Model for calculation of anchor parameters fixings for vertical exploration works

It is known that effective rock hardening, as opposed to the action of tensile stresses, can be performed using anchors of various designs, depending on the specific mining and geological conditions. At the same time, there are very few publications on the calculation of roof bolting parameters for vertical shafts of different cross-sections. Therefore, in this work, a method has been developed for calculating such a support for vertical shaft shafts. Calculations were made only for the working wall, which is more dangerous in terms of fallout. Anchors are considered to work in tension when this wall is attached. For the opposite wall, such calculations are not required. Considering that here the anchors are being introduced in a direction perpendicular to the direction of bedding of rocks and they will work on a cut. In this case, the shear strength of metal and reinforced concrete anchors is 4-5 times higher than their tensile strength. The calculation method consists of methods for determining the lengths of the anchor and its locking part. In this case, the length of that part of the anchor is taken into account, which is enclosed between the base of the cone of influence of the anchor and the border of the zone of possible fallouts. The resulting formula for the length of the joint part of the anchor strongly differs from the previously known similar formulas by other authors, taking into account the effect of rock pressure, which varies with depth. Its structure contains the factor of the bedding angle with respect to the horizon and the coefficient of friction of the rock about the rock, leading to a decrease in the length of the anchor lock part. In addition, the volume of destroyed rocks in the zone of influence of the anchor is taken as the volume of the cylinder, which corresponds to the actual operating conditions of the anchor.

Predicting of the Geometrical Behavior of Formations in Subsurface Based on the Analysis of LWD/MWD Data While Drilling Horizontal Wells

The successful penetration of oil and gas formations by a horizontal well depends on the accuracy of the forecast of the depth and angle of the layers’ dip at the entry point. Methods and mathematical algorithms for predicting the geometric behavior of formations during drilling of a horizontal well at the stage of its approach to the entry point into target productive horizons are developed. The relationship between the formation dip, their stratigraphic thickness, and apparent vertical thickness in vertical and sub-horizontal wells is considered. It is shown that even small angles of inclination can lead to a significant influence on the prediction of the point of formation opening by a horizontal well. A detailed correlation of the offset well section with a horizontal well one while drilling was used for the analysis. A method for predicting the depth of disclose of the target formation by a horizontal well based on the change in the apparent vertical thickness is shown. A mathematical algorithm for calculating the apparent bedding angle on the basis of initial and while drilling data has been obtained. The calculated bedding angle allows predicting the depth of the target formation penetration with a horizontal well. The proposed method for predicting the horizontal well landing point depth allows avoiding errors associated with non-horizontal layering. The use of the proposed technique when drilling a number of horizontal wells in the oil fields of the Dnieper-Donets Basin (DDB) and the Pre-Carpathian Foredeep made it possible to determine with high accuracy the apparent bedding angle, even at their small values. The calculations made it possible to predict the depth of entry into the target formation during drilling with high accuracy. This is especially important in the context of small oil deposits, where it is impossible to make significant adjustments to the lateral position of the horizontal part of the wellbore. The predicted depths of the entry points into the formations were confirmed by the drilling results. The use of the proposed method makes it possible to perform high-quality geosteering while drilling horizontal wells at the stage of approaching the target formation entry point using the minimum data set. The simplicity of the method allows you to quickly analyze the geological section penetrated by a horizontal well and determine its geometric behavior. This approach makes it possible to successfully open pay formations with horizontal wells even without using a pilot well.

LNMR Study on Microstructure Characteristics and Pore Size Distribution of High-Rank Coals with Different Bedding

In order to study the pore structure characteristics of high-rank coals with different bedding, NMR experiments were carried out for high-rank coals with different bedding angles (0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90°). The results show that the distribution of T2 map of high-rank coal with different bedding is similar to some extent, showing a double peak or triple peak distribution, and the first peak accounts for more than 97% of the total, indicating that small holes are developed in high-rank coal with different bedding, while macropores are not developed. The influence of bedding angle on the fracture proportion is less than 0.3%. Compared with the fracture proportion, the effect of bedding angle on the proportion of microhole, medium hole, and large hole is greater and presents a certain rule. There are certain differences in T2 cutoff value (T2C) of high-rank coal with different bedding. The relationship between bedding angle and T2C conforms to exponential function, and the correlation degree R2 is 0.839. The research results provide a theoretical basis for gas extraction and utilization and prevention of gas disaster in coal mines in China.

Transversely Isotropic Creep Characteristics and Damage Mechanism of Layered Phyllite Under Uniaxial Compression Creep Test

The layered surrounding rocks of deep tunnels undergo large creep deformation due to the presence of planes of weakness and the presence of prolonged high in-situ stress, thereby the deformation severely endangers the safety of tunnels. This study conducts uniaxial compression creep tests to experimentally investigate the transversely isotropic creep characteristics and the damage mechanism of layered phyllite samples having bedding angles of 0°, 22.5°, 45°, 67.5°, and 90°. The results indicate that the creep deformation of the specimens takes place in four stages: the instantaneous elastic deformation stage, the deceleration creep stage, the steady-state creep stage, and the accelerated creep stage. The cumulative creep deformation and the creep time during the steady-state creep stage of the specimens initially decrease and then increase as the bedding angle changes from 0° to 90°, thereby, corresponding to the initial increase and subsequent decrease in creep rate during the deceleration creep stage. Based on the existing viscoelastic-plastic damage creep model, the creep parameters E1, E2, η2, and η3 are observed to initially decrease and then increase with the increase in bedding angle, hence demonstrating that the creep characteristics and damage mechanism of the layered rock mass are controlled by the effect of the natural weakness planes and show significant transversely isotropic characteristics.

Dynamic fracture mechanics and energy distribution rate response characteristics of coal containing bedding structure

To investigate the influence of bedding structure and different loading rates on the dynamic fracture characteristics and energy dissipation of Datong coal, a split Hopkinson bar was used to obtain the fracture characteristics of coal samples with different bedding angles. The process of crack initiation and propagation in Datong coal was recorded by the high-speed camera. The formula for the model I fracture toughness of the transversely isotropic material is obtained on the basis of the finite element method (FEM) together with the J-integral. By comparing the incident energy, absorbed energy, fracture energy and residual kinetic energy of Datong coal samples under various impact speeds, the energy dissipation characteristics during the dynamic fracture process of coal considering the bedding structure is acquired. The experimental results indicate that the fracture pattern of notched semi-circular bending (NSCB) Datong coal is tensile failure. After splitting into two parts, the coal sample rotates approximately uniformly around the contact point between the sample and the incident rod. The dynamic fracture toughness is 3.52~8.64 times of the quasi-static fracture toughness for Datong coal. Dynamic fracture toughness increases with increasing impact velocity, and the effect of bedding angle on fracture toughness then decreases. In addition, the residual kinetic energy of coal samples with the same bedding angle increases with the increase of impact speed. The energy utilization rate decreases continuously, and the overall dispersion of statistical data decreases gradually. In rock fragmentation engineering, the optimum loading condition is low-speed loading regardless of energy utilization efficiency or fracture toughness. These conclusions may have significant implications for the optimization of hydraulic fracturing process in coal mass and the further understanding of crack propagation mechanisms in coalbed methane extraction (CME). The anisotropic effect of coal should be fully considered in both these cases.

Experimental Study on the Difference of Shale Mechanical Properties

This paper studies the anisotropic characteristics of shale and the difference in mechanical performance between deep shale and outcrop shale. The outcrop shale was collected from the Shuanghe section in Changning County, southern Sichuan, and the deep shale was collected from the Wells Yi201 and Lu202. Study their basic mechanical parameters, failure modes, and wave velocity responses through laboratory tests. Research shows that with the increase of bedding angle, the deformation mode has the trend from elastic deformation to plastic deformation in high-stress state. When the bedding angles are 0°, 30°, and 45°, the weak bedding surface plays a leading role in the formation of the failure surface trend. As the bedding angle increases to 60° and 90°, its influence is weakened. The tensile strength, elastic modulus, and wave velocity decrease with the increase of bedding angle. The compressive strength and Poisson’s ratio have the law of U-type change, there are higher values at 0° and 90°, and the lowest values are at 30°. The brittleness index first increases and then decreases with the increase of the bedding angle. The tensile strength and Poisson’s ratio of outcrop shale and deep shale are close, but the compressive strength of deep shale is only 1/3 of outcrop shale, the elastic modulus is only 3/4 of outcrop shale, and the failure of deep shale is accompanied by instability failure.

Effect of Bedding Structure on the Energy Dissipation Characteristics of Dynamic Tensile Fracture for Water-Saturated Coal

The analysis of energy dissipation characteristics is a basic way to elucidate the mechanism of coal rock fragmentation. In order to study the energy dissipation patterns during dynamic tensile deformation damage of coal samples, the Brazilian disc (BD) splitting test under impact conditions was conducted on burst-prone coal samples using a split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) loading system. The effects of impact velocity, bedding angle, and water saturated on the total absorbed energy density, total dissipated energy density, and damage variables of coal samples were investigated. In addition, the coal samples were collected after crushing to produce debris with particle sizes of 0-0.2 mm and 0.2-5 mm, and the distribution characteristics of different size debris were compared and analyzed. The results show that the damage variables of natural dry coal samples increase approximately linearly with the increase of impact velocity; however, the overall damage variables of saturated coal samples increase exponentially as a function of impact velocity. Compared with air-dry samples, the number of fragments with the particle size of 0-0.2 mm of saturated samples decreases by 14.1%-31.3%, and the number of fragments with the particle size of 0.2-5 mm decreases by 33.7%-53.0%. However, when the bedding angle is 45°, the percentage of fragment mass of saturated samples is larger than that of air-dry samples. The conclusions provide a theoretical basis for understanding the deterioration mechanism of coal after water saturation and the implementation of water injection dust prevention technology in coal mines.

An Analytical Solution for the Frost Heaving Force considering the Freeze-Thaw Damage and Transversely Isotropic Characteristics of the Surrounding Rock in Cold-Region Tunnels

Frost damage is a frequent occurrence in cold regions and can threaten the normal use and structural stability of tunnel engineering projects. To accurately determine the frost heaving force and effectively evaluate the frost damage in cold-region tunnels, an analytical solution for the frost heaving force considering the freeze-thaw (F-T) damage and transversely isotropic characteristics of surrounding rock is presented based on complex variable theory and the power series method. The calculation results indicate that the frost heaving force acts on the lining considering that the transversely isotropic characteristics of surrounding rock are significantly greater than those when assuming the surrounding rock is homogeneous isotropic media. This demonstrates that the transversely isotropic characteristics of surrounding rock have a considerable impact on the frost heaving force and should be considered. The frost heaving force continuously increases as the bedding angle increases from 0° to 90°, and the maximum frost heaving force in the Guanjiao tunnel (the rock mass bedding angle is 30°) of the Xining-Geermu Railway in China is approximately 1.04 MPa. In addition, the influence of F-T cycles on the frost heaving force in cold-region tunnels is investigated based on the analytical solution of the frost heaving force proposed in this paper. The frost heaving force acting on the lining decreases with an increasing number of F-T cycles due to the deterioration of the mechanical parameters of the surrounding rock.