Search Results (52)

To address the challenges of slow construction and high self-weight in steel–concrete composite floors for rural light steel frame structures in China, a new prefabricated floor system was developed. This system features prefabricated slabs made from recycled concrete, connected via reinforced shear pocket joints. In seismic environments, assembly floor joints often become vulnerable points, making their shear resistance particularly crucial. This study investigated the shear performance of this new type of floor joint, examining the effects of various parameters such as joint configuration, stud diameter, recycled concrete strength, and grout strength. A refined finite element model was established for an in-depth parameter analysis. The research revealed stud–shear failure as the mode of floor joint failure under different design parameters. The detailed design of the new joint structure ensures safety in the floor joint area. Increasing stud diameter, recycled concrete strength, and grout strength all contributed to enhancing the joint’s shear capacity and stiffness, with stud diameter having the most significant impact. Higher recycled concrete strength improved shear capacity, although its influence decreased beyond a certain threshold. Optimal reserved hole diameter proved beneficial for enhancing joint shear performance, with a diameter of 40 mm showing superior performance. Full article

This study focuses on how rocks respond mechanically and how to keep them stable when soft rock roadways are under deep tectonic stress. It does this through a combination of theoretical analysis, numerical simulations, and field applications. We created a mechanical model of roof strata to calculate how much they would bend under both horizontal tectonic stress and their weight. This modeling helped us determine the critical yield limits. A systematic study of the angle θ between the direction of tectonic stress and the axis of the roadway showed that the concentration of horizontal stress on the roof gets stronger as θ increases, while the vertical stress on the sidewalls slowly gets weaker. The main sign of surrounding rock failure is shear damage that is most severe at the roof, floor, and shoulder angles. The maximum plastic zone depth occurs at θ = 90°. Studies that looked at both gob-side and along-roadway stages found that the two types of failure were very different, characterized by severe roof damage during roadway advancement and pronounced coal pillar instability in gob-side conditions. Based on these results, targeted support strategies were successfully used in field engineering to control deformations and provide both theoretical foundations and practical solutions for stabilizing deep soft rock roadways under tectonic stress. Full article

With the increasing depth of mining operations, roadways experience higher ground stress and pronounced deformation. Elevated in situ stress leads to a continuous rise in vertical stress on surrounding rock. The excavation of roadways and working faces further redistributes the stress field, resulting in more frequent and severe floor heave. To address this issue in the 1232 transportation roadway of Shuguang Coal Mine, a numerical model was developed using the discrete element method (PFC2D) to systematically analyze the impacts of floor stiffness, strength, and joint distribution on heave mechanisms. A mechanical device for underground slotting operations was designed, and the optimal slotting depth was determined through simulation. The results indicate that floor heave stems from progressive failure of composite strata, governed by stiffness, strength, and moment of inertia (influenced by strata thickness and joint development). Effective suppression requires slotting depths to penetrate the shallow fractured zone and reach the load-bearing structure. Stress arching effects significantly mitigate deformation at 2.5 m depth, providing a theoretical basis for optimal slotting design. Full article

The deep sea is gradually being exploited, yet research on the stability of the deep seabed is scarce. In this study, the seafloor stability of the Jiaxie Seamount Group in the western Pacific Ocean was assessed using the weight-of-evidence (WoE) method based on seafloor topographic data. Slope failure features were identified by analyzing multibeam bathymetric data, revealing 21 failure zones and multiple debris accumulation areas. Topographic factors, such as water depth, slope, slope direction, planar curvature, profile curvature, and ruggedness, were selected as assessment indicators. These indicators were reclassified as evidence factors, and a WoE model was constructed to assess the failure probability in the study area. A stability zoning map indicated that over 93% of the area had high stability. In comparison, areas with low and very low stability comprised less than 4%, mainly located on steep ridges and rugged slopes. The model’s performance was validated through an ROC curve, yielding an AUC value of 0.929, indicating a high predictive capability. This study presents a statistical framework for assessing the stability of deep-sea floors and provides theoretical support for upcoming seabed mining and deep-sea engineering endeavors, despite limitations due to data constraints and dependence on visually interpreted slope failure zones. Full article

In this paper, we investigate the evolution characteristics of floor failure during pressured mining in extra-thick coal seams. A mechanical expression relating floor failure depth to seam thickness is established based on soil mechanics and mine pressure theory. The findings reveal a linear relationship between seam thickness and floor failure depth; specifically, as the coal seam thickens, the depth of floor failure increases. To simulate the mining process of extra-thick coal seams, FLAC3D numerical simulation software is utilized. We analyze the failure process, failure depth, and the behavior of water barriers at the coal seam floor under the influence of extra-thick coal seam mining from three perspectives: rock displacement evolution in the floor, stress evolution in the floor, and plastic deformation. Based on geological characteristics observed in the Longwanggou mine field, we establish a main control index system for assessing floor water-inrush risk. This system comprises 11 primary control factors: water abundance, permeability, water pressure, complexity of geological structure, structural intersection points, thickness of both actual and equivalent water barriers, thickness ratio of brittle–plastic rocks to coal seams, as well as depths related to both coal seams and instances of floor failure. Furthermore, drawing upon grey system theory and fuzzy mathematics within uncertainty mathematics frameworks leads us to propose an innovative approach—the interval grey optimal clustering model—designed specifically for risk assessment concerning potential floor water inrush during pressured mining operations involving extra-thick coal seams. This method of mine water inrush risk assessment is applicable for popularization and implementation in mines with analogous conditions, and it holds practical significance for the prevention of mine water damage. Full article

This study addresses the abnormal emission of pressure-relieved methane under high-intensity mining conditions by integrating geostatistical inversion, FLAC^3D-COMSOL coupled numerical simulations, and stable carbon–hydrogen isotopic tracing. Focusing on the 12023 working face at Wangxingzhuang Coal Mine, we established a heterogeneous methane reservoir model to analyze the mechanical responses of surrounding rock, permeability evolution, and gas migration patterns under mining intensities of 2–6 m/d. Key findings include the following: (1) When the working face advanced 180 m, vertical stress in concentration zones increased significantly with mining intensity, peaking at 12.89% higher under 6 m/d compared to 2 m/d. (2) Higher mining intensities exacerbated plastic failure in floor strata, with a maximum depth of 47.9 m at 6 m/d, enhancing permeability to 223 times the original coal seam. (3) Isotopic fingerprinting and multi-method validation identified adjacent seams as the dominant gas source, contributing 77.88% of total emissions. (4) Implementing targeted long directional drainage boreholes in floor strata achieved pressure-relief gas extraction efficiencies of 34.80–40.95%, reducing ventilation air methane by ≥61.79% and maintaining return airflow methane concentration below 0.45%. This research provides theoretical and technical foundations for adaptive gas control in rapidly advancing faces through stress–permeability coupling optimization, enabling the efficient interception and resource utilization of pressure-relieved methane. The outcomes support safe, sustainable coal mining practices and advance China’s Carbon Peak and Neutrality goals. Full article

Numerous floor water inrush (FWI) disasters have occurred during the roof weighting period in China. Therefore, to clarify why FWI accidents tend to cluster at a specific mining stage, a novel method for evaluating the failure depth of mining floors (FDMF) under dynamic loads induced by roof breakage is proposed in this study. By employing Matlab programming, the stress distribution and failure patterns of the intact floor were analyzed, revealing the dynamic stress response and failure characteristics. In addition, the accuracy of the proposed theoretical model was further verified through numerical simulation and field measurement. The results indicate that dynamic loads significantly impact vertical stress and shear stress, but only have a minor impact on horizontal stress. This leads to an expansion of the stress concentration zone and an increase in the intensity of the mining floor. Moreover, the FDMF is notably enhanced under the dynamic load induced by roof weighting. Besides, both the numerical simulations and field measurement results align closely with the theoretical predictions, which confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method. This study provides a theoretical foundation for understanding FWI mechanisms under the combined influence of dynamic and static loads. Full article

The mining of the working face has a pronounced influence on the floor roadway, resulting in the intensification of deformation of the surrounding rock of the roadway and posing a threat to production safety. To clarify the failure mechanism of the surrounding rock of the dynamic pressure roadway and to understand the development pattern of the plastic zone shape, in this paper, by integrating the stress distribution law of the floor during the mining process of the working face, a mechanical model of the surrounding rock of the floor dynamic pressure roadway is established. An analytical solution for the plastic zone shape of the surrounding rock of the dynamic pressure roadway is proposed and verified through a comparison between analytical calculations and numerical simulation (using FLAC^3D 7.0 software). The results indicate the following: (1) when the horizontal distance between the working face and the roadway exceeds 35 m, no obvious changes are observed in the development pattern of the plastic zone of the surrounding rock of the roadway; (2) when the horizontal distance is less than 35 m, the rate of change in the maximum value of f increases from 0.02 MPa/m to 0.205 MPa/m as the vertical distance decreases, and the β value increases from 0.09°/m to 0.79°/m. The maximum development depth increases, the butterfly leaf of the plastic zone deflects towards the working face direction, and the shape gradually transforms from a “circular” shape to a “butterfly” shape. (3) The morphological characteristics of the plastic zone obtained by the analytical algorithm are highly consistent with those obtained by the numerical simulation method, suggesting that the analytical algorithm possesses certain validity. (4) There exist certain errors between the analytical method and the numerical simulation results, and they increase with the increase in the vertical distance (the error range is 19.4%~54.9%), but they can be disregarded within the requirements of engineering accuracy. Full article

Accurately predicting the failure depth of coal seam floors is crucial for preventing water damage, ensuring the safe and efficient mining of coal seams, and protecting the ecological environment of mining areas. In order to improve the prediction accuracy of the coal seam floor failure depth, an improved support vector regression (SVR) model is proposed to predict the floor failure depth by taking the 3234 working face in Xutuan Mine as an example. This improved model incorporates principal component analysis (PCA) and slime mould algorithm (SMA) optimization techniques. First, based on the measured data of seam floor failure depth in several mining areas, a prediction index system of floor failure depth was constructed. Subsequently, the PCA method was used to reduce the dimension of the measured data of the coal seam floor failure depth, and the input structure of the SVR model was optimized. Then, the SMA was used to optimize the key parameters, namely the penalty factor (C) and kernel function parameter (g), in the SVR model, achieving automatic parameter selection and obtaining the optimal parameter combination. This process led to the establishment of a coal seam floor failure depth prediction model based on PCA-SMA-SVR. The predictive performance of the PCA-SMA-SVR model, SMA-SVR model, and SVR model was quantitatively evaluated and compared using four quantitative indicators, and the results showed that the PCA-SMA-SVR model had the smallest MAE, RMSE, MRE, and TIC values, which were 1.0470 m, 1.2928 m, 0.0628, and 0.0374, respectively. Finally, the PCA-SMA-SVR model was used to predict that the floor failure depth of the 3234 working face in Xutun Mine was 17.09 m, and the predicted result was compared and analyzed with the results of four commonly used empirical formulas (16.03–21.74 m). The results show that the model is close to the results of four commonly used empirical formulas, indicating that the model has high predictive performance and good practicality. This study is of great significance for the safety, green mining, and ecological environment protection of coal mines. Full article

Understanding and predicting floor failure depth is crucial for both mitigating mine water inrush hazards and safeguarding groundwater resources. Mining activities can significantly disturb the geological strata, leading to shifts and damage that may result in floor cracks. These disruptions can extend to confined aquifers, thereby increasing the risk of water inrushes. Such events not only pose a threat to the safety of mining operations but also jeopardize the sustainability of surrounding groundwater systems. Therefore, accurately predicting floor failure depth to take effective coal seam floor management measures is the key to reducing the impact of coal seam mining on water resources. Seventy-eight sets of data on coal seam floor failure depth in China were collected, and the main controlling factors were considered: mining depth (D1), working face inclination length (D2), coal seam inclination (D3), and mining thickness (D4). Firstly, the distance evaluation function based on Euclidean distance was constructed as the clustering effectiveness index, and the optimal cluster number K = 3 was determined. The collected data were clustered into three categories using the K-means clustering algorithm. It was found that the clustering results were positively correlated with the size of D1, indicating that D1 played a dominant role in the clustering. The D1 dividing points of the three types of samples were between 407.7~414.9 m and 750~900 m. On this basis, the grey correlation analysis method was used to analyze the order of the influence weights of the main controlling factors of coal seam floor failure depth. For the first group, the order was D2 > D1 > D3 > D4, while, in the other two, it was D1 > D2 > D3 > D4. D1 emerged as the most influential factor, surpassing D2. Therefore, D1 between 407.7 and 414.9 m could be used as the boundary, the first group could be classified as shallow mining, and the second and third groups could be classified as deep mining. Based on this boundary, CatBoost prediction models for the depth of coal seam floor failure in deep and shallow parts were constructed and the prediction results of the model test set were compared with the calculation results of the empirical formula. These models exhibited superior accuracy with a lower mean squared error (MSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) and a higher R-squared (R²) compared to the empirical formula. This study helps to enhance the understanding of coal seam floor behavior, guide floor management, and protect groundwater resources by defining deep and shallow mining to accurately predict floor failure depth. Full article

Edge-assisted IoT technologies combined with conventional industrial processes help evolve diverse applications under the Industrial IoT (IIoT) and Industry 4.0 era by bringing cloud computing technologies near the hardware. The resulting innovations offer intelligent management of the industrial ecosystems, focusing on increasing productivity and reducing running costs by processing massive data locally. In this research, we design, develop, and implement an IIoT and edge-based system to monitor the energy consumption of a factory floor’s stationary and mobile assets using wireless and wired energy meters. Once the edge receives the meter’s data, it stores the information in the database server, followed by the data processing method to find nine additional analytical parameters. The edge also provides a master user interface (UI) for comparative analysis and individual UI for in-depth energy usage insights, followed by activity and inactivity alarms and daily reporting features via email. Moreover, the edge uses a data-filtering technique to send a single wireless meter’s data to the cloud for remote energy and alarm monitoring per project scope. Based on the evaluation, the edge server efficiently processes the data with an average CPU utilization of up to 5.58% while avoiding measurement errors due to random power failures throughout the day. Full article

The collapse of thick-hard roofs after coal has been extracted is not a consequential process in all cases. Rather, it happens due to the augmentation of high stress conducted at depth, followed by a wider range of damage as the floor cracks. The extent and spread of the cracks in the floor indicate the intensity of the collapse, and the mine will be submerged by the high-pressure water of the coal ash. Therefore, it is particularly important to study the mechanism of the combined effect of high stress on the roof and confined aquifer on the deformation and failure of the coal seam mining floor. This study analyzes and compares the impact of thick-hard magmatic rocks on the destruction of thin floor rock layers in coal seams. Plastic theory calculations are used to determine the plastic zone yield length of floor destruction under hard roof conditions, and the location and height of the maximum floor destruction depth are solved. An empirical formula and BP neural network are used to establish a prediction model for floor destruction. The results of the model’s prediction of the depth of floor failure were compared with the measured values, with an absolute error of 2.13 m and a residual of 10.3%, which was closer to the true values. The accuracy of the theoretical model and prediction model is verified using numerical simulation and on-site in situ measurements. Based on this, the deformation and destruction forms of the floor under pressure and the water inrush mechanism are summarized for mining under the condition of a thick-hard roof. Thus, the floor is subjected to high vertical stress, accompanied by significant disturbances generated during coal seam mining, resulting in intense working face pressures. The floor near the working face coal wall will experience severe compression and shear deformation and slide towards the goaf. The floor in the goaf is relieved of high vertical stress, and horizontal stress compression will result in shear failure, leading to floor heave and further increasing the height of the floor destruction zone. After the mining of the working face, the goaf will undergo two stages of re-supporting and post-mining compaction. During the re-supporting stage, the floor rock undergoes a transition from high-stress to low-stress conditions, and the instantaneous stress relief will cause plastic deformation and failure in the coal seam floor. The combined action of primary floor fractures and secondary fractures formed during mining can easily create effective water channels. These can connect to the aquifer or water-conducting structures, making them highly dangerous. The main modes of floor water inrush under the condition of a thick-hard roof are as follows: the high-stress mode, inducing a floor destruction zone connected to the water riser zone; the mining damage mode, connecting to water-conducting faults; the mining damage mode, connecting to water collapse columns; and the coupled water inrush mode, between the mining damage zone and the highly pressurized water floor. Full article

The values of primary stresses are not allowed for as a criterion in the selection of roof bolting systems in mining excavations located at various depths in Polish copper ore mines. Therefore, in order to ensure enduring and safe operation of excavations, in particular, those driven in unfavourable geological and mining conditions, this problem has required solutions based on numerical methods. This article presents an example of applying numerical simulations to the evaluation of the stability of headings in Polish copper ore mines. The analyses included mining excavations located at various depths in the rock mass. This issue is of great importance, as safety regulations are prioritised in mining excavations which remain in operation even for several decades. The stability of the headings was evaluated with the use of the RS2 specialist numerical simulation software. This computer program uses the finite element method (FEM) for calculations. The rock parameters used in the numerical models have been determined on the basis of the Hoek–Brown classification. For that purpose, the RocLab 1.0 software was used. The parameters of the stress field were identified from the profile of the GG-1 shaft with the assumed hydrostatic state of stress. The numerical modelling was performed in a triaxial stress state and in a plane strain state. The numerical analyses were based on the Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion. The rock medium was described with the elastic-plastic model with softening (roof and walls) and with the elastic-plastic model (floor). The results of the numerical analyses served to provide an example of the application of a roof bolting system to protect headings located at the depths of 1000 m b.g.l. and 1300 m b.g.l. Full article

In the field test, we found that the failure depth of the goaf floor strata tends to be further because the periodic breaking and caving of the immediate roof, upper roof, and roof key stratum has dynamic stress disturbance effects on the floor. To further analyze its formation mechanism, this paper studies the damage evolution and fracture mechanism of goaf floor rock under the coupled static-dynamic loading disturbance caused by roof caving, based on the stress distribution state, the damage evolution equation of coal measure rock, the damage constitutive model, and the fracture criterion of floor rock. The main conclusions are listed as follows: 1. Based on the mining floor stress distribution, the floor beam model establishes the response mechanism of floor rock stress distribution. Also, the equation of stress distribution at any position in floor strata under mining dynamic load is given. 2. Combining the advantages of Bingham and the Generalized-Boydin model, the B-G damage constitutive model is established, which can describe the constitutive characteristics of coal measure rock under the coupled static-dynamic loading disturbance well. Furthermore, the variation law of parameters changing with strain rate is analyzed. 3. According to the twin-shear unified strength yield theory and the B-G damage constitutive model, coal measure rock’s twin-shear unified strength damage fracture criterion is established. Finally, the stress distribution expression of floor strata under concentrated and uniform dynamic loads is introduced, and the fracture criterion of goaf floor strata under a coupled static-dynamic loading disturbance is proposed. Full article

Rocking walls can control the overall deformation pattern and the distribution of plastic energy dissipation in structures, suppressing the occurrence of weak layers. In the case of step-terrace frame structures, issues such as severe lateral stiffness irregularities, abrupt changes in floor-bearing capacity, and concentrated deformation in upper ground layers exist. To improve the yielding and failure modes of step-terrace frame structures in mountainous regions, this paper proposes a structural system combining step-terrace frame structures with energy dissipation rocking walls attached to their bottoms, aiming to control the yielding mechanism of the structure, further reduce the seismic response, limit residual deformation, and propose a structural system of step-terrace frame structures with buckling-restrained braces (BRBs) and energy dissipation rocking walls. Two sets of numerical models for step-terrace frame structures with different numbers of dropped layers and spans were established. Through simulating low-cycle repeated loading tests on step-terrace frame structures, the rationality of the models and parameters was verified. Incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) was employed to systematically investigate the vulnerability of step-terrace frame structures with energy dissipation rocking walls under different dropped layer and span configurations. This investigation covered aspects such as IDA curve clusters, percentile curves, seismic demand models, fragility functions, failure state probabilities, vulnerability indices, collapse resistance factors, and safety margins. The results indicated that the change in dropped layer numbers had a far greater impact on the vulnerability of step-terrace frame structures with energy dissipation rocking walls than the change in dropped span numbers. Under seismic excitations with the same peak ground acceleration (PGA), rocking walls can limit the depth of structural plasticity development, reduce the dispersion of peak responses, and lower the probability of exceeding various performance levels, thereby exhibiting good collapse resistance. The addition of buckling-restrained braces (BRBs) can further enhance the seismic performance and collapse resistance of the rocking wall frame structure. By analyzing the correlation between seismic intensity measures and peak structural responses, the validity of using peak ground acceleration as a scaling indicator for incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) has been verified. Full article