Underground

Advanced Fracture Propagation Testing of Coal Measure Rocks under Dynamic Loading to Replicate Coal Burst Scenario

This project is aimed to address critical challenges regarding enhancing the health and safety standards in underground coal mining operation, with a particular focus on understanding of burst occurrence mechanism. The outcomes of previous ACARP projects have notably contributed to advancing ....  read more

Advances in Acoustic Logs to Predict the Stress Redistribution in Coal Strata as a Result of Degassing/Dewatering

The aim of this project is to study the effect of fluid withdrawal on stress distribution in coal. Recent advances in acoustic log analysis and analytical models as well as field and laboratory data are used to evaluate the stress redistribution caused by fluid drainage from a borehole.

Application of United States Coal Burst Practical Experience/Research for Identification of Elevated Risk Domains in Australian Operations

Since 1995, under the support of US mining companies, the Bureau of Land Management, NIOSH and the School Institute for Trust Land Administration, significant effort has been dedicated to advance the understanding of violent failure mechanisms by identifying significant contributing factors. ....  read more

Assessment of Damage and Risk from Seismic Events in Coal Mines

Seismic monitoring is typically undertaken when a mine is experiencing dynamic failure events such as coal or rock bursts, caving anomalies or rock failure associated with structural features which is causing uncertainty and difficulty during mining. The aim of the monitoring is to understand ....  read more

Coal Burst Monitoring Technology using Microseismicity – Microseismic Data Capturing and Documentation

Coal burst is a violent collapse of the coal wall or roof in development, roadways and at the longwall face in underground coal mines. Because it occurs suddenly, with no or very little warning, coal burst is particularly dangerous to nearby mine personnel, mining equipment and infrastructure. ....  read more

Coal Micro-Fabric as a Trigger for Coal Bursts

This project was undertaken in two stages:

• Stage 1 consisted of optical assessment of porosity, with a focus on the assessment microfractures using newly available and cost accessible CT scanning to render a full 3D volume of the samples for a better evaluation of microfracture

Energy, Burst Mechanics Required for Coal Bursts and Energy Release Mechanisms

Given the increasing incidence of coal bursts in Australian mines, it is necessary to develop mechanistically sound methods for assessing the risk they pose to personnel and equipment underground and methods of minimisation of their likelihood and the severity of any that occur.

Forecasting coal burst risks near various types of faults, folds and dykes

Stress state and geotechnical conditions often change significantly near major geological structures (e.g. faults, shear zones, dykes), which is the cause of most major mine instabilities and/or safety hazards including coal burst, roof falls, water inrush, gas outburst. A previous project ....  read more

Ground Support Requirements in Coal Burst Prone Mines

As Australian coal mines progress deeper, the likelihood of coal burst increases in some areas; the current ground support system alone maybe inadequate for coal burst control in these limited areas. This project aims to assess the role and effects of a wide range of ground support elements ....  read more

Innovative Coal Burst System to Investigate the Influence of Confinement Loss and Pre-conditioning on Coal Burst Mechanism

The challenges associated with designing and operating a safe and profitable mine increase as near surface deposits are depleted and the pursuit of mineral resources is pushed deeper underground. Mining induced coal bursts pose great threats to mine safety and production. Coal bursts may ....  read more

In-situ Stress Measurement Using Non-Destructive Techniques (NDTs)

Rock in depth is subjected to stresses due to overlaying burden and tectonic activities. When a mining activity is undertaken, the stress fields are disrupted, resulting in induced stresses around the openings. In deep underground mines, when these induced stresses exceed rock strength, ....  read more

Investigation of data processing strategy for distributed optic fiber sensing and development of methods for real-time data processing

CSIRO successfully demonstrated that distributed optic fiber sensing (DOFS) technology can become a reliable and efficient tool for microseismic monitoring in longwall coal mining and have identified that a big challenge for DOFS application in coal mining is data handling. DOFS can record ....  read more

Management of Coal Burst and Pillar Burst in Deep Mines Stages 1 and 2

The first stage of this project reported the findings of experimental and numerical modelling approaches to investigate the burst tendency of coal. With the help of experimental and theoretical approaches, a new burst index for coal bursts was proposed. The numerical framework was applied to ....  read more

Mechanics of Gas Related Coal Bursts in Mining

Rock and coal fracturing is common about roadways, particularly under the influence of elevated stresses, either tectonic or related to mining abutment stress. Shear fracture is very common, however, it is very uncommon that the coal is propelled from the face or ribs as a result of fracture ....  read more

Modelling Of Dynamic Fracture Mechanisms For Improved Strata Control Design and Coal Burst Assessment

The success of mining operations is heavily dependent upon controlling the fractured ground especially in coal mines where complex sedimentary strata exist. In nature, mechanisms of rock fracture are a dynamic phenomenon that up to now has not been fully understood nor computationally modelled ....  read more

Monitoring Stability of Roadway and the Longwall Face for Coal Burst Risk Management Using Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing Techniques

In this project, the feasibility of using distributed optic fiber sensing (DOFS) technique was investigated for microseismic monitoring in coal mining. The investigation involved in theory study, laboratory tests and a mine site experiment.

Results from the laboratory experiments have ....  read more

New Outburst Risk Determination Measures Along With Data Gathering and Analysis for Coal Burst Assessment

Bursts are events that expel material at velocity at the time of ejection. This is usually coal but is sometimes rock. Unlike falls where the velocity is gained through gravitational acceleration, the sources of energy that drive the material outwards are either strain energy of the rock or ....  read more

Predict Stress State and Geotechnical Conditions Near Major Geological Structures Using Microseismic Technology and Distinct Element Modelling

Stress state and geotechnical conditions often change significantly near major geological structures which is the cause of most major mine instabilities and/or safety hazards including coal burst, roof falls, water inrush, gas outburst etc. This project aimed to develop an integrated method of ....  read more

Review of Australian and International Coal Burst Experience and Control Technologies

Coal burst events are rare in the Australian coal industry. However, their occurrence appears to be increasing in some limited  deeper mines. Understanding such phenomena in the Australian industry is primarily qualitative and has previously been based on overseas experience. Although ....  read more

The Young’s Moduli, Poisson’s Ratios and Poroelastic Coefficients of Coals

This report describes the measurement of coal (and rock) properties using core in laboratory tests where the axial and radial (confining) stresses and the fluid pressures are varied. The results derived from this work show quite different material behaviour to those generally considered to ....  read more

True Triaxial Strength of Coal Measure Rocks and its Impact on Roadway Stability and Coal Burst Assessment

Rocks in the ground are subject to a range of stresses. The stresses are defined on the basis of the three principle stresses (σ1,2,3) and shear stresses (τ).  In coal mines the rock and coal are subject to fracture (failure) on a regular basis during development driveage and ....  read more