each sample was subjected to ultrasonic wave velocity testing and uniaxial compression experiments to characterize their mechanical properties, CT scans to investigate their microstructural characteristics. Additionally, X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) tests were conducted to explore the underlying reasons for changes in macroscopic strength. Finally, the physical characteristics and mechanical properties of untreated and post-processed 3D-printed gypsum samples were compared with natural rocks. The results showed that the strength of samples treated with water and saltwater was much lower than that of those treated with ColorBond and StrengthMax, while the porosity was the opposite. In water-treated and saltwater-treated samples, water or saltwater treatment can alter particle characteristics, but weak adhesive bonding and numerous pores result in low mechanical strength. Samples treated with Colorbond or StrengthMax exhibit improved strength due to effective gap filling and cohesive structure formation, with StrengthMax-treated samples showing higher strength despite having more pores than Colorbond-treated ones. Moreover, the physical and mechanical properties of these treated samples matched a wider range of natural rock types compared to the untreated samples.

Investigating the influence of discontinuity parameters on blast-induced fragmentation

ABSTRACT Fragmentation by blasting is a critical process in hard rock mining. The interaction between the rock mass and blast energy influences the outcomes, specifically on the rock mass response to higher stresses and loading rates, and the properties of structures. In this study, LS-DYNA is used to model the nonlinear dynamic fracturing of the rock to understand the effects of rock mass properties on the blast outcomes. The results are verified and compared with the case study, and they show that the formation of damage zones around the charge is highly influenced by rock mass strength and discontinuity properties.

Numerical Study on Failure Mechanisms of Deep Roadway Sidewalls with Different Height-Width Ratios and Lateral Pressures

Numerical Study on Failure Mechanisms of Deep Roadway Sidewalls with Different Height-Width Ratios and Lateral Pressures

Experimental study on the deterioration of mechanical properties of sandy mudstone under different water-gas interactions

Based on the water-rock-gas coupling test system, the work combined the scanning electron microscope and XTDIC 3D full-field strain measurement system. The Brazilian splitting test was performed on four groups of sandy mudstone specimens under contrast (CO), mash-gas soaking (MS), water-mash gas soaking (WM), and water-soaking (WS) conditions. The tensile strength, deformation failure, and microscopic characteristics of fractures were studied to reveal the deterioration mechanism of the tensile properties of sandy mudstone under water-gas coupling. The results showed that the uniaxial tensile strength of sandy mudstone specimens under the three soaking conditions was less than that of the contrast conditions. Compared with specimens in the CO group, the tensile strength of specimens in MS-WS groups was reduced; the WS group decreased the most. Specimens changed from brittle failure to plastic failure after soaking. The decrease rate in strength after the peak was consistent with the change trend in tensile strength. It led to a larger localized deformation zone of specimens and more obvious displacement. The deformation localization zone of the WS group was the broadest, with the most intense displacement. Besides, stress concentration first occurred in the submerged part of the WM group. Fractures expanded in the direction of maximum principal strain. The internal pore structure of sandy mudstone specimens in each group changed after soaking. The average porosity, maximum pore area, and probability entropy of specimens in WS-MS groups increased compared to the CO group. The WS group had the largest reduction and the MS group had the smallest. The pre-peak energy storage capacity of sandy mudstone specimens was gradually weakened. Compared with the CO group, that in the WS-MS groups was reduced. The WS group had the greatest reduction, and the MS group had the smallest. The deterioration effect of water on the interior of sandy mudstone was stronger than that of gas. The work is of great significance for understanding the stability of coal and rocks in closed-pit high-gas mines.

Preface

Geoshanghai 2024 International Conference Volume 2: Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering Shanghai, 26-29 May, 2024 GeoShanghai 2024 International ConferenceCollege of Civil Engineering, Tongji University, 2024All Rights ReservedGeoShanghai is a series of international conferences on geotechnical engineering held in Shanghai quadrennially. The conference was inaugurated in 2006 and was successfully held in 2010, 2014 and 2018, with more than 1600 participants in total. Since the last conference, the geotechnical community has witnessed many advances both in fundamental understanding and engineering practices. To demonstrate the latest developments and promote collaborations in geotechnical engineering and related fields, we launch the 5th GeoShanghai International Conference to be held in May 2024.This volume contains two themes: rock mechanics and rock engineering, as well as Mining geomechanics, including the following aspects: rock mechanics, constitutive models, new technologies and theories in underground and mining engineering. As we convene for this international conference, let us delve into these pages with the aim of fostering a deeper understanding and sparking innovative solutions in the ever-evolving landscape of rock engineering and mining engineering.This volume received a total of 34 papers from countries such as China, the United States, Canada, and Iran, totaling 30 papers accepted. All papers were reviewed and the accepted papers will be submitted to IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science indexed by Scopus.Cordially yours,Jianfeng Chen, Qinghua Lei, Yafei Qiao, Louis Wong, Jinquan Xing, Nariman MahabadiThe editors of Volume 2: Rock Mechanics and Rock EngineeringList of Tracks, Conference Steering Committee, International Advisory Committee, Technical Committee, Organizing Committee are available in the pdf

Regularities of rocks zonal disintegration and methane emissions periodicity in mine roadways

The article presents the results of studies on the establishment of stable relationships between methane emissions into degassing wells and their spatial location, stress-strain state of rock massif and mining operations process. Vibroacoustic and electrometric of mine control methods have been used to establish zoning and alternation of fractured zones in the rock massif during mining operations. Using the finite element method, zones of different permeability in the roof above the longwall face were determined, and a qualitative transition from compressive deformations to tensile deformations was revealed. Based on data from mine experiments at 157 degassing wells, patterns of repeatability of rocks zonal disintegration and periodicity of gas emissions into mine roadways depending on the distance to the moving longwall face have been determined for the first time. It has been established that the concentration of methane gas in a wells with distance from the longwall face changes according to a damped quasi-periodic dependence with recombinant changes in stress-strain states. For wells aimed at the goafs, the period of the quasi-periodic function increases by 40%, the amplitude decreases to 30%. The obtained dependencies make it possible to increase the efficiency of degassing.

Numerical analysis of stress and deformation characteristics of compressed air energy storage chambers developed from a modified coal mine tunnel

The use of abandoned coal mine tunnels as underground compressed air energy storage (CAES) facilities has garnered significant attention given that it effectively repurposes unused underground space and enhances the efficiency of renewable energy utilization. However, existing coal mine tunnels, without optimization and retrofitting, may not meet the stability requirements of compressed air energy storage repositories. Sectional transformation is a retrofitting method with excellent optimization effects. In this study, numerical simulation based on Midas software was employed to create a three-dimensional model of straight-wall arched mine tunnels. The stress and displacement deformation of the tunnel sections were simulated under internal pressure of 10 MPa, and scenarios with no modification and circular-section backfilling were compared. The outcomes of the study are (1) For deeply buried soft rock mines, the existing structure without modification may not meet the stability requirements of compressed air storage facility due to low rock strength. (2) In the unmodified scenario, stress concentration effects and excessive floor tensile stress occur near the tunnel closure. (3) Backfilling straight-wall arched tunnels into circular shapes effectively reduces stress and displacement along the tunnel walls, preventing stress concentration near the tunnel closure. This study provides a retrofitting approach for repurposing abandoned mines into compressed air energy storage facilities, providing guidance for future projects facing complex geological conditions.

Methodology for determining the scope of reclamation works when forming recreational zone in the quarry residual space

The article is devoted to the development of methodological recommendations aimed at increasing the recreation territory during reclamation, taking into account the flooding of the quarry residual space. Calculations of the reclamation works volume during the forming of a recreation area on the quarry slope were made. The influence of the embankment section width of the soil in the flooded quarry space on the embankment geometric shape was established. Calculating method of the reclamation works volumes are proposed, taking into account the indicators of the slope inclination angle and the height of the embankment being formed. A scheme for the safe recreation area location within the quarry residual space has been developed, which allows determining the necessary parameters of the mining elements that affect on the volume of embankments construction. A method of determining the volume of works for the formation of a recreation area in the quarry is proposed, taking into account the embankment width and height, the resulting slope angle, the safe angle of mining rocks inclination at the dumping into flooded quarry. It has been established that the volume of reclamation depends on the embankment parameters when the quarry watered area is changed.

Stability Analysis of Jointed Rock Slopes Based on the Universal Elliptical Disc Model

A discrete fracture network (DFN) represents the random distribution of fractures within rock masses in three dimensions and has been widely used in the stability analysis of jointed rock slopes. This study introduces a novel method for constructing three-dimensional DFN models to address the limitations of traditional circular or polygon-based models. This method employs the universal elliptical disc (UED) model, combined with the discrete element method (DEM) in 3DEC, for the probabilistic analysis of jointed rock slope stability. The paper begins with an explanation of the fundamental principles of the UED model, and continues to detail the procedures for creating a three-dimensional DFN using the UED model and for analyzing slope stability using the DEM. An open-pit mine rock slope in the USA serves as a case study to illustrate the application of the proposed method. This approach facilitates the integration of the UED model into 3DEC and offers a more realistic depiction of the three-dimensional DFN, which enhances both the accuracy and efficiency of stability analysis in jointed rock slopes.

Algorithm for Coal Mine Rock Foreign Object Detection Based on Enhanced YOLOv8

In addressing the challenge of suboptimal detection precision in coal mine rock foreign object detection due to complex environments and variable object scales, this paper proposes a coal mine rock foreign object detection algorithm based on YOLOv8. Initially, the incorporation of the BiFormer attention mechanism is advocated to refine the backbone network, augmenting the model's attention towards pivotal information regions, consequently enhancing localization and feature extraction capabilities. Secondly, a lightweight Content-Aware Recurrent Affine Feature Extraction (CARAFE) operator is utilized within the neck architecture to effectively capture and preserve intricate features at lower hierarchical levels. Finally, Wise-IoU v3 is adopted as the bounding box regression loss for the proposed algorithm, coupled with a prudent gradient allocation approach, thereby enhancing the model's localization capabilities. Empirical findings illustrate that compared to baseline algorithms, the proposed algorithm has fewer parameters, with an average mAP improvement of 2.5%, and a detection speed increase of 2fps/s.

Impact of Crush Rock Mining on Soil Enzyme Activities and Nutritional Composition of Ipomea batata in Okue-Ishiagu, Ebonyi State, Nigeria

The study assessed the impact of Crush Rock mining on soil enzyme activities and the nutritional composition of Ipomea batata in Okue-Ishiagu, Ebonyi State. Soil samples were collected from mining sites (East, West, North, and South) and a control site. Soil enzyme activities including dehydrogenase, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, hydrogen peroxidase, and urease were analyzed, along with the nutritional composition of Ipomea batata harvested from the study area. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed in soil enzyme activities between the control and mining sites. Dehydrogenase, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, hydrogen peroxidase, and urease activities were significantly reduced in mining site soils compared to the control. Additionally, the nutritional composition of Ipomea batata showed significant alterations in %Moisture content, %Protein, and %Vitamin C in test samples compared to the control, with a decrease in %Ash, %Fat, and %Fibre. These findings highlight the adverse effects of Crush Rock mining activities on soil health and the nutritional quality of an important staple crop in the region. Keywords: Crush Rock mining, soil enzyme activities, nutritional composition, Ipomea batata, Ebonyi State.

Decision Intelligence-Based Predictive Modelling of Hard Rock Pillar Stability Using K-Nearest Neighbour Coupled with Grey Wolf Optimization Algorithm

Pillar stability is of paramount importance in ensuring the safety of underground rock engineering structures. The stability of pillars directly influences the structural integrity of the mine and mitigates the risk of collapses or accidents. Therefore, assessing pillar stability is crucial for safe, productive, reliable, and profitable underground mining engineering processes. This study developed the application of decision intelligence-based predictive modelling of hard rock pillar stability in underground engineering structures using K-Nearest Neighbour coupled with the grey wolf optimization algorithm (KNN-GWO). Initially, a substantial dataset consisting of 236 different pillar cases was collected from seven underground hard rock mining engineering projects. This dataset was gathered by considering five significant input variables, namely pillar width, pillar height, pillar width/height ratio, uniaxial compressive strength, and average pillar stress. Secondly, the original hard rock pillar stability level has been classified into three types: failed, unstable, and stable, based on the pillar’s instability mechanism and failure process. Thirdly, several visual relationships were established in order to ascertain the correlation between input variables and the corresponding pillar stability level. Fourthly, the entire pillar database was randomly divided into a training dataset and testing dataset with a 70:30 sampling method. Moreover, the (KNN-GWO) model was developed to predict the stability of pillars in hard rock mining. Lastly, the performance of the suggested predictive model was evaluated using accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score, and a confusion matrix. The findings of the proposed model offer a superior benchmark for accurately predicting the stability of hard rock pillars. Therefore, it is recommended to employ decision intelligence models in mining engineering in order to effectively prioritise safety measures and improve the efficiency of operational processes, risk management, and decision-making related to underground engineering structures.

Study on Characteristics of Failure and Energy Evolution of Different Moisture-Containing Soft Rocks under Cyclic Disturbance Loading.

During the coal mining process in soft rock mines with abundant water, the rock mass undergoes cyclic loading and unloading at low frequencies due to factors such as excavation. To investigate the mechanical characteristics and energy evolution laws of different water-containing rock masses under cyclic disturbance loading, a creep dynamic disturbance impact loading system was employed to conduct cyclic disturbance experiments on various water-containing soft rocks (0.00%, 1.74%, 3.48%, 5.21%, 6.95%, and 8.69%). A comparative analysis was conducted on the patterns of input energy density, elastic energy density, dissipated energy density, and damage variables of different water-containing soft rocks during the disturbance process. The results indicate that under the influence of disturbance loading, the peak strength of specimens, except for fully saturated samples, is generally increased to varying degrees. Weakness effects on the elastic modulus were observed in samples with 6.95% water content and saturated samples, while strengthening effects were observed in others. The input energy density of samples is mostly stored in the form of elastic strain energy within the samples, and different water-containing samples adapt to external loads within the first 100 cycles, with almost identical trends in energy indicators. Damage variables during the disturbance process were calculated using the maximum strain method, revealing the evolution of damage in the samples. From an energy evolution perspective, these experimental results elucidate the fatigue damage characteristics of water-containing rock masses under the influence of disturbance loading.

Study on Target Reliability of Mine Rock Slopes by Grey Fixed Weight Clustering and Analogy Method—Case Study of the Jinbao Iron Mine

Study on Target Reliability of Mine Rock Slopes by Grey Fixed Weight Clustering and Analogy Method—Case Study of the Jinbao Iron Mine

Determination of Optimal Burden for Ringhole Blasting in Underground Hard Rock Mining Under Varying Geotechnical Properties

Determination of Optimal Burden for Ringhole Blasting in Underground Hard Rock Mining Under Varying Geotechnical Properties

True triaxial energy evolution characteristics and failure mechanism of deep rock subjected to mining-induced stress

In deep rock engineering, complex stress conditions are encountered, which leads to difficulties in engineering disaster prevention and control. To investigate the failure behaviors and mechanisms of deep rock mining, a series of tests was designed for mining-induced failure at different simulated depths using a multifunctional true triaxial geophysical (TTG) apparatus. The results showed that both the simulated depth and mining disturbance affected the deformation characteristics of the sandstone specimens. With increasing depth, the strength gradually increased. The peak strength increased fastest in the single-sided unloading failure test (SUFT) and slowest in the stress loading and unloading failure test (SLUFT). The failure mode also changed significantly. In the displacement loading failure test (DLFT), the failure mode gradually changed from tensile failure to shear failure. In the SLUFTs, the failure mode of the specimens changed from layer cracking to shear failure. In the SUFTs, the failure mode of the specimen transitioned from layer cracking to tensile shear failure and then to shear failure. Scholars have previously proposed an elastic strain energy calculation method for true triaxial stress conditions. An elastic strain energy calculation method applicable to different mining disturbance was proposed under true triaxial stress conditions, and the evolution characteristics of the work done, elastic strain energy, and dissipated energy were analyzed. Additionally, a method to quantitatively characterize the relationship between macroscopic cracks and dissipated energy was proposed, and microscopic fracture analysis was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Different depths and various types of mining-induced failure were fully considered, and the specimen deformation, failure type, energy evolution (including dissipation), and failure mechanisms were analyzed. The results can provide guidance for deep underground engineering projects.

Study on Composite Fracture Characteristics and Hydraulic Fracturing Behavior of Hard Rock

To investigate the influence of non-singular terms (T stress) in the stress field on the composite fractures of hard rock Type I–II, such as rock splitting failure and hydraulic fracture propagation, this study focused on hard rocks in metallic mines. Through splitting tests and hydraulic fracturing experiments, the impact of T stress on the characteristics of Type I–II composite fractures in hard rocks was analyzed. Utilizing the generalized maximum tangential (GMTS) stress criterion considering T stress, the stress intensity factors of hard rock Type I–II composite fractures with different pre-existing crack angles were predicted. The critical fracture pressure expression for hard rocks was derived based on the maximum tangential stress (MTS) criterion. The results indicate that the GMTS criterion, considering T stress, is more suitable for describing the characteristics of Type I–II composite fractures under rock-splitting loads. However, under hydraulic fracturing, T stress has a minor influence on the fracture characteristics of hard rock hydraulic fractures. Therefore, when predicting the critical fracture pressure of hydraulic fractures, T stress can be disregarded. This study provides a scientific basis and guidance for hard rock hydraulic fracturing engineering.

The Effects of Layer-Induced Elastic Anisotropy on Microseismic Monitoring Records in Underground Coal Mines

Real-time microseismic observations are extensively used in underground hard rock mines. However, microseismic monitoring in coal mines is not common. In this study, the features of microseismic (MS) event waveforms were discussed under conditions of thin-layered sedimentary media. The possibility of source mechanism evaluation was considered for the MS event recorded in coal mine. Moment tensor (MT) inversion of the waveforms can be challenging due to influence of thin-layered medium structure. Splitting of shear SH- and SV-waves is one of the characteristic features that affect MS records in coal mines. The effect of splitting was demonstrated using real microseismic data collected by an underground seismic array installed in the Polosukhinskaya coal mine, Russia. Velocities of shear SH- and SV-waves were estimated from travel times. The results reveal significant variations in shear wave velocities composed of a radial anisotropy of 75%, thus confirming the importance of a thin-layered model for moment tensor inversion. The thin-layered model was built for geological conditions at the Polosukhinskaya coal mine and synthetic seismograms were generated using QSEIS (Pyrocko OS). A full moment tensor of a single typical event was found employing the layered 1D velocity model.

Experimental Investigation on the Influence of Observation Angle on the Spectral Characteristics of Minerals in the Visible-Near Infrared Range

The analysis of the factors affecting the spectral characteristics of rock minerals is the basis of improving the accuracy of quantitative inversion of spectral minerals. Hyperspectral remote sensing has advantages and development potential in the quantitative inversion of minerals, but it is limited by many constraints and influencing factors in the process of remote sensing recognition of rock and mineral spectral information. In practical application, satellite earth observation is affected by terrain fluctuation, which leads to some deviation of observation Angle. At the same time, vertical samples are often used in the experiment to reduce the spectral experimental error. Therefore, the spectral observation Angle plays an important role in determining the composition of rock and ore. In order to study the effect of different observation angles on the reflectance spectra of minerals, the spectral reflectance spectra were analyzed in the visible near-infrared (0.4-2.5μm) band to explore the variation rules. First, common quartz, orthoclase and plagioclase minerals were sliced and polished to make block samples with fixed roughness values. The incident Angle of light source was fixed, and the influence of different observation angles on the visible near-infrared spectral characteristics of minerals was analyzed by changing the Angle of emergence and azimuth. Secondly, through the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the results and the mechanism analysis, it can be concluded that the effect of zenith Angle on spectral reflectance is the same under different observation azimuth angles. The observed zenith Angle has a great influence on the spectral reflectance, which is reflected in the fact that the reflectance of mineral samples gradually increases with the increasing of the zenith Angle to reach the peak value within 30°~50°, and then gradually decreases. The spectral reflectance at 0°-360° azimuth is symmetrical, and the spectral reflectance is oscillatory, and the reflectance at 180° azimuth is the highest. The overall situation gradually increases from 0°-180° spectral reflectance, and gradually decreases from 180°-360° spectral reflectance. With the change of observation Angle, the peak and trough of the reflectance of the sample are basically located in the same band position. It is of great significance to realize the accurate division of rock mining area and to exploit mineral resources reasonably and efficiently.

The segmentation and intelligent recognition of structural surfaces in borehole images based on the U2-Net network.

Structural planes decrease the strength and stability of rock masses, severely affecting their mechanical properties and deformation and failure characteristics. Therefore, investigation and analysis of structural planes are crucial tasks in mining rock mechanics. The drilling camera obtains image information of deep structural planes of rock masses through high-definition camera methods, providing important data sources for the analysis of deep structural planes of rock masses. This paper addresses the problems of high workload, low efficiency, high subjectivity, and poor accuracy brought about by manual processing based on current borehole image analysis and conducts an intelligent segmentation study of borehole image structural planes based on the U2-Net network. By collecting data from 20 different borehole images in different lithological regions, a dataset consisting of 1,013 borehole images with structural plane type, lithology, and color was established. Data augmentation methods such as image flipping, color jittering, blurring, and mixup were applied to expand the dataset to 12,421 images, meeting the requirements for deep network training data. Based on the PyTorch deep learning framework, the initial U2-Net network weights were set, the learning rate was set to 0.001, the training batch was 4, and the Adam optimizer adaptively adjusted the learning rate during the training process. A dedicated network model for segmenting structural planes was obtained, and the model achieved a maximum F-measure value of 0.749 when the confidence threshold was set to 0.7, with an accuracy rate of up to 0.85 within the range of recall rate greater than 0.5. Overall, the model has high accuracy for segmenting structural planes and very low mean absolute error, indicating good segmentation accuracy and certain generalization of the network. The research method in this paper can serve as a reference for the study of intelligent identification of structural planes in borehole images.