Estimating the Strength of Pillars with Karst Voids in a Room-and-Pillar Limestone Mine [Abstract]

Details

• Personal Author:
  Baggett JG ; Bishop R ; Monsalve JJ ; Ripepi N ; Soni A
• Description:
  Underground stone mines are vulnerable to karst void formations due to the erosion of carbonate rocks by groundwater flow. The voids or cavities may lead to hazards including ground collapse and sudden outflow of clay-rock sediments during the development of the mine. This study evaluates the effect of karst voids on the strength of pillars in an underground room-and-pillar limestone mine. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys were interpreted to map the void boundaries inside a karst-affected pillar. A combination of LiDAR scanning and virtual discontinuity mapping is used to formulate the discrete fracture network (DFN). Discrete element modeling (DEM) helps simulate the effect of karsts and discontinuities in the pillar models with varying stress. It is observed that the cavities may lead to a significant reduction in pillar strength. Apart from posing a hazard to miners and machinery, any advance into these cavities may disrupt mine operations. This research serves as an initial step toward understanding the importance of pillar design in underground stone mines affected by karst voids to prevent local instability or pillar failures. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Mining Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  3DEC Author Keywords: Pillar Strength DEM DFN GPR Ground Control Karst Limestone Mines Mining Industry Pillar Design Pillar Mechanics Room And Pillar Mining Underground Mining

  More +
• ISSN:
  0026-5187
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Contract
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 8 ; Utah ; Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  45-47
• Volume:
  74
• Issue:
  9
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20066046
• Citation:
  Min Eng 2022 Sep; 74(9):45-47
• Email:
  amansoni@vt.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Limestone (CAS RN 1317-65-3)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• Performing Organization:
  Virginia Polytechnic Institute
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20160901
• Source Full Name:
  Mining Engineering
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:068c687043a57fde979b0c3f81c1221ed7eaa3e75e6495fa130e2f4e6efe477d0409122505758459df70624043d31e4acfe2515a754187e317382b2e72851196
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/209129/cdc_209129_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 767.95 KB ]