Mine Seal Design Using Foamed Grout and Numerical Modeling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mine seals currently face challenges in meeting regulatory requirements for withstanding overpressure and ensuring safety, as they often fail to adequately separate mine areas due to insufficient thickness and material strength, particularly in dynamic blast conditions.
Innovation Solution
A method for designing and fabricating mine seals involves determining initial thickness based on blast pressure and simulating material response using numerical models, incorporating foamed cementitious grout and structural reinforcement to meet predetermined design criteria, including safety factors and shear strength, and constructing the seals with specific forms and props to ensure durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional mine seals constructed of wood, concrete blocks, or cementitious materials are used, then the seals can be installed to separate mine areas, but they fail to adequately withstand blast overpressure and ensure safety due to insufficient thickness and material strength
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite materials by combining cementitious grout with wire mesh and brattice cloth reinforcements. This composite structure provides both the bulk material strength from the grout and the tensile reinforcement from the mesh and cloth layers, enabling the seal to withstand blast overpressure while maintaining safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the thickness parameter of the mine seal to meet minimum thickness requirements (e.g., 50% of the short span of the underground opening). By adjusting this critical dimension parameter, the seal's structural integrity and ability to resist blast pressures are significantly improved.
2Manufacturing precision
If numerical modeling and simulation are used to determine optimal seal thickness and design criteria, then the seal design precision is improved, but the design complexity and time required increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by conducting numerical modeling and simulation studies before actual seal construction. This preliminary design phase establishes optimal thickness and structural parameters, allowing for precise manufacturing while reducing trial-and-error in the field.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses numerical models as virtual copies of the actual mine seal structure. These computational models replicate the physical seal's behavior under blast loads, enabling designers to test and optimize designs virtually before physical construction, thereby improving precision without proportionally increasing overall complexity.
3Ease of manufacture
If foamed and pumpable cementitious grout is used to fill the space between forms, then the ease of manufacture is improved, but the material strength and density may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs pneumatic principles by using foamed cementitious grout that can be pumped through hoses to the installation location. The foam structure allows the material to flow easily into forms and adapt to complex geometries, significantly improving ease of manufacture and installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent compensates for the reduced density and potential strength of foamed grout by combining it with wire mesh and brattice cloth reinforcements. This composite approach maintains the ease of pumping and installation while ensuring adequate structural strength through the reinforcement elements.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method ensures mine seals can withstand blast overpressure, preventing tensile failure and ensuring a minimum safety factor, thereby meeting regulatory standards and maintaining separation of mine areas effectively.
Implementation Method 1
The cementitious grout may be a foamed and pumpable cementitious grout
Data Source
AI summary
A method for designing and fabricating a mine seal includes determining an initial thickness for a mine seal based on a predetermined underground opening, developing and solving a numerical model for response of the mine seal upon application of a blasting pressure, and determining whether the mine seal meets predetermined design criteria. A mine seal having a minimum seal thickness may be fabricated after determining the mine seal meets the predetermined design criteria.