Ground Subsidence Evolution from 1000 m Deep Mining: A Case Study in Fengfeng Mining Area

The mining of coal resources in eastern China has entered the stage of deep mining, and many mines have reached the depth of 1000 meters. Different from shallow and moderate depth mining, the temporal and spatial evolution regulation of surface movement and deformation under deep mining has its particularity. Combining with the geological and mining conditions of Fengfeng mining area, this paper systematically studies the characteristics of surface movement under the condition of shallow, moderate, and near kilometer mining depth. By means of field measurement, InSAR monitoring, we get the subsidence data under different mining depth and get the relevant subsidence parameters by inversion. Through comparative analysis, the special law of subsidence under the mining depth of 1000 meters is obtained. The results show that under the condition of nearly 1000 meters mining depth, the surface movement and deformation have the characteristics of large displacement angle, small displacement deformation value, and large main influence radius. The regulation of small proportion of active period of maximum subsidence point, gentle shape of surface movement basin, and low mining adequacy are obtained. The research results provide technical references for deep mining under buildings, railways, and water bodies and provide basis and reference for scientific mining and safe recovery of coal pillars in kilometer deep mine.

Method to Calculate Mining-Induced Fracture Based on the Movement and Deformation of Overburden Strata

Mining-induced fracture of overburden strata is intimately related to underground water disasters in coal mining. In this work, we develop an analytical model that uses the probability integral method to calculate the subsidence of the subsurface and the overburden strata. In the developed model, according to the failure characteristics of the mining-induced strata, the horizontal deformation of the strata is expressed by the tensile rate of the elastic plate’s neutral plane to reflect the degree of fracture initiation and expansion. The distribution of the water-flowing fractured zone (WFZ) in the overburden strata is calculated by substituting the probability integral function of overburden strata movement into the equation of layer tensile rate. The panel 31071 in Peigou coal mine is taken as a case study, and the height of the water-flowing fractured zone (HWFZ) is determined by the proposed method. Conventional empirical methods and the proposed method are used to predict HWFZ in panels with mining schemes, and the results show that the model is particularly advantageous for inclined coal seam mining where the inclined mining size gradually increases and the coal seam burial depth gradually decreases. In such kind of situations, the overburden strata movement and deformation intensify and the mining fracture develops further with the progress of mining, a feature considered poorly by conventional empirical methods but well represented in the proposed method.

Numerical Simulation of Surface Movement and Deformation Caused by Underground Mining with Complex Stratigraphic Boundary

The interface program of finite element software based on surface spline interpolation is developed by using MATLAB software. The controllable 3D surface modeling based on CAD contour is realized. Taking a mine as an example, the method of establishing the 3D numerical calculation model including complex stratum boundary is studied. The influence of underground mining on surface movement and deformation under complex stratum conditions by using the FLAC3D software further was discussed. The research results show that the developed interface program of finite element software can well realize the numerical modeling of complex formation and provide help for subsequent numerical simulation. The calculated subsidence value is in good agreement with the measured value. The values of surface tilt, surface curvature, and surface horizontal deformation are less than the relevant regulations. The mining method of the filling method has no obvious effect on the surface structures. The research results can provide reference for similar numerical simulation.

Sensitivity Analysis and Numerical Simulation Study on Main Controlling Factors of Surface Movement and Deformation in Strip Filling Mining under Thick Unconsolidated Layers

In many mining areas, there is a lot of pressed coal under buildings, railways, and water bodies, and there are geological conditions of thick unconsolidated layers, so the surface subsidence has certain particularity. The key to solve the problem of pressed coal is the control technology of surface subsidence. The development of strip filling technology provides a kind of economical and effective surface subsidence control technology. With the passage of time, the natural weathering, flow, and fracture of some coal pillars may lead to the instability and failure of some coal pillars. Therefore, the selection of filling parameters plays an important role in the stability of coal pillars. In order to study the influence factors of surface movement and deformation, considering the influence factors of filling rate, key layer thickness, filling body strength, and unconsolidated layer thickness, FLAC 3D was used to simulate the surface movement deformation, and the orthogonal test method was used to analyze the simulation results, and the sensitivity of the main control factors affecting the surface deformation affected by strip filling mining was studied. The results show that the order of importance of the four factors on the four surface movement and deformation parameters is filling rate > key layer thickness > filling body strength > unconsolidated layer thickness. The influence of these four factors on the surface movement and deformation parameters is gradually decreasing, but the influence degree of different factors has drawn a certain gradient.

Biomechanical Properties of Bone and Mucosa for Design and Application of Dental Implants

Dental implants’ success comprises their proper stability and adherence to different oral tissues (integration). The implant is exposed to different mechanical stresses from swallowing, mastication and parafunctions for a normal tooth, leading to the simultaneous mechanical movement and deformation of the whole structure. The knowledge of the mechanical properties of the bone and gingival tissues in normal and pathological conditions is very important for the successful conception of dental implants and for clinical practice to access and prevent potential failures and complications originating from incorrect mechanical factors’ combinations. The challenge is that many reported biomechanical properties of these tissues are substantially scattered. This study carries out a critical analysis of known data on mechanical properties of bone and oral soft tissues, suggests more convenient computation methods incorporating invariant parameters and non-linearity with tissues anisotropy, and applies a consistent use of these properties for in silico design and the application of dental implants. Results show the advantages of this approach in analysis and visualization of stress and strain components with potential translation to dental implantology.

The Formation Mechanism of Surface Landslide Disasters in the Mining Area under Different Slope Angles

Slope stability analysis is important for the safe mining of mineral resources. The collapse of goafs in loess gullies can lead to natural disasters such as surface landslides. In this context, this study analyzes monitoring data obtained from surface observation in the Shendong mining area of the Hanjiawan coal mine based on the geological conditions therein. The monitoring results show that the working face experiences a starting period, an active period, and a declining period, from the start of mining to the end of the working face. At the initial mining stage, there is no evident surface movement or deformation in the mining area. When the advance distance of the 12106 working face is between 13 m and 109 m, the surface movement and deformation vary significantly, and the maximum subsidence reaches 1963 mm, which is enough to cause landslides. We select the physical and mechanical parameters of the rock and soil in the mine and then simulate the formation mechanism of surface landslides under different slope angles of the mining area using FLAC3D software. Because of the collapse of the mined-out area, the overlying strata structure is destroyed, the subsidence basin is shifted to the center as a whole, and the slope mass is subjected to tensile and compression deformation, resulting in plastic damage, which develops downward along the crack and leads to a collapse because of the discontinuous movement and deformation of the surface; moreover, step-type ground fissures are produced. The results also show that when the slope angle is greater than 60°, the displacement of the slope mass is not uniform, and the rock stratum in a position with large displacement loses its support, leading to landslides; when the slope angle is less than 30°, the bedrock surface forms a sliding surface and develops to the surface, thus decreasing the possibility of landslides. Based on the stability analysis of the collapsed slope in the goaf of the loess gully, a scientific basis is provided for the effective prevention and control of geological disasters in the Shendong mining area.

An analytical model of diesel injector’s needle valve eccentric motion

Past experimental studies have shown that the needle valve of high-pressure diesel injectors undergoes lateral movement and deformation, while the continuous increase in injection pressure enlarges the gap of the needle valve assembly. Two different analytical models, considering or omitting this change are presented here, linking the geometries of the needle valve assembly with the magnitude of needle valve tip lateral movement. It is found that the physical dimensions of the needle valve assembly and the injection pressure have a significant impact on the radial displacement of the needle. For example, for nominal clearances between the needle guidance and the needle valve of about 1–3 μm, the magnitude of the radial movement of the needle tip could reach tens of microns. The model that takes into account the variation of the gap between the needle guide and needle valve is found to give predictions closer to the experimental results.

Mechanism of Abnormal Surface Subsidence Induced by Fault Instability

Surface movement and deformation with faults differ significantly from that without faults, which the surface movement and deformation at the fault outcrop generally abnormally increase when a fault occurs in the overlying strata and loses stability as a result of mining. To explore the mechanism of abnormal surface subsidence induced by fault instability due to mining in the hanging wall and footwall, mechanical models for the fault slip and soil cantilevers were separately established. Moreover, based on numerical and similarity simulation experiment, the difficulty degrees of fault instability were compared and analysed during mining in hanging wall and footwall. The research results show that: (1) the abnormal surface subsidence at fault outcrop is caused by fracture of soil mass at the fault outcrop due to the cantilever effect. (2) The fault zone that can be stabilised during mining in the hanging wall is broader than that during mining in the footwall, and a fault remains stable when mining in hanging wall and the surface at fault outcrop is more likely to experience stepped subsidence when mining in the footwall. (3) Fault stability worsens with the growth of the fault dip angle when mining in hanging wall, the fault is certainly subjected to slip and instability when fault dip angle is lower than the internal friction angle of the rock mass within the fault zone and fault stability strengthens with increasing fault dip angle during mining in the footwall. (4) When mining in the footwall, the ratio of shear stress to normal stress at the fault outcrop is about five times that when mining in the hanging wall and the fault is more likely to undergo slip and instability during mining in the footwall. (5) As a natural weak plane in the rock mass, a fault exerts a blocking effect on the transfer of mining-induced stress and overburden movements.