Abstract
Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) have been used in many underground coal mines in China in recent years. The TBM is unfavorable to advance in complex geological conditions, especially in fractured zones. When the TBM advanced in the region, the surrounding rock mass damaged frequently and collapsed severely, which brought risks for the workers and reduced the advancing rate. Therefore, it is essential to precisely predict the location of fractured zones, and appropriate measures will be accordingly implemented to reduce the risks. In this research, the Measurement While Drilling (MWD) method based on rock drillability index was proposed to precisely detect the fractured zones. The Id was validated by laboratory and in situ tests. The results show that the Id is relative to rock strengths and sensitive to fractures. Base on the validation, we performed an MWD test in a deep coal mine roadway excavated via TBM to predict fractured zones affected by faults. The prediction shows a good consistency with actual geological conditions. It means that the MWD method based on rock drillability index can well detect the geological conditions during the TBM excavation.
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Data availability
The dates used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon request.
Abbreviations
- I d :
-
Rock drillability index
- D :
-
Diameter of the borehole
- F p :
-
Pushing force of drilling bit
- M :
-
Torque of drilling bit
- v :
-
Penetration velocity
- ω :
-
Angular velocity of drilling bit
- N :
-
Rotation speed of drilling bit
- A :
-
Area of hydraulic cylinder
- P 1 :
-
Pushing pressure of hydraulic cylinder
- P 2 :
-
Import pressure of the hydraulic motor
- P 0 :
-
Pressure of the hydraulic motor when the drilling bit is rotating, but not cutting rock
- MWD :
-
Measurement While Drilling
- UCS:
-
Uniaxial compressive strength
- MWDTS:
-
Measurement While Drilling test system
- PDC:
-
Polycrystalline diamond cutter
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This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 52074260).
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Xinran Xue: methodology, conceptualization, validation, investigation, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing. Kai Zhang: methodology, conceptualization, writing—review and editing, supervision, funding acquisition. Fangyuan Xiao: methodology, investigation, writing—review and editing. Bailong Ma: writing—review and editing. Tao Jiang: writing—review and editing.
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Xue, X., Zhang, K., Xiao, F. et al. Prediction of fractured zones in deep roadway of coal mine excavated via TBM based on Measurement While Drilling method. Bull Eng Geol Environ 82, 330 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-023-03360-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-023-03360-8