• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• 제12권3호
• /
• pp.317-323
• /
• 2021

Background: The surface mining industry has one of the highest fatality rates among private industries in the United States. Despite recent decreases in the fatality rates of comparable industries, the fatality rate in the surface mining industry has increased. Meanwhile, a lack of safety research in surface mining has hindered efforts to improve safety strategies in the surface mining workplace. Method: This study examined quarry workers' hazard identification skills by conducting a case study of a surface mining facility in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Semistructured interviews were conducted with eight quarry workers who were employed at the mine facility. In addition to the interviews, data were collected through field notes, notes from an expert meeting with safety managers, and site photographs to explore quarry workers' safety behaviors in the workplace. Results: The results showed that quarry workers identified hazards and improved their safety performance by translating safety knowledge learned from training into practice, acquiring hands-on work experience, learning from coworkers, and sharing responsibilities among team members. Conclusion: This study contributes to understanding quarry workers' safe performance beyond what they have learned in safety training to include their interaction with other workers and hand-on experience in the workplace. This study informs practitioners in the surface mining industry to build a safe work environment as they design effective safety programs for employees.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• 제56권5호
• /
• pp.1880-1886
• /
• 2024

To elucidate the mechanism of damage caused by hyphae and organic acids produced by Aspergillus Niger on the surface and internal structure of uranium ore, direct uranium leaching, indirect uranium leaching and semidirect uranium leaching were conducted, and the surface morphology, strength, mineral crystallinity, porosity, and permeability of the ore were analyzed. The results demonstrated that the combination of biomechanical forces exerted by hyphae and the complexation effects of organic acids led to the dissolution of SiO₂ and other substances on the surface of ore, resulting in exfoliation from the exterior to the interior, thereby promoting uranium recovery. Furthermore, the proton exchange involving H⁺ and the complexation of organic acids resulted in the dissolution of cations within the ore, causing destruction to the crystal lattice structure of minerals and increasing the porosity and permeability inside the ore. The dominant factor contributing to ore damage during recovery was organic acids.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• 제18권4호
• /
• pp.417-426
• /
• 2019

Gangue filling in the goaf is an effective measure to control the surface subsidence. However, due to the obvious deformation of gangue compression, the filling effect deserves to be further studied. To this end, the deformation of coal gangue filling in the goaf is analyzed by theoretical analysis, large-scale crushed rock compression test, and field investigation. Through the compression test of crushed rock, the deformation behaviour characteristics and energy dissipation characteristics is obtained and analysed. The influencing factors of gangue filling and predicted amount of main deformation are summarized. Besides, the predicted equation and filling subsidence coefficients of gangue are obtained. The gangue filling effect was monitored by the movement observation of surface rock. Gangue filling can support the roof of the goaf, effectively control the surface subsidence with little influence on the ground villages. The premeter and equations of the main deformation in the gangue filling are verified, and the subsidence coefficient is further reduced by adding cemented material or fine sand. This paper provides a practical and theoretical reference for further development of gangue filling.

• 한국암반공학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 한국암반공학회 2004년도 추계학술발표 논문집
• /
• pp.171-180
• /
• 2004

Underground mining causes surface subsidence long after the mining operation had been ceased. Surface subsidence can be in the form of saucer-shaped depression or collapsed chimneys or sinkholes. Sinkhole formations are predominant over shallow-depth room and pillar mines having weak overburden strata. In this study, occurrences of sinkholes due to mining activity are assessed based on local geological conditions and mining parameters using fuzzy reasoning techniques. All input and output parameters are represented with linguistic hedges. Numerous fuzzy rules are developed to relate sinkhole occurrences with input parameters using fuzzy relational matrix. Based on the combined fuzzy rules, possibility of sinkhole occurrences can be ascertained once the geological and mining parameters of any area are known.

• 한국해양공학회지
• /
• 제20권3호
• /
• pp.54-60
• /
• 2006

For optimal design of a deep-sea ocean mining collector system, based on self-propelled mining vehicle, it is imperative to develop and validate the dynamic model of a tracked vehicle traveling on soft deep seabed. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the fidelity of the dynamic simulation model by means of response surface methodology. Various statistical techniques related to response surface methodology, such as outlier analysis, detection of interaction effect, analysis of variance, inference of the significance of design variables, and global sensitivity analysis, are examined. To obtain a plausible response surface model, maximum entropy sampling is adopted. From statistical analysis and prediction for dynamic responses of the tracked vehicle, conclusions will be drawn about the accuracy of the dynamic model and the performance of the response surface model.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• 제29권5호
• /
• pp.509-522
• /
• 2022

Tail-grouting is an effective measure in shield engineering for filling the gap at the shield tail to reduce ground deformation. However, the gap-filling ratio affects the value of the gap parameters, leading to different surface settlements. It is impossible to adjust the fill ratio indiscriminately to study its effect, because the allowable adjustment range of the grouting quantity is limited to ensure construction site safety. In this study, taking the shield tunnel section between Chaoyanggang Station and Shilihe Station of Beijing Metro Line 17 as an example, the correlation between the tail-grouting parameter and the surface settlement is investigated and the optimal grouting quantity is evaluated. This site is suitable for conducting field tests to reduce the tail-grouting quantity of shield tunneling over a large range. In addition, the shield tunneling under different grouting parameters was simulated. Furthermore, we analyzed the evolution law of the surface settlement under different grouting parameters and obtained the difference in the settlement parameters for each construction stage. The results obtained indicate that the characteristics of the grout affect the development of the surface settlement. Therefore, reducing the setting time or increasing the initial strength of the grout could effectively suppress the development of surface subsidence. As the fill ratio decreases, the loose zone of the soil above the tunnel expands, and the soil deformation is easily transmitted to the surface. Meanwhile, owing to insufficient grout support, the lateral pressure on the tunnel segments is significantly reduced, and the segment moves considerably after being removed from the shield tail.

• 터널과지하공간
• /
• 제19권3호
• /
• pp.174-180
• /
• 2009

This paper gives a brief review of seismicity and seismic monitoring in surface mines. A summary of various researches related to seismicity is presented. Our research focuses on the understanding of seismicity and the application of analytical techniques to seismicity. Seismic monitoring plays an important role in the identification of potential failure planes and thereby predict potential failures. Much of the instrumentation used in our research is derived from earthquake monitoring systems. The major aspects in seismic monitoring are an instrumentation used, size of the network and data acquisition systems. Seismic monitoring in surface mines could be successfully applied to the improvement of safety standards in slope stability.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• 제18권2호
• /
• pp.111-119
• /
• 2019

Due to certain geological characteristics (high thickness, rocky properties), some underground coal mines require the use of explosives. This paper explores the effects of fragmentation of different decks detonated simultaneously in a single borehole with the use of numerical analysis. ANSYS/LS-DYNA code was used for the implementation of the models. The models include an erosion criterion to simulate the cracks generated by the explosion. As expected, the near-borehole area was damaged by compression stresses, while far zones and the free surface of the boundary were subjected to tensile damage. With the increase of the number of decks in the borehole, different changes in the fracture pattern were observed, and the superposition effects of the stress wave became evident, affecting the fragmentation results. The superposition effect is more evident in close distances to the borehole, and its effect attenuates when the distance to the borehole increase.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• 제20권6호
• /
• pp.485-495
• /
• 2020

Based on the movement characteristics of overlying strata with gangue backfilling, the compression test of gangue is designed. The deformation characterristics of gangue is obtained based on the different Talbot index. The deformation has a logarithmic growth trend, including sharp deformation stage, linear deformation stage, rheological stage, and the resistance to deformation changes in different stages. The more advantageous Talbot gradation index is obtained to control the surface subsidence. On the basis of similarity simulation test with gangue backfilling, the characteristics of roof failure and the evolution of the supporting force are analyzed. In the early stage of gangue backfilling, beam structure damage directly occurs at the roof, and the layer is separated from the overlying rock. As the working face advances, the crack arch of the basic roof is generated, and the separation layer is closed. Due to the supporting effect of filling gangue, the stress concentration in gangue backfilling stope is relatively mild. Based on the equivalent mining height model of gangue backfilling stope, the relationship between full ratio and mining height is obtained. It is necessary to ensure that the gradation of filling gangue meets the Talbot distribution of n=0.5, and the full ratio meets the protection grade requirements of surface buildings.

• 자원환경지질
• /
• 제41권4호
• /
• pp.453-464
• /
• 2008

이 연구에서는 폐탄광 지역에서 발생하는 지반침하와 지하 채굴적 사이의 상관성을 지질, 지하구조, 탄층의 심도와 두께, 지하갱도의 분포 측면에서 분석하고자 하였다. 연구대상 지역은 강원도 삼척시 삼척탄전에 속하며, 채굴적 특성을 고려하지 않은 기존의 연구에서 수치지질도, 수치갱내도, 현장조사보고서 자료와 GIS의 공간분석기법을 적용하여 지반침하 취약성이 높게 분석된 지역에 해당된다. 연구지역에 대한 수치지질도 및 지반안정성 조사 보고서를 기반으로 연구지역내에서 지반침하가 관측된 지역의 분포, 지표 및 지하의 지질구조와 탄층의 분포현황을 분석하였고, 수치갱내도 자료를 이용하여 지하 갱도의 심도 및 중첩분포 현황을 분석하였다. 연구결과, 지표의 암석 강도 저하, 얕은 심도와 두꺼운 층후의 함탄층 존재가 지반침하 발생과 밀접한 관련이 있는 것으로 분석되었다. 또한, 다수의 중첩된 갱도의 분포 및 얕은 심도의 지하 갱도 존재, 단층의 존재 역시 지반침하발생에 영향을 주는 주요인으로 확인되었다. 지반침하 위험지역을 정량적으로 예측함에 있어, 연구결과로 나타난 지반침하 관련 요인을 추가로 데이터베이스화하여 폐탄광 지역별로 적합한 지반침하예측 모델을 구축한다면 폐탄광 지역의 지반침하위험 예측 및 예방에 매우 효과적일 것으로 판단된다.