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Improving Short- and Long-term Stability of Underground Gypsum Mine Using Partial and Total Backfill

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An Erratum to this article was published on 20 November 2009

Abstract

The stability of underground mines represents a key issue for active and abandoned mines. Over the last few years, several collapses of underground mines in France have affected existing buildings and infrastructures. Many factors are generally identified as the cause of failures: pillar ageing, fractures, and pillars’ height to width ratio, etc. Among the treatment techniques available to prevent instability and reduce the deterioration of pillars, backfill is the most frequently used. A research programme, supported by the French Ministry of the Environment, was developed to study the operability of partial and total backfill using waste material in the Livry-Gargan gypsum mine (near Paris, France), where pillar height is 17 m. The paper focuses on: (1) the characterisation of the gypsum and fill material (laboratory and in situ tests), (2) the in situ measurements, involving 5 pillars equipped with 19 pressure cells, since 1999, (3) and numerical modelling of fractured pillars performed in order to improve understanding of the effects of backfill on the stability of room-and-pillar mines. The study clearly shows the operability and the advantages of partial and total backfill for short-term pillar stability. The induced horizontal pressure generated by backfill can reach 200 kPa. The use of numerical modelling also shows the effect of backfill on fractures and that backfill reduces indicatively the shear displacement and the opening of fractures. Numerical modelling helps in identifying the mechanisms of backfill and in a better understanding of the behaviour of backfilled mines.

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Abbreviations

E f :

Fill Young modulus

E g :

Young modulus of gypsum (pillar young modulus)

K n :

Normal stiffness of joint

K s :

Shear stiffness of joint

U s :

Shear displacement of the interface between backfill and pillar

W :

Pillar width

H :

Pillar height

α, β:

Constants for pillar strength calculation

F :

Safety factor

R c :

Compression strength

R t :

Tensile strength

R p :

Pillar strength

R ce :

Equivalent radius of the chamber

R 0 :

Equivalent radius of the gypsum pillar

S max :

Maximum subsidence

O :

Height of excavated room

t :

Time (days)

γp :

Deviatoric plastic strain

εp :

Total plastic strain

c :

Cohesion of the rock matrix

φ:

Friction angle of the rock matrix and joint

ψ:

Dilatency angle of the rock matrix and joint

ν:

Poisson ratio

ρ:

Mass density

ε:

Strain

σv :

Initial vertical stress

σh1 :

First initial horizontal stress

σh2 :

Second initial horizontal stress

σp :

Pillar stress

σ ah :

Active stress

σ ph :

Passive stress

σs :

Interface shear stress

τ:

Extraction ratio

Δσ xx :

Induced horizontal stress

Δσ yy :

Induced vertical stress

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INERIS, Ecole des Mines de Nancy, Parc de Saurupt, 54042, Nancy Cedex, France

    Mohamed Marwan Al Heib

  2. INERIS, Verneuil-en-Halatte, France

    Christophe Didier

  3. LAEGO, Nancy University, Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France

    Farimeh Masrouri

Authors
  1. Mohamed Marwan Al Heib
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  2. Christophe Didier
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  3. Farimeh Masrouri
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mohamed Marwan Al Heib.

Additional information

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00603-009-0072-y

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Al Heib, M.M., Didier, C. & Masrouri, F. Improving Short- and Long-term Stability of Underground Gypsum Mine Using Partial and Total Backfill. Rock Mech Rock Eng 43, 447–461 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-009-0066-9

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