• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.472-482
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• 2023

The grid-type or room-and-pillar method is applied for the purpose of mining horizontally buried minerals. In this study, design and pilot test were performed to apply the room-and-pillar method which uses natural rock as a rock pillar to the construction of underground space. The area where the pilot test was conducted was in stone mine and had good rock conditions with an appropriate depth (about 30 m) to apply the pilot test. The pilot test site was selected by reviewing accessibility and ground conditions and then site construction was performed through detailed ground investigation and design. The pilot test was designed with a column shape of 8×8 m and a cross-section of 8×12 m. The blasting pattern was determined through test blasting at the site, and blasting of 3 m excavation with 89 holes was performed. Through field observations, the average width of 12.5 m and the average height of 8.3 m were measured. Therefore, it is possible to proceed similar to the cross-sectional shape considered in the design.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.95-107
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• 2023

In this study, the effect of repeated traffic vibration on the long-term stability of mine openings is analyzed for re-utilization of abandoned mine galleries. The research mine in this study is an underground limestone mine which is developed by room-and-pillar mining method, and a dynamic numerical analysis is performed assuming that the research mine will be utilized as a logistics warehouse. The actual traffic vibration generated by the mining vehicles is measured directly, and its waveform is used as input data for dynamic numerical analysis, As a results of dynamic numerical analysis, after 20,000 repetitions of traffic vibration, the mine openings is analyzed to be stable, but an increase in the maximum principal stress and an additional area of plastic zone are observed in the analysis section. As shown in the changes of displacement, volumetric strain, and maximum principal stress which are measured at the mine opening walls. It is confirmed that if the repeated traffic vibration is continuously applied, the instability of the mine openings can be increased. Authors expect that the results of this study can be used as a reference for basic study on utilization of abandoned mine.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.463-472
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• 2009

Many old domestic mines were excavated with the room and pillar method or the sublevel caving method and they involve the great possibility of surface subsidence, especially in the shallow depth mines. In most of these cases, the mine roadways and openings are very irregular in shape and the information about the local geology is uncertain. Consequently it is not simple to standardize the estimation method for the possibility of subsidence, especially the sinkhole subsidence. In this study, the fuzzy reasoning method has been applied for development of estimating the possibility of subsidence occurrence in abandoned mine area. This method has the advantage in producing the reliable estimation results with a simple performance procedure even when the precise information on the local geology and mining conditions is rare. For the verification of applicability of this method, the developed method has been applied to Kumho mine in Bonghwa, Kyungbook province and the Choong-ju mine in Iryu, Choongbook province where the surface subsidence occurred already.

• Explosives and Blasting
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.12-19
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• 2018

When an underground limestone mine selects room-and-pillar mining method, in which the stability of mine openings is maintained by leaving safety pillars, the stability of safety pillars is always incompatible with their productivity. Therefore, the engineering decision for stability and productivity is essential. In this study, a progress of excavation faces by conventional blasting pattern has been examined in field for investigating over-break and stereo-photogrammetry method has been applied to this field measurement for improvement of accuracy. Also this result has been reflected instantly to composite blasting pattern by feedback, for minimizing overbreak. Field tests showed the relevant results that $3.5m^2$ in over-break out of $70m^2$ in total excavation face has been decreased, that is 5% of reduction rate in maximum.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.194-202
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• 2022

An increased number of cases have occurred in applying ICT technology in the resource development field due to factors such as safety, eco-friendliness, and low cost since the 2000s. In Korea, the 2nd mining master plan specified the significance of converging the full cycle of mining and ICT, while the 3rd mining master plan highlighted ICT and smart mining such as supporting the supply of an ICT mining device and introducing demonstrational smart mining. This study introduces the application of an ICT device and safety system operation in the Jangseong underground mine of Korea Cement Co., Ltd. Currently, Jangseong mine combines two different kinds of 3D equipment including the handheld 3D scanner and multi-station that provides both the measurement and 3D scanning to perform a 3D measurement of the mine. Taken from the 3D measurement of the mine, it is now possible to identify any hazardous areas and abnormalities in different directions and analyze the safety of the crown pillar between two stopes in different level. Besides, the real-time location tracking and communications system have established highly efficient rescue and evacuation plans to effectively deal with any accidents in the mine.

• Explosives and Blasting
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.1-9
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• 2019

In this study the applicability of a Digital Image Correlation (DIC) method was investigated by measuring the displacement and vibration of rock pillar due to underground mining blasting. When combined with a high speed photography technology, the DIC method provides an excellent photographic image processing ability that can be used to convert the evolving full-field surface properties of structures to 2D or 3D set of coordinate values. The measured coordinate sets are then used to calculate the displacement, strain, and velocity of the target structure. This technique is widely used in science and engineering, and continuously finds its new application areas. In this study, the DIC system and the conventional seismograph were compared for their ability to measure the displacement and vibration produced by blasting. In the field test both methods showed similar results. Thus, it is concluded that the DIC method is feasible to measure the ground displacements and vibrations from blasting.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.377-390
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• 2022

The stability of the roof rock-coal pillar-floor rock composite structure is of great significance to coal mine safety production. The cracks existing in the composite structure seriously affect the stability of the roof rock-coal pillar-floor rock composite structure. The numerical simulation tests of rock-coal-rock composite structures with different crack characteristics were carried out to reveal the composite structures' mechanical properties and failure mechanisms. The test results show that the rock-coal-rock composite structure's peak stress and elastic modulus are directly proportional to the crack angle and inversely proportional to the crack length. The smaller the crack angle, the more branch cracks produced near the main control crack in the rock-coal-rock composite structure, and the larger the angle between the main control crack and the crack. The smaller the crack length, the larger the width of the crack zone. The impact energy index of the rock-coal-rock composite structure decreases first and then increases with the increase of crack length and increases with the increase of crack angle. The functional relationships between the different crack characteristics, peak stress, and impact energy index are determined based on the sensitivity analysis. The determination of the functional relationship can fully grasp the influence of the crack angle and the crack length on the peak stress and impact energy index of the coal-rock composite structure. The research results can provide a theoretical basis and guidance for preventing the instability and failure of the coal pillar-roof composite structure.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.23-33
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• 2020

An advancing cutting roof for gob-side entry retaining with no-pillar mining under specific geological conditions is more conducive to the safe and efficient production in a coalmine. This method is being promoted for use in a large number of coalmines because it has many advantages compared to the retaining method with an artificial filling wall as the gateway side filling body. In order to observe the inner structure of the gateway cutting roof and understand its stability mechanism, an equivalent material simulation experiment for a coalmine with complex geological conditions was carried out in this study. The results show that a "self-stabilization bearing structure" equilibrium model was found after the cutting roof caving when the cut line deviation angle was unequal to zero and the cut height was greater than the mining height, and the caving roof rock was hard without damage. The model showed that its stability was mainly controlled by two key blocks. Furthermore, in order to determine the optimal parameters of the cut height and the cut line deviation angle for the cutting roof of the retaining gateway, an in-depth analysis with theoretical mechanics and mine rock mechanics of the model was performed, and the relationship between the roof balance control force and the cut height and cut line deviation angle was solved. It was found that the selection of the values of the cut height and the cut line deviation angle had to conform to a certain principle that it should not only utilize the support force provided by the coal wall and the contact surface of the two key blocks but also prevent the failure of the coal wall and the contact surface.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.464-472
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• 2014

In large-opening room-and-pillar mining sites, particularly without the devices for the ventilation control, the airflow pattern created by the local fan operation is too complicated to quantify and also shows low ventilation efficiency. This study aims at performing a series of CFD analysis for the so-called venturi effects of the local fans; the effects of increasing airflow rate along the axis downstream of fan resulting from increased kinetic energy and subsequently decreased static pressure in the downstream. Effects of the fan type and installation height are compared. 1 vane-axial fan and 2 propeller fans are analyzed for their venturi effects, while the vane-axial fan was installed at the height of 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0m for comparison. The results can be applied to improve the economy and efficiency of local fans for securing better air quality and work environment management.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.161-171
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• 2017

Demand for high-grade limestone is increasing, but the production in the domestic mines has been limited due to the lack of systematic development plans and efforts to develop mining technology to improve the recovery ratio, transition to high-cost underground mining due to increasing social awareness of environmental protection, and the smallness of the domestic mining industry, etc. In this study in connection with this issue, an analysis on the recovery change by improvement of mining method was executed. 3D modeling technique was used to construct a 3D model. 3D model includes the geological structure, the limestone ore body and the underground pits and tunnels excavated at the Daepyeong District of Daesung MDI Donghae District. By using the 3D model, measured resources, reserves and ore recovery were evaluated from the results of pilot operation of the room and pillar hybrid mining method, which is a variant of room and pillar mining method. These results were compared with those obtained from the conventional mining method. The ore recovery obtained by hybrid mining method was found to be up to 71.6%, showing about 26%p. increase compared with the case of conventional mining method.