Overburden Load Research Articles

A dynamic method to measure the shear strength of snow

AbstractA new vibration apparatus for measuring the shear strength of snow has been designed and fabricated. The force applied to a snow block is calculated using Newton’s second law. Results from this apparatus concerning the dependence of the shear strength on snow density, overburden load and strain rate are in reasonable agreement with those obtained from the work of previous researchers. Snow densities ranged from 160 to 320 kg m−3. The overburden load and strain rate ranged from 1.95 × 10−1to 7.79 × 10−1kPa and 2.9 × 10−4to 9.1 × 10−3s−1respectively.

Modes of hill-slope failure under overburden loads: Insights from physical and numerical models

Using sand model experiments this paper investigates failure mechanism of bed materials along hill slopes due to overburden loading. The analysis takes into account three factors: 1) surface slope ( α), 2) loading pattern and 3) mechanical anisotropy of bed materials. In the experiments, external loading was simulated by moving down a rigid block extended either up to the brink of the slope (Type 1 loading) or beyond it (Type 2 loading). With progressive loading, the process of slope instability in sand models involves deformation localization in two modes: compaction (Mode 1) and shear failure (Mode 2). In isotropic models with Type 1 loading, Mode 1 deformation occurs in an elliptical region below the rigid block, which is flanked by a pair of shear bands of Mode 2. With increasing α ( α > 45°), Mode 2 localization propagates rapidly towards the sloping surface leading to collapse on slopes. The failure zones also propagate in the vertical direction, and its depth of penetration appears to be inversely related to α. With Type 2 loading, Mode 2 localization becomes dominant, forming multiple shear bands, and Mode 1 deformation decreases with increasing α. In case of anisotropic bed materials, the orientation of the anisotropy plane relative to that of the surface slope determines the mode of deformation localization. With Type 2 loading, Mode 1 is the dominant process of deformation when the anisotropy plane dips same as the surface slope ( α = 45°), whereas it is coupled with Mode 2 for the anisotropy planes dipping in the opposite directions. We complement the experimental findings with results from finite element models, and demonstrate the patterns of Mode 1 and Mode 2 localization considering the I 1 (= σ 1 + σ 2 + σ 3) stress invariant and Drucker–Prager yield criterion for elasto-plastic materials respectively.

Field-based experimental determination of the weathering rates of the Cappadocian tuffs

Since the last eruption in the Cappadocia region that resulted in the formation of irregular, hard, thick lava layers on top of the Cappadocian tuffs, atmospheric processes have preferentially sculptured the tuffs. The erosion processes have resulted in some beautiful topographical landscape features, the so-called “fairy chimneys”. However, erosion, which is an important factor in the formation of fairy chimneys in the early stages, has a negative effect on their future. Over time, the number of visitors to this region has also increased and, therefore, in addition to natural erosion, the effects of localized erosion resulting from tourism at the site have increased in the last few decades. The physical, mineralogical and mechanical properties of the Cappadocian tuffs have been widely investigated in previous studies, but, their weathering characteristics, particularly weathering rate, were not determined in these studies. Determination of the weathering rate of these rocks is mandatory, especially for conservation projects, which should be urgently applied in order to protect this heritage. In this study, a comprehensive research program was carried out on the weathering properties of the Cappadocian tuffs and the weathering rate was determined in field and laboratory investigations. To this purpose, a detailed field investigation was performed. Besides field observations, the mineralogical, physical and mechanical properties of tuffs were also determined. In addition to durability evaluation by the slake durability index test, wetting–drying and freezing–thawing tests were also performed for weathering rate assessment of the Cappadocian tuffs. In order to account for overburden load on some specific parts of pillars, these wetting–drying and freezing–thawing tests were performed under loads. The results obtained from field observations of old man-made structures and from laboratory studies show that the weathering rate varies between 0.03 and 0.59 mm/year for the Esbelli tuff, and 0.4 and 2.5 mm/year for softer part of the Kavak member.

Effective stress and pore pressure in the Nankai accretionary prism off the Muroto Peninsula, southwestern Japan

We developed a theoretical method for predicting effective stress and pore pressure based on rock physics model. We applied the method to reveal the pore pressure distribution within the Nankai accretionary prism off southwestern Japan and to investigate variations in pore pressure associated with evolution of the plate boundary décollement. From the crack aspect ratio spectrum estimated from laboratory and well‐log data, we calculated a theoretical relationship between acoustic velocity and mean effective stress by using differential effective medium theory. By iteratively fitting the theoretically calculated velocity to the seismic velocities derived from 3D tomographic inversion, we estimated in situ mean effective stress within the accretionary prism. Pore pressure is then the difference between the effective stress and the confining stress. When we calculated pore pressure, we considered compressive state of stress in the accretionary prism. Our results confirm that pore fluid pressure is high within the subducting sedimentary sequence below the décollement; we determined a normalized pore pressure ratio (λ*) of 0.4–0.7. Abnormal pore pressures develop in the underthrust sequence as a result of the increase in overburden load because of the thickened overlying prism and a low permeability barrier across the décollement. Overpressuring within the accreted sequence is initiated at the deformation front and proceeds landward. The increase in horizontal compaction within the accreted sequence may raise pore pressures within the accreted sequence, and the pore pressure (mean effective stress) contrast at the décollement becomes smaller landward of the deformation front.

Implications of simple flexure theory for the formation of saucer-shaped sills

Saucer-shaped dolerite sills have been identified in several sedimentary basins. They are characteristically sub-circular in plan, with an inner sill connected to a steeply inclined arcuate sheet extending upwards from the edge of the inner sill, and in some cases have raggedly developed flat outer rims. By applying elastic plate theory to the overburden, we obtain an expression for the maximum radius of a circular sill in terms of emplacement depth, excess magma pressure, elastic constants of the overburden and the tensile strain at failure. This expression predicts that the radius of the flat base of a saucer-shaped sill increases with emplacement depth, as observed in the western Karoo Basin, South Africa. Some saucer-shaped sills display an elliptical morphology. From consideration of the flexural strains around the periphery of a horizontal elliptical sill, we infer that saucer-shaped elliptical sills have been fed from below by feeder dykes oriented along the major axis of the ellipse. Flat outer rims would have developed at the final stage of each intrusive episode, when the excess magma pressure was decreasing towards equilibrium with the overburden load. Consequently, flexural strains would also have decreased, so continued intrusion might preferentially occur along a bedding plane.

Collapse Study of an Unreinforced Masonry Bearing Wall Building Subjected to Internal Blast Loading

A blast test was conducted inside a conventional, two-story, unreinforced, brick, bearing wall building scheduled to be demolished. A credible explosive device was placed inside the building on the ground floor and was detonated to investigate whether or not the building would collapse. The measured blast pressures, key material properties of the structure, and the structural configuration were used as input parameters to a single-degree-of-freedom software program, the single-degree-of-freedom blast effects design spreadsheet (SBEDS), commonly used in the United States to model unreinforced masonry walls subjected to blast loading. The net effect of overburden loads on the ground-floor bearing walls, including uplift by blast pressures on the ground-floor ceiling, was considered when investigating the validity of an appropriate resistance function (available in SBEDS) that defines out-of-plane bearing wall response. Comparisons were made between analytical and experimental permanent wall deflections and two alternatives, a simple displacement-based criterion and a resistance criterion, were used to estimate the building’s state relative to its estimated collapse limit state. It was found that SBEDS was able to model the experimental deflections quite well if effective input parameters were carefully considered. As a result, analytical and experimental determinations of the structure’s state were also in good agreement.

A New Technique for Production Prediction in Stress-Sensitive Reservoirs

Abstract In a stress-sensitive reservoir, variation of the effective stress resulting from fluid production may induce deformation of the rocks. It is essential to quantify such deformation for optimum reservoir management since damage caused by rock compaction is irreversible. In practice, the permeability reduction caused by the rock deformation is characterized by using the deformation coefficient, which is generally assumed to be constant for production prediction in the stress-sensitive reservoir. This assumption may result in a significant error in interpreting the well response, especially at a large pressure drawdown. In this paper, a new technique is developed for predicting production performance in the stress-sensitive reservoir by considering the deformation coefficient as a function of the pressure drawdown. Experimentally, the deformation coefficients are measured for the core samples at the various pressure drawdowns. Theoretically, a mathematic model is formulated for production prediction to integrate effects of the pressure drawdown and the irreversible rock compaction in the stress-sensitive reservoir. It is shown from a field application that the newly developed technique provides a more accurate prediction of the oil production in comparison with conventional models. Introduction Fluid production from a hydrocarbon reservoir generally leads to a decrease of fluid pressure and an increase of effective overburden load on reservoir rock. As fluid production proceeds, the progressive increase in effective overburden load will, in turn, compact the reservoir rock and change the stress state in the reservoir. Reservoir rocks with fluid-flow characteristics (permeability) that are highly sensitive to the effective stress changes and/or if they are of weak mechanical strength causing large rock deformation, are considered to be stress-sensitive(1–4). Sensitivity to changing stresses is probably the most pronounced factor in tight, overpressured low permeability and naturally fractured reservoirs where variations of both elasticity of rock and pressure can significantly change the fracture apertures(5–8). For a stress-sensitive reservoir, the reduction in permeability caused by changes in the stress during production, if any, may greatly reduce the expected productivity(9–14). Systematic well testing results in the Qingxi Oilfield, China, show that well production decreases due to permeability reduction as the pressure drawdown exceeds a certain value. A similar phenomenon is also found in the Dagang, Jilin and Daqing Oilfields in China(15). Therefore, it is desirable to accurately predict the oil production at different pressure drawdowns in the stress-sensitive reservoir. Previously, several studies have been conducted for predicting the oil flow rates and permeability variations with stress(16–18). These models characterized the dependence of permeability on both the pore pressure and the effective stress(16–23). In particular, most of these studies assumed the deformation coefficient, defined as the relationship between the permeability and the compression stress of the skeleton (formation pressure), to be constant. In practice, it has been found that there exists significant error for production prediction with the conventional models, especially when the oil well is produced at a large pressure drawdown. In this paper, a new technique is developed for accurate production prediction in a stress-sensitive reservoir. More specifically, limitations of the conventional models are first analyzed.

Basin evolution of the northern part of the Northeast German Basin — Insights from a 3D structural model

A 3D structural model for the entire southwestern Baltic Sea and the adjacent onshore areas was created with the purpose to analyse the structural framework and the sediment distribution in the area. The model was compiled with information from several geological time-isochore maps and digital depth maps from the area and consists of six post-Rotliegend successions: The Upper Permian Zechstein; Lower Triassic; Middle Triassic; Upper Triassic–Jurassic; Cretaceous and Cenozoic. This structural model was the basis for a 3D backstripping approach, considering salt flow as a consequence of spatially changing overburden load distribution, isostatic rebound and sedimentary compaction for each backstripping step in order to reconstruct the subsidence history in the region. This method allows determination of the amount of tectonic subsidence or uplifting as a consequence of the regional stress field acting on the basin and was followed by a correlation with periods of active salt movement. In general, the successions above the highly deformed Zechstein evaporites reveal a thickening trend towards the Glückstadt Graben, which also experienced the highest amount of tectonic subsidence during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Two periods of accelerating salt movement in the area has been correlated with the E–W directed extension during the Late Triassic–Early Jurassic and later by the Late Cretaceous–Early Cenozoic inversion, suggesting that the regional stress field plays a key role in halokinesis. The final part of this work dealt with a neotectonic forward modelling in an attempt to predict the future topography when the system is in a tectonic equilibrium. The result reveals that many of the salt structures in the region are still active and that future coastline will run with a WNW–ESE trend, arguing that the compressional stresses related to the Alpine collision are the prime factor for the present-day landscape evolution.

Sediment consolidation and archaeological site formation

AbstractConsolidation is the reduction in sediment volume that occurs in response to natural overburden loading. As void space is reduced, solid particles within the consolidating sediment undergo rearrangement, including downward displacement and reduction in inclination angle. Buried artifacts are also subject to this rearrangement. An experiment was designed to simulate consolidation of artifact‐bearing sediments and document the extent of artifact rearrangement caused by varying degrees of consolidation. Results indicate that artifacts will generally follow the downward movement of the sediment regardless of individual artifact attributes, and that significant reductions in artifact inclination angle can occur. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Microcracks in New England granitoids: A record of thermoelastic relaxation during exhumation of intracontinental crust

The upper intracontinental crust carries an excess horizontal compression, a remnant stress that arises because exhumation-related thermoelastic relaxation of deeper horizontal stress lags behind the reduction in overburden stress. This remnant stress appears in Earth stress data as an interchange in orientation of vertical σ 2 and horizontal σ 3 so that the ratio of least compressive horizontal stress ( S hmin ) to vertical compressive stress ( S v ) is >1 in much of the top 2 km of intracontinental crust. In theory, rocks exhumed from beneath 2 km should carry some record of this stress interchange, and this record is found in the orientation and density of healed, filled, and open micro-cracks in exhumed New England granitoids. Fluid inclusion planes (FIP) of older, healed microcracks are the best developed in a vertical orientation, and younger filled and open microcracks are best developed in the horizontal plane. Lateral unloading during initial isobaric cooling from the solidus of laterally constrained granite allows early microcrack growth once horizontal tension on the microscopic scale develops in response to vertical compression from the overburden load. During exhumation, further relaxation of lateral compressive stress takes place by a combination of decompression and cooling so that Δ S hmin /Δ S v

Influence of mechanical stratigraphy and initial stress state on the formation of two fault propagation folds

Kinematic and mechanical modeling of the Rip Van Winkle (SE New York, USA) and La Zeta (SW Mendoza, Argentina) anticlines illustrate the influence of mechanical stratigraphy and initial stress state on the kinematics of fault propagation folding. In both anticlines, faults nucleating at distinct stratigraphic levels open upward into triangular zones of folding. Folding intensity and finite strain attenuates with distance from the fault tip. Trishear reproduces the bulk geometry and finite strain of the relatively homogeneous limestone sequence of the Rip Van Winkle anticline and predicts an initial location of the fault tip consistent with the field observations. Folding of the heterogeneous sedimentary section of La Zeta anticline, however, cannot be simulated by the trishear model alone. An additional mode of deformation involving transport of material from the backlimb into the hinge area and extension parallel to the direction of fault propagation is necessary to reproduce the geometry and finite strain of the anticline. Mechanical, distinct element modeling (DEM) of the anticlines indicates that their contrasting kinematics could have resulted from differences in mechanical stratigraphy and initial stress state. Folding of a homogenous, normally consolidated assemblage (initial horizontal to vertical stress ratio, K o=1) is trishear like and resembles the Rip Van Winkle anticline. Folding of a heterogenous (layered such as La Zeta), over-consolidated assemblage ( K o>1) departs from the trishear model and resembles La Zeta anticline. Based on the DEM simulations, we postulate that the Rip Van Winkle anticline formed at high depths (high overburden loads and lithostatic stress conditions), and that La Zeta anticline formed at shallow depths, after substantial uplift and erosion of the Andean mountain front (which induced over-consolidation and high K o).

Regional evaluation of the coalbed-methane potential of the Foothills/Mountains of Alberta, Canada

Abstract Coal is present in the Alberta Foothills/Mountains in five zones: the Kootenay, Gething, Gates, Brazeau and Coalspur coal zones. For coalbed-methane (CBM) evaluation purposes, they can be divided into shallow (less than 1000 m depth) and deep (greater than 1000 m depth) coal zones. The potential gas content of all shallow coal zones totals about 878 × 10 9 m 3 (31 Tcf) of CBM, which is considered an inferred, initial, in-place, coalbed-methane resource estimate based on limited data. The limited amount of data on formation testing and measured gas content indicate that the inferred resource is bordering on the speculative category. The gas content of all deep coal zones (deeper than 1000 m) totals 2.8 × 10 12 m 3 (about 99 Tcf) of in-place coalbed-methane gas. Consequently, the total ultimate coalbed-methane resource could be 3.7 × 10 12 m 3 (130 Tcf). However, coalbed-methane recovery from deep coals is generally not attempted because of the high cost of drilling and the low permeability that results from high overburden load and stress. The only (limited) Foothills coalbed-methane production has been from the southern Alberta Kootenay Coal Zone, which is very prospective for coalbed-methane production. The shallow Gates Coal Zone in the central and northern Foothills is also prospective, but needs to be better tested. The best potential for coalbed methane in the Coalspur Coal Zone is in the Edson area (Entrance Syncline and Triangle Zone). The Kootenay and Gates coal zones are not well defined in the northern part of the Calgary (NTS 82O) map sheet.

Salt redistribution during extension and inversion inferred from 3D backstripping

A 3D backstripping approach considering salt flow as a consequence of spatially changing overburden load distribution, isostatic rebound and sedimentary compaction for each backstripping step is used to reconstruct the subsidence history in the Northeast German Basin. The method allows to determine basin subsidence and the salt-related deformation during Late Cretaceous–Early Cenozoic inversion and during Late Triassic–Jurassic extension. In the Northeast German Basin, the deformation is thin-skinned in the basinal part, but thick-skinned at the basin margins. The salt cover is deformed due to Late Triassic–Jurassic extension and Late Cretaceous–Early Cenozoic inversion whereas the salt basement remained largely stable in the basin area. In contrast, the basin margins suffered strong deformation especially during Late Cretaceous–Early Cenozoic inversion. As a main question, we address the role of salt during the thin-skinned extension and inversion of the basin. In our modelling approach, we assume that the salt behaves like a viscous fluid on the geological time-scale, that salt and overburden are in hydrostatical near-equilibrium at all times, and that the volume of salt is constant. Because the basement of the salt is not deformed due to decoupling in the basin area, we consider the base of the salt as a reference surface, where the load pressure must be equilibrated. Our results indicate that major salt movements took place during Late Triassic to Jurassic E–W directed extension and during Late Cretaceous–Early Cenozoic NNE–SSW directed compression. Moreover, the study outcome suggests that horizontal strain propagation in the salt cover could have triggered passive salt movements which balanced the cover deformation by viscous flow. In the Late Triassic, strain transfer from the large graben systems in West Central Europe to the east could have caused the subsidence of the Rheinsberg Trough above the salt layer. In this context, the effective regional stress did not exceed the yield strength of the basement below the Rheinsberg Trough, but was high enough to provoke deformation of the viscous salt layer and its cover. During the Late Cretaceous–Early Cenozoic phase of inversion, horizontal strain propagation from the southern basin margin into the basin can explain the intensive thin-skinned compressive deformation of the salt cover in the basin. The thick-skinned compressive deformation along the southern basin margin may have propagated into the salt cover of the basin where the resulting folding again was balanced by viscous salt flow into the anticlines of folds. The huge vertical offset of the pre-Zechstein basement along the southern basin margin and the amount of shortening in the folded salt cover of the basin indicate that the tectonic forces responsible for this inversion event have been of a considerable magnitude.

Elevated lateral stress in unlithified sediment, Midcontinent, United States—geotechnical and geophysical indicators for a tectonic origin

Indirect and direct geotechnical measurements revealed the presence of high lateral earth pressure ( K o) in shallow, unlithified sediment at a site in the northernmost Mississippi embayment region of the central United States. Results from pile-load and pressuremeter tests showed maximum K o values greater than 10; however, the complex geologic environment of the Midcontinent made defining an origin for the anomalous K o based solely on these measurements equivocal. Although in situ sediment characteristics indicated that indirect tectonic or nontectonic geologic mechanisms that include transient overburden loads (e.g., fluvial deposition/erosion, glacial advance/retreat) and dynamic shear loads (e.g., earthquakes) were not the dominant cause, they were unable to provide indicators for a direct tectonic generation. Localized stresses induced anthropogenically by the geotechnical field tests were also considered, but ruled out as the primary origin. A high-resolution shear-wave (SH) reflection image of geologic structure in the immediate vicinity of the test site revealed compression-style neotectonism, and suggested that the elevated stress was a tectonic manifestation. Post-Paleozoic reflectors exhibit a Tertiary (?) structural inversion, as evidenced by post-Cretaceous fault displacement and pronounced positive folds in the hanging wall of the interpreted faults. The latest stratigraphic extent of the stress effects (i.e., all measurements were in the Late Cretaceous to Tertiary McNairy Formation), as well as the relationship of stress orientation with the orientation of local structure and regional stress, remain unknown. These are the subjects of ongoing studies.

Evaluation of the load on shield tunnel lining in gravel

It is important to evaluate accurately the load acting on a shield tunnel lining to facilitate its economical and rational design. In Japan, the load calculated by Terzaghi's formula, or overburden load, is generally adopted for the design of tunnel segments. However, some previous field measurements have shown that the actual load acting on the shield tunnel lining could be much smaller than that adopted for the design in the case of good ground conditions. In this study, field measurements at two shield tunnel construction sites in gravel were carried out, and the load acting on the shield tunnel lining was evaluated by analyzing the field data to establish the rational design of the shield tunnel segments. The method of treating the dead load of segments in the design was also investigated.

Effect of pore water pressure on tunnel support during static and seismic loading

The support of underground structures must be designed to withstand static overburden loads as well as seismic loads. New analytical solutions for a deep tunnel in a saturated poroelastic ground have been obtained for static and seismic loading. The static solution accounts for drainage and no-drainage conditions at the ground–liner interface. Linear elasticity of the liner and ground, and plane strain conditions at any cross-section of the tunnel are assumed. For tunnels in which ground stresses and pore pressures are applied far from the tunnel center, the drainage conditions at the ground–liner interface do not affect the stresses in the liner. The analytical solution shows that the stresses in the liner are exactly the same whether there is drainage or not at the ground–liner interface. Hence, if the drainage conditions in the tunnel are changed from full drainage to no-drainage or vice versa the stresses in the liner are not affected. However, the stresses and displacements in the ground change significantly from drainage to no-drainage conditions. For seismic loading a new analytical formulation is presented which provides the complete solution for the ground and the liner system for both dry and saturated ground conditions. The formulation is based on quasi-static seismic loading and elastic ground response; for a saturated ground, undrained conditions are assumed which indicate that the excess pore pressures generated during the seismic event do not dissipate. The results show that the racking deformations of a liner in dry or saturated ground are highly dependent on the flexibility of the liner.

Remediation of the geotechnical problems of the Hasankeyf historical area, southeastern Turkey

The castle, palaces and man-made historical and recent cave dwellings of Hasankeyf will be partly flooded by the reservoir of the Ilisu dam which is planned to be constructed over the Tigris River. Hasankeyf is entirely within the Germik formation which is composed of whitish to light gray and/or beige, medium strong, fresh to slightly weathered, thick to very thick bedded, locally massive, almost horizontal or gently dipping silty, sandy limestone. The major geotechnical concerns in the area consist of the possibility of kinematic failure of the foundation of Little Palace and the collapse of some of the roofs of the adjacent man-made cave dwellings carved in rock due to insufficient pillar (wall) thicknesses to carry the overburden load. A limit equilibrium analysis of the kinematically unstable planar rock block underlying the foundation of Little Palace was performed as a function of the water level in the reservoir. The maximum required anchor force was calculated as approximately 3,000 kN/m which led to a total anchor force of about 42,000 kN for the 14-m-wide slope face of the unstable planar block. The results of the finite element analysis to determine the minimum stable pillar (wall) thickness required between adjacent caves led to a recommendation to apply a steel arch support to one of the adjacent caves at Hasankeyf in case the wall thickness was less than or equal to 0.60 m.

Post-failure behavior of two mine pillars confined with backfill

Researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health used a series of instruments (borehole extensometers , earth pressure cells , and embedment strain gauges) to study the post-failure behavior of two pillars confined by backfill in a test section at the Buick Mine near Boss, MO, USA. Evaluation of these pillars was part of a research project to assess the safety of the test section when high-grade support pillars were mined. Data from borehole extensometers installed in several backfill-confined pillars and numerical modeling indicated that these pillars failed during extraction of the support pillars. Failure was corroborated by the post-yield pillar strain response in which the immediate elastic strain was negligible compared to the time-dependent strain component measured between blasting rounds. A three-dimensional, finite-element program with an elastic perfectly plastic material model was calibrated using extensometer data to estimate rock mass modulus and unconfined compressive strength . The resulting rock mass modulus was 45–60% of the average deformation modulus obtained from laboratory tests, and the calibrated compressive strength was 40% of average laboratory values. A rock mass modulus equal to 52% of the average laboratory deformation modulus was calculated using the rock mass rating (RMR) system. Rock mass strength was calculated with the generalized Hoek–Brown failure criterion for jointed rock and indicated that in situ strength was 33% of laboratory strength. Post-failure stresses calculated by the finite-element model were larger for confined pillars than post-failure stresses in unconfined pillars calculated using empirical plots. Data from the calibrated model provided a strain-hardening stress-versus-strain relationship. This knowledge is critical for the design of mines that use partially failed pillars to carry overburden load.

Aftershocks of an explosively induced mine collapse at White Pine, Michigan

AbstractWe recorded an explosively induced, 320-m-deep mine collapse and subsequent aftershocks at White Pine, Michigan, using an array of 12 seismic stations, sited within 1 km of surface ground zero. The collapse, which followed the rubblizing of a 2 × 104 m2 panel of a room-and-pillar copper mine, was induced to facilitate leaching operations. The explosions produced little seismic energy; however, fracturing and collapse stages produced large signals that were observed at distances up to 900 km, yielding a magnitude (mbLg) of 2.8. Previous work showed the initial collapse to be an expanding seismic source, interpreted as an opening tensile crack, opposite to the implosional character most often observed for natural mine collapses (Yang et al., 1998). We counted over 4000 aftershocks; their occurrence rate followed the modified Omori law: rate = 560 (time − 0.01)−1.3, with time in hours. Based on P-wave polarities, we identified events of shear-slip, implosional, and tensile character in the aftershock sequence. For shear-slip events, we found stress drops of 1 bar or less, seismic moments of 1015−1017 dyne cm, (Mw−0.8−0.5) and source radii of 10-50 m. Corner frequencies for implosional events were relatively low, an indication that the collapsed cavity played a role in the source process. This caused implosional events to separate from other events in source parameter plots, providing a technique for classifying events of unknown type. We obtained locations of 135 aftershocks using P- and S-wave data. The aftershock zone was less than 100-m thick, situated just above and along the western, mined edge of the collapsed mine panel. Implosional events occurred at the bottom of the active volume, while shear-slip events were distributed throughout. Shear-slip focal mechanisms indicated thrusting along north-striking planes, consistent with the high, eastwest regional compressive stress, coupled with a local decrease in vertical stress. The inferred deficit of vertical stress above the western panel edge following collapse indicated that overburden load shifted preferentially to the surrounding, unmined areas, consistent with lower-than-predicted stresses measured in the first row of intact pillars.

Mechanical compaction of deeply buried sandstones of the North Sea

Sandstones experience mechanical compaction when the overburden load exceeds the compressive strength. Petrographic evidence is rarely sufficient to determine the timing of mechanical compaction. It is often assumed from indirect evidence, such as regional porosity-depth trends, that mechanical compaction is a process that occurs exclusively during shallow or intermediate burial (<2.5 km). However, mechanical compaction, with or without extensive grain fracturing, may also affect more deeply buried sediments.Mechanical compaction without grain fracturing may occur at depth following pervasive framework grain dissolution and/or if anomalously high porosity has been preserved due to the presence of small amounts of cement. We describe examples from the Fulmar Sandstone Formation of the Central Graben, North Sea that experienced late stage mechanical compaction following sponge spicule dissolution and microcrystalline quartz cementation.Deep burial mechanical compaction involving grain crushing may occur if the rate of grain-contact quartz dissolution and/or quartz overgrowth development cannot compete with the rate of stress increase at grain contacts. Some Rotliegendes sandstones of the Southern North Sea that have been buried to>4.5 km offer a good example where the suppression of chemical compaction, due to the presence of grain-coating clays, resulted in pervasive grain fracturing.Mineral veins are frequently associated with sandstones that have experienced pervasive mechanical compaction during deep burial. These may reflect the sudden development of overpressure resulting from the transfer of load to the fluid during collapse of the sandstone framework.