= .

SOCIETY OF M'INING ENGRNEERS

of AIME
I
99 WEBT 39TH STREET NEW VORK 18, N.Y.
Robert Stef anko
Instructor in Mining Engineering
he Pennsylvania State University
University Park, Pa,
This paper is to be presented at the AnnuaJ Meeting of the
American Institute of' Mining, Metallurgioax, and Petroleum
Engineers, Inc., New York, February 14 to 18, 1960.
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ENGINEERING.
Underground S t r e s s I ns t r ument at i on
by Rober t St ef anko 6 0 ~ 0 5 1
INTRODUCTION
The most pe r pl e xi ng problem t h a t has conf r ont ed
mi ni ng en-gi neers s i n c e t he dawn of mi ni ng ha s been s t r a t a
c ont r ol . For t h e pur pos es of t hi s paper , s t r a t a c a n t r o l
w i l l be de f i ne d a s c o n t r o l of grodnd i n t h e i nmedi at e a r e a
s ur r oundi ng t h e , mine opening. To pr event movement of t he
s ur r oundi ng s t r a t a i n t o underground mine openi ngs, mi ner s
have t r a d i t i o n a l l y r e l i e d upon some t ype of a r t i f i c i a l
s uppor t s pl a c e d wi t h i n t h e openi ngs and l oc a t e d i n a
manner det er mi ned by t r i a l and e r r o r f r o m pr evi ous
exper i ence. Wi t hout t h e means t o measure changes of s t r e s s
i n t he s uppor t s and wi t hi n t he mine s t r u c t u r e i t s e l f , an
e va l ua t i on of t he e f f i c i e n c y of t he s uppor t s and mi ni ng
syst em was i mpos s i bl e. S t r a t a c o n t r o l t hus remai ned an
a r t wi t h ve r y l i t t l e a p p l i c a t i o n of s c i e nc e ,
- .
Duri ng r e c e n t ye a r s a r e vol ut i on ha s occur r ed
i n mining. The modern mining engi neer i s cont ent ed no
l o n g e r - wi t h t r i a l and e r r o r methods but i s u t i l i z i n g a l l
t he' t ; ecfi nol ogfcal i nf or mat i on a t h i s command t o obLain a
s o l u t i o n t o t h i s age-ol d problem. bow eve^, s e r i o u s
problems have a r i s e n due t o t h e l a c k of c e r t a i n b a s i c
knowledge i n t h r e e i mpor t ant ar eas :
1, The o r f g f n a l s t r e s s d i s t r i b u t i o n wi t hi n
t h e e a r t h s t r a t a p r i o r t o mining.
2, Re di s t r i but i on and c onc e nt r a t i on of
t h e o r i g i n a l s t r e s s e s w i t h mi ni ng
a c t i v i t y ,
3.
The p r o p e r t i e s of r ock t h a t a r e s i g n i -
f i c a n t i n f a i l u r e and i t s pr event i on,
Or i gi na l S t r e s s Di s t r i b u t i o n
One of t h e maj or goa l s i n t he s t udy of r ock
mechani cs has been t he det er mi nat i on of t he o r i g i n a l r ock
pr e s s ur e s i n t h e e a r t h s t r a t a . J u s t r e c e n t l y ~ a s t (1)
h a s cl ai med a t echni que wh.ich w i l l produce abs ol ut e val ues
- .
Page 2
- - - .
6 0 ~ 0 5 1
f o r t he s e o r i g i n a l c ondi t f ons , ' HXs m6thod of i n s t r u -
ment at i on i nvol ves t h e 'use of' ' a c e l l *empl oyi ng t h e
p r i n c i p l e of magnet os t r i ct l on,
The c e l l i s p r e s t r e s s e d
i n a hol e d r i l l e d h o r i z o n t a l l y i n t o t h e mine s t r uct ' ur e;
c o- a xi a l w i t h t h e c e l l f i ol e , - a c i r c u l a r channel i s :cut
which pr ovi des s t r a i n r e l i e f i- The d i f f e r e n c e between t he
o r i g i n a l and f i n a l def or mat i on va l ue s of t h e c e l l i s
c ont r i but e d t o t h e o r i g i n a l def or mat i on. A s u i t a b l e
c a l i b r a t i o n cur ve must t he n- be det er mi ned t o o b t a i n t he
s t r e s s , If t h r e e s uch c e l l s - a r e ar r anged i n a r o s e t t e ,
t he p r i n c i p a l s t r e s s e s and t h e i r d i r e c t i o n s a r e obt ai ned.
-
The s t r a i n r e l i e f method i s not new, havi ng
been employed i r i the p a s t by us i ng bonded e l e c t r i c a l
s t r a i n - g a g e s ( 2 , 3 ) , One of t he maj or c r i t i c i s ms of t hi s
t echni que i s t he r e d i s t r i b u t i o n of t h e o r i g i n a l s t r e s s e s
due t o t h e d r i l l hol e i t $ e l f , -When t h e o r i g f n a l e q u i l i -
bri um has been di s t ur be d, t h e cl ai m f o r a bs ol ut e val ues
i s ques t i onabl e, - Ha s t ' s work i n Swedi sh mines i n d i c a t e d
t h a t t h e h o r i z o n t a l c ompone nt ~of ' s t r e s s i s cons i der abl y
g r e a t e r t han t he t h e o r e t i c a l val ue based on superi ncumbent
l oa d and Poi s s on' s r a t i o ; This i s s us pect ed t o be due t o
- -
geol ogi c or s ei s mol ogi c' caus es , Undoubtedly o t h e r
t echni ques wi l l ' b e empl-dyed i n an at t empt t o measure
t hes e o r i g i n a l dondi t i -ons l - Un t i l a - u n i v e r s a l l y accept abl e
method i s found, as s i unpt i ons ~of o r i g i n a l s t r e s s a s a
f unc t i on of superi ncumbent l o a d w i l l cont i nue t o be used.
- -
St r e s s Re d i s t r i b u t i o n
A s t udy of t h e r e d i s t r i b u t i o n of s t r e s s e s due
t o mi ni ng a c t i v i t y i s pr obabl y t he mos t amenable t o
underground i nst r ument a t i o n t echni ques , Thi s phase of
investigation i s coliinianding a g r e a t amount of a t t e n t i o n
(4, 5 , 6 ) . There a r e a l s o many r e f e r e nc e s i n t he
l i t e r a t u r e of l a bor a t or y anal ys es employing .mine models
f o r s t udyi ng t he s t r e s s d i s t r i b u t i o n around -mi ne openi ngs,
Phot oe l a s t i c s t u d i e s showing t h e e f f e c t ; of mine opehi ng
conf i gur at i on on s t r e s s d i s t r i b u t i o n i s f a mi l i a r t o a l l
( 7, 8 ) . The pr e pa r a t i on of models f o r a phot oe l a s t i c
i n v e s t i g a t i o n ge ne r a l l y i s time-consuming and expensi ve,
I n t h e Rock Mechanics Labor' atory a t The Pennsyl vani a S t a t e
Uni ve r s i t y, t h e us e of a r a l d i t e , an epoxy r e s i n , ha s
s i mpl i f i e d some of t h e problems, It i s cheap, e a s i l y c a s t ,
and approaches more c l o s e l y t han any ot he r ma t e r i a l t h e
d e s i r a b l e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of an i d e a l phot oe l a s t i c
ma t e r i a l , I t s s u p e r i o r i t y i n t hr ee- di mens i onal anal ys es
employing t he f r oz e n- s t r e s s t echni que i s redogni zed,
Ge l a t i n i s a l s o used i n lane s t r e s s a na l vs i s as it i s
ext remel y cheap and i s opt i c a l l y ver y s e n s i t i v e ( 9 ) . The
c os t of model pr epar at i on becomes i ns i gni f i c a nt and a
g r e a t number of s t udi e s may be made of - mul t i pl e mine
openi ngs, The us e of g e l a t i n per mi t s model l oadi ng by
body f or c e s ; t hes e f or c e s si mul at e mine l oadi ng by t he
superincumbent wei ght of t he overburden,
Although phot oel as t i c i nve s t i ga t i ons al ong w i t h
ot her l a bor a t or y anal yses a r e dependsnt upon an adherence
t o Hooke' s,Law which def i nes %s pe c i f i c deformat i ons a s
r e ve r s i bl e , i ndependent of t i me, and a* l i n e a r f unct i on of
s t r e s s , t h e i r us e i s not t o ' b e p~e di ude d. pr el i mi nar y
i nve s t i ga t i ons of t hes e t ypes w i l l per mi t a more i n t e l l i -
gent appl i c a t i on of underground i nst r ument s t o provi de
optimum r e s u l t s .
Phys i cal Pr oper t i es of Rock
Si nce r ock. i s t he s t r u c t u r a l ma t e r i a l wi t h which
hek must work, i t behooves t he mining engi neer t o i nve s t i ga t e
more t hor ougl y t he e f f e c t s of t he phys i cal pr ope r t i e s of
r ock' upon f r a c t ur e . Unf or t unat el y, s i nc e r ocks a r e most l y
het erogeneous, ani s ot r opi c, and s ubj ect ed t o a l l t ypes of
. s t r u c t u r a l di s c ont i nui t i e s , t he problem i s admi t t edl y
more .complex i n comparison t o t he det er mi nat i on of comparable
val ues - f or s t r u c t u r a l ma t e r i a l s such as s t e e l , Although
consi der abl e work i s bei ng undert aken a t t he moment i n t fi ds
ar ea, much remai ns t o be done, A t Penn St ake, f a c i l i t i e s '
f o r physi cal - pr oper t y t e s t i n g i n t he Rcmk;.Mechanic.s
Laborat ory have been e s t a b l i ~ h e ~ d i n an at t empt t o c or r e l a t e
t he s i g n i f i c a n t paramet ers i n r ock f a i l u r e .
- - -
Even though a complete phys i cal proper t i e s
eval uat i on &n be conducted on r ock i n t he l abor at or y and
a s t udy made' of r ock f r a c t ur e , underground c or r e l a t i on
I s - e s s e n t i a l , For i ns t ance, i t i s quest i onabl e whet her
a - unl a xi a l l oadi ng t e s t i s e n t i r e l y s i gni f i c a nt , s i nce
underground r ock i s s ubj ect ed t o l a t e r a l r e s t r a i n t which
a f f e c t s i t s - s t r e ngt h pr ope r t i e s tremendously. Thi s
suggest s ' t h a t l abor a t o r s t e s t s shoul d be conduc t ed
u t i i i z l n g a t r i a x i a l l os di ng devi ce per mi t t i ng indepen-
de nt - va r i a t i on of v e r t i c a l and conf i ni ng pr essur es. The
e f f e c t of r e s t r a i n t i s t o i ncr eas e t he compressive
. s t r e ngt h of r ock, Another problem i s t he va r i a t i on of
modulus of e l a s t i c i t y w i t h s t r e s s s i nce ver y few r ocks
have a l i n e a r s t r e s s - s t r a i n r e l a t i ons hi p, Mafsture
va r i a t i ons between t he r ock i n s i t u and t he . l abor at or y
w i l l of t en cause a s i gni f i c a nt change i n physi cal
properties,
Research has indicated that the rate of
loading is an important parameter
~ffecting the def or-
mation rate and, ultimstelly, 'rock fracture (lo),
Fracture at higher deformation rates was much more
violent, similar to those occurring in coal bumps and
rock bursts, This would suggest that a rapid change in
loading greatly promotes those deleterious effects,
Research at Penn State
The enumeration of the foregoing problems is
not to suggest laboratory analyses and theoretical
mathemetical solutions involving strata control are
invalid, The point stressed her6 is that underground
instrumentation has not ,progressed rapidly enough to
prove or disprove somd of our classical concepts in this
area, Actually, through underground instrumentation,
correlations may appear which will enhance laboratory
and theoretical mathematical analyses,
.
References have already been given for several
underground instrumentation techniques which have been
employed in the past to supplement laboratory findings,
The following data result from a research project
sponsored-by the Imperial Coal Corporation at the
Pennsylvania State University, Underground testing took
place-in a thin-seam bituminous coal mine in central
Pennsylvania, -Efforts were directed to finding instru-
mentation Eechniques which would evaluate the mining
method bjT measuring stress red$stributions with mining
activity,
Roof Bolt Instrumentation
. -
It followed, qulte naturally, that initial
efforts-be' directed to measuring the support loads as
mining progressed, Many devices have been employed for
this purpose including hydraulic, mechanical, and.
. electrical strain gages, Since roof bolts and prop-s
were usea systematically in-the mine where the
investigation was conducted, these were instrumented,
Electrical strain gages were applied to 5/8-in,
expansion-type roof bolts.
It was hoped that the
redistribution of the stresses in the mine roof would be
indicated by a variation in the tension of the bolt and
thus provide a simple monitoring device, However,
i n s t e d of t he b o l t s mai nt ai ni ng t h e i r i n i t i a l t e ns i on or
be i ng s ubj e c t e d t o i nc r e a s e d t e ns i on due t o l oa di ng and
bendi ng o f . t h e s t r a t a , a s one mi ght expect , a l l t he b o l t s
l o s t some t e ns i on al most i mmedi at el y, One b o l t - wi t h an
i n i t i a l l y a ppl i e d t e ns i on of 10, 000"l b l a s t 81 p c t of i t s
o r i g i n a l val ue ' wi t hi n a week, Cont i nued t e s t i n g i ndi -
c a t e d t h a t adequat e anchorage coul d not be mai nt ai ned
i n t h i s p a r t i c u l a r s h a l e s t r at um, An X-ray a n a l y s i s of
t h e s h a l e i ndc c a t e d a predominance , of mont mor i l l oni t e
and some s i l i c a , . The compre!ssion, t e ns i on, and s he a r
s t r e n g t h s of *t he s h a l e ere ext r emel y low,
A low l e v e l of coqf' idence i n r oof b o l t i n g had
been t h e hi s t mr yl i n t hi s mine, Evi de nt a l l y e f f i c i e n t
ancJ5orage b. d. r a r e l y been a t t a i n e d , and r oof f a i l u r e s
were common, . AlthougQ r oof b o l t i n g was abandoned i n t h i s
mf ne' l nvi ew of t h e adver s e f i n d i n g s , it i s be l i e ve d t h a t
Xhr ough- s ui t abl e r e s e a r c h b o l t i n g coul d be s uc c e s s f ul l y
a ppl i e d, The i n a b i l i t y t o pr ovi de adequat e ankhorage i n
s of 2" s t r a t a ha s been exper i enced i n mangi: mines. Cl os er
a t t e n t i o n s houl d be f ocus ed upoq t he s h e l l des i gn,
I nc r e a s i ng t h e c ont a c t a r e a of t he s' hel l mi ght a l l e v i a t e
thi-s c ondi t i on, The' p o s s i b i l i t y a l s o e x i s t s of u t i l i z i n g
a- qui c k- s e t t i ng cement o r epoxy r e s i n around t h e s h e l l
t o ' a l d anchor ageo Pr e s e nt l y, a t l e a s t one s he l l ma nu-
f a c t u r e r pr ovi des an epoxy r e s i n a s an a i r s e a l ; i t s
pr i mar y f u n c t i o n i s t o c ount e r a c t adver s e moi s t ur e e f f e c t s ,
t h e - ' d i r e c t c o n t r i b u t i o n t o e f f i c i e n t anchorage remai ni ng
unknown; An i ns t r ument f o r measuri ng s h e l l s l i ppa ge i s
bei ng" consfi l ered and would be y e w us e f ul . Resear ch on
bol t ' a nc hor a ge i s a cont i nui ng p r o j e c t a t Penn S t a t e ,
s i n c e i t i s ' b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e f u l l p o t e n t i a l of b o l t i n g
l ' s" not' bei ng r e a l i z qd. Consi der i ng t h e tremendous
nimiber of b o l t s i n s t a l l e d each ye a r i n ~ me r i c a n mi nes,
Gven ' a s l i g h t improvement i n anchorage e f f i c i e n c y would
p a y - g r e a t di vi denas , Un t i l e f f i c i e n t anchorage can be
as s ur ed w i t h r o o f ' b o l t s , b o l t t e ns i on cannot be used t o
i n d i c a t e s t r e s s r e d i s t r i b u t i o n wi t hi n t he r oof s t r uc t ur e .
. L d, - "
S t e e l Prop I ns t r ume nt a t i on
- - -
~ l ' 6 c t r i c a l s t r a i n *gages were a l s o bonded t o
. s t e e l s uppor t s , as shown i n Fi g. 1. A bal l - and- socket
j orni i -was employed i n an at t empt t o obt a i n uni form a x i a l
l oadi ng; ' two gages were a t t a c he d t o i n d i c a t e how c l o s e l y
t hi s c ona i t i on was approxi mat ed and a l s o a s an
a ddi t i ona l - pr e c a ut i on i n cas e one gage was damaged,
The gages pr ovi ded a ver y a c c ur a t e r e c or d of the i nc r e a s e
of l oa ds on t h e s uppor t s w i t h mi ni ng a c t i v f t y. However,
s i n c e t he l oa ds assumed by t h e s uppor t s a r e dependent
upon t he i n s t a l l a t i o n , an i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of t he r e s u l t s
was d i f f i c a . A s one i n v e ~ t i ~ a t ' o r has a p t l y s t a t e d i t ,
s t r a i n Gages pl eced on t he s uppor t s i n d i c e t e t h e
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t h e s uppor t and l i t t l e e l s e , A l -
t hough t h e t e s t s i t e was ext ended over a s ma l l a r e e ,
i t was ques t i onabl e what u s e f u l i nf or mat i on would have
been obt ai ned had a l . ar ge a r e a been i n v e s t i g a t e d . The
r e s u l t s of t h i s t echni que a r e s i mi l a r t o t hos e obt a i ne d
wi t h s a g measuremefks: a mul t i t ude of d a t a i s
a v a i l a b l e b u t ' a n i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of i t s s i g n i f i c a n c e i s
doubt f ul .
S t r a i n Gage Techni ques
Si nc e s t r ai n- &age t echni ques were t h e b a s i s
f o r t he above i n v e s t i g a t i o n s and t hos e t h a t f ol l ow,
some of t h e probl ems encount er ed mi ght p r o f i t a b l y be
di s c us s e d, A Type M Baldwin Por t a bl e S t r a i n I n d i c a t o r
was used f o r recording gage r e a di ngs , Si nce this
equipment i s not * approved f o r u n r e s t r i c t e d us e i n
underground c o a l mi nes, per mi s s i on had t o be s ecur ed
from t h e pr oper a u t h o r i t i e s . Per mi ssi on was l i mi t e d
t o l o c a t i o n of t h e i ns t r ument i n i n t a k e ai r ways onl y.
Th i s ' n e c e s s i t a t e d t he us e of a l ong c a bl e t o t h e f a c e
a r e e , which proved cumbersome and time-consuming,
For e xt e ns i ve s t r a i n gage work, .a pe r mi s s i bl e u n i t
must be desi gned and approved f o r u n r e s t r i c t e d us e,
Thi s would not be d i f f i c u l t , e s p e c i a l l y s i n c e t r a n-
s i s t o r s u t i l i z i n g 1ow. vol t ages can be us ed i n t h e
ampl i f yi ng u n i t .
Another probl em i s t h e compl et e moi s t ur e-
pr oof i ng of t h e gage t o s ecur e s t a b i l i t y over ext ended
p ~ r i o d s . Duco cement, t h e - commonly employed bondi ng
a ge nt , i s not f r e e f r om cr eep e f f e c t s , and s t a b i l i t y
over a pe r i od of months may n o t be r e a l i z e d .
FOG t he
i n i t i a l i n s t a l l a t i o n s of b o l t s and pr ops , t h e gages
w e r 6 bonded w i t h Duco cement, cover ed w i t h househol d
wax, t aped and f i n a l l y neoprened, Thi s pr ovi ded a
ver y wa t e r - t i ght i n s t a l l a t i o n , b u t t he neopreni ng
pr oces s is. q u i t e time-consuming. It r e q u i r e s t he
a ppl i c a t i on of many c o a t s w i t h prol onged h e a t cur i ng.
Even w i t h such t r e a t me nt t h e gages were not very
a br a s i onLr e s i s t a nt , and rough handl i ng dur i ng t r a n s -
p o r t a t i o n ' i n t o t h e mine r e s u l t e d i n damage t o some of
t he gages. I n subsequent r e s e a r c h, an epoxy r e s i n has
been e m~l oye d a s a bondi ng agent and a l s o t o
Page 7 6 0 ~ 0 5 1
moi st ure-proof and make t he e g e s abr as i on- r es i s t ant .
Gages pr epar ed i n t h i s manner have been i n wat er under
hi gh pr es s ur e f o r a per i od of weeks wi t hout any l o s s i n
s t a b i l i t y ,
St r e s s Meter ~ev6l opment
Fa i l u r e t o secur e s i g n i f i c a n t i nf or mat i on by
suppor t measurements i n t e n s i f i e d t he s ear ch f o r an
i nst r ument which coul d be pl aced i n t he mine s t r uc t ur e
i t s e l f t o measure s t r e s s r e di s t r i but i on. I n r ecogni t i on
of t he need f ' d ~ an economical Snstruinent which wo.uld
pr ovi de accurat' e r e s u l t s , a s u i t a b l e s t r e s s met er wa.s
designe' d ( s e e Fi g. 2 ) . Thi s cons i s t ed cf a l g- i n di amet er
copper t ube, 4 i n , l ong, i n t h e cent er of which was
cemented a t h i n p l a s t i c di s c , Redt apgul ar s t r ai n- gage
r o s e t t e s were bonded t o t hi s di s c ; a f t e r i n i t i a l r h s u l t s
i ndi c a t e d t he pr i nc i pa l s t r e s s e s t o be e s s e n t i a l l y
hor i z ont a l and ve r t i c a l , two a x i a l gages were employed
i n pl ace of a r o s e t t e , Pl a s t i c end pi eces were cemented
t o t he t ube t o pr ovi de s t r u c t u r a l r i g i d i t y and t o make
t he gages moi s t ur e- r es i s t ant , An e l e c t r i c a l l y- s hi e l de d
cabl e was ext ended' f r om t he stress q e t e r t o a s t andar d
Baldwin "f ndi cat or ,
For underground i nves t i gat i ons , t he met er s
were s eal ed by s n expanding-type cement i n t o hol es
a r i l l e a hor i z ont a l l y ' i n tkie c oa l seam, St r e s s met er s
were i n s t a l l e d a t t e s t s i t e 1 and pl aced 6 f t i n t he
sol i ' d Pi 6 and i n t he pi l l - a r between e n t r i e s 1 and 2
( Fi g. ^ 3 ) ; - Cal i br at i on of t he s t r e s s met er s was obt ai ned
by s e a l i ng met er s i n t he same manner i n bl ocks of coal
which were l oaded i n a hydr aul l c pr es s i n t he l abor at or y.
Another and pos s i bl y b e t t e r t echni que would have been
%he use of a hydr aul i c pi l l ow f o r c a l i br a t i on i n
s i t u (ll), .
St r e s s met er r e s u l t s a r e shown f o r this
- installation i n Fi g. 4, t he r eadi ngs bei ng c or r e l a t e d
on--tkie 'map wP t h mining a c t i v i t y , The f i r s t f our
readi ngs--spanned t he per i od from t he begi nni ng of room
development 'on t he l e c t u n t i l f i n a l p i l l a r e xt r a c t i on
on 't2i'at ' si de. ' Abutment l oads were t r a ns f e r r e d t o t he
l dwer s i de o f . t h e room r i b i n t o t h e s ol f d coal and
a c r o s s - t h e . e n t r y pi l J a r s , A gr e a t e r l oad r a t s and sub-
8equent l y. gr ' eat er deformat i on r e s ul t e d on t he ent r y
p i l l a r , as r e f l e c t e d by s t r e s s met er r eadi ngs, When
tlie rooms on bhe ot her s i de of t he e n t r i e s oppasi t e t he
t e s t s i t e were developed, however, two abutment zones
. ,
, '
Page 8 ,
were bei ng superimposed on t he r i b s t r e s s met er , and t he
r a t e of l oadi ng exceeded t h a t i n t he p i l l a r , This a c t i on
cont i nued r a pi dl y u n t i l f i n a l l y a cave
occur r ed al ong
t he room r i b and acr os s t he headi ng when mining r eached
poi nt A ( Fi g. 3) .
The o r i g i n a l pl an was t o e x t r a c t t he c oa l on
r e t r e a t from t he r i g h t s i de onl y. Hewever, s i nc e a smal l
amount of coal on t h e l e f t coul d not have been mined
economi cal l y ot her wi se, t hi s s i de was e xt r a c t e d al s o.
It was t hought . t ha t t he super i mposi t i oni ng of abutment
l oads and prol onged exposur e time due t o t h i s a c t i on may
have cont r i but ed t o this s p e c i f i c f a i l u r e , I n t h e f ut ur e ,
rooms l onger t han t he pnesent 600 f t l e ngt h w i l l be worked
i n r e t r e a t on one s i d e onl y.
Another i n s t a l l a t i o n of t hr ee s t r e s s met er s was
made a t t e s t s i t e 2. These met er s were i n s t a l l e d i n a
f u t u r e p i l l a r l oc a t i on two weeks bef or e mining a c t i v i t y
s t a r t e d on t h e p a i r of rooms t o t h e r i g h t , Observat i ons
were made on t hes e s t r e s s met er s u n t i l t he f i r s t cr oss-
c u t was dr i ven between t he rooms. Large pr es s ur e
bui l dups were mani f est ed as t he rooms were opened up
around t he p i l l a r , but t hen t he pr es s ur es became . pr ac-
t i c a l l y s t a b i l i z e d a s mining cont i nued beyond t h e
cr os s cut . Unf or t unat el y, obs er vat i ons coul d not be con-
t f i ue d u n t i l t he rooms were completed and t he p i l l a r s
ext yact sd. Time and funds di d not per mi t cont i nuat i on
of t he pr oj ect .
- , . - - -
The s t r e s s met er des cr i bed i n t h i s paper i s
not consi der ed t he ul t i mat e i nst r ument f o r measuri ng
pi'l'lar l oads. Sl nce t hey ar e ver y economi cal , however,
many can b e - i n s t a l l e d dur i ng an i nves t i gat i on. The
p l a s t i c ( a r a l d i t e ) i s c a s t i n t ubul ar form and c u t i n t o
dr s cs wzth.-a 'aw and p1ace.d on a gr i ndi ng wheel t o
s e c ur e - pa r gl l e l f a c e s , Only a s l i g h t amount of machine
work' i s - r e qui r e d, ' The most c r i t i c a l f a c t o r w i t h t hi s
technique- Ts - t he- us e of a s ui t a bl e expanding cement t o
s e a l - t h e met er i n t o t he d r i l l hol e, I n t he i nve s t i -
gat l ons descr i bed' her e, a combination of qui ck- s et t i ng,
expandlng cements, hydrost one and x- pandt i t e, was used.
Thfs was not s a t i s f a c t or y. Even though t he
i n I ~ t u i %- s e t ~ qui ckl y, t he cur i ng time was excessi ve,
and comple t e s t a b i l i t y was not achi eved, Other i nve s t i -
ga t or s appar ent l y have had gr e a t e r success with cementing
agent s i n s i mi l a r t echni ques (4, 5 ) . These cements were
not avai l abl e dur i ng t he i nve s t i ga t i ons , but a s ear ch
f o r b e t t e r cementing mat er i al s i s cont i nui ng. ' A cement
which qui ckl y becomes s t a b i l i z e d and has a minimum of
Page 9
compaction is most desirable,
Other Stress Measuring Techniques
Other techniques have been employed in under-
ground instrumentation, The most noteworthy of these
has been the application of sonic techniques, There are
two basic stress measuring techniques for rock: (1)
self-induced sonic impulses and (2) pulse-generated sonic
techniques, It is not necessary to discuss these here,
for liturature is available describing these in greater
detail ( 6 , 12); let it sufffce to say that the work done
has been lfmited, and considerable research must be
performed before the full potential of the methods can.
be assessed, ~esebrch on the first type (micro-seismic
method) has been much more extensive and offers
considerable potential (I?,), Elfmfnating extraneous
noises from the monitoring circuit is the most crucial
problem,
Utilizing electrical resistivity measurements
as a function of stress is another technique whichkas
possibilities, Although references in the literature
have been made concerning the feasibility of resistivity
techniques, with the exception of one laboratory inves-
tigation (14)9 little progress has been made, Results
of preliminary research made on sedi-mentary rocks at
Penn State are not encouragingo Since the resistance of
rock is extremely high, small variations in surface
moisture between readings could provide a considerable
error in resistivity measurements, Insulation problems
are formidable in the laboratory and these are certain
to be magnified in any underground investigation.
Perhaps electrical logging techniques may be more
applicable. One mining company is known to be con-
sidering the lettfng of a contract for this purpose,
CONCLUSION
Results from the application of underground
instrumentation techniques to strata control have been
most~promfsing. The varied approaches to instrumen-
tation techniques are beneffcial, for it is doubtful that
any one technique can provide the complete answer to all
problems, Although the bulk of the research to date has
been done abroad, the conditions favoring basic research
in thls area are becoming more prevalent in the American
mining industry. Decreased recovery rates at increased
depth, greater incidence of rock bursts and coal bumps,
and a general deterioration of natural support conditions
are to be expected, Through underground instrumentation
Page 10 60~051
there will be a better understanding of the effect of
the various parameters on the stress distribution around
mine. openings, This will continue greatly to the ever
present objective of mining: an increasbd productivity
rate' with decreased cost, consis tant witP safety.
Page 11
REFERENCES
1. Hast, Nils, "The Measurement of Rock Pressures in
Mines", Sveriges Geologiska Undesokning, Arsbok 52,
No. 3, 1958.
2. Olsen, 0. J., "Measurement of Residual Stress by the
Strain' Relief ~ethod" Quarterly of the Colorado
School of Mines, v 52, n 3, 1957.
3. Plohr, F., "Gebirgsdruckmessungen in einem Kolibergwerk
und ihre Aussagen uber das Verhalten des Hangenden
uber Abbauraunen" , Gluc kauf , January 1955.
4. Buchanan, J. G., Marsh, Fo W. and Thurston, R. C.. A,.,
"Measurement of Stress Changes during M'ine 0per at$-on~"~,
Canadian Mining Journal, December 1955.
Gupta, K. P., "How to Measure Rock Pressuresn,
Engineering and Mining Journal, v 159, n 10, Oct 1958,
Potts, E. L. J., "Underground Instrumentation",
Quarterly of the Colorado School of Mines, v 52, n 3,
1957
Duvall, W. I., "Stress Analysis Applied to Underground
Mining Problems", Bureau of Mines Report of Investigation
4192 and 4387, 1948.
Stefanko, R., "Photoelastic Determination of the Effect
of Mine Opening Configuration on Stress Distributionn,
M. S. Thesis, The Pennsylvania State University, 1957.
Farquaharson, F. B. and Hennes, R e G., e el at in
ModeLs for ~hotoelastic Analysis of Stress in Earth
Masses", Civil Engineering, v 10, n 4, April 1940.
Saustowicz, A., ItNew Conceptions as to the Phenomena
or Stfess and Strain in Rocks around Mining Excavationsn,
Paper, International Strata Control Congress,
Leipzigi 1958.
Tincelin, E., "Research in Rock Pressure in the Iron
Mines of Lorraine (France)", Paper, International
Conference about Rock Pressure and Support in the
Workings, Liege, 1951.
Buchheim, W., "Geophysical Methods for the Stuay of
Rock Pressure in Coal and Potash Salt ~ining",
International Strata Control Congress, Leipzlg, 1958.
13. Obert, L, and Duvall, W, I., "Micro-Seismic Method
of Determining the Stability of Underground openingsH,
Bmeau of Mines 'Bulletin 573, 1957.
14. Weiss, O., 'Preliminary Observations on Apparent
Electrical Resistivity Changes in Rocks under Stress
and on E.M.F. Caused by Internal Friction in Rock
~racturing", Transactions of the Institution of
Mining and Metallurgy, 1943,
13
W S I AUD JNr
A RRbUbEYEIM FOR
YUSVrOIM SIIPESSES
I ylM OWWkrtS.
25 Tm Cup SCIW JOCC