Regularity and mechanisms of water-sand inrushes within mining-activated faults

BackgroundDuring underground coal mining, water-sand mixtures within faults may rush into mine floors. The water-sand inrushes are especially prominent under the conditions of high water-yield properties and loose filling structures in fault zones, severely threatening the safe mining of coal mines....

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Main Authors: Shichuan ZHANG, Pu HUANG, Yangyang LI, Chenggong WANG, Zhenhua WU
Format: Article
Language:zho
Published: Editorial Office of Coal Geology & Exploration 2025-07-01
Series:Meitian dizhi yu kantan
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Online Access:http://www.mtdzykt.com/article/doi/10.12363/issn.1001-1986.25.03.0182
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author Shichuan ZHANG
Pu HUANG
Yangyang LI
Chenggong WANG
Zhenhua WU
author_facet Shichuan ZHANG
Pu HUANG
Yangyang LI
Chenggong WANG
Zhenhua WU
author_sort Shichuan ZHANG
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundDuring underground coal mining, water-sand mixtures within faults may rush into mine floors. The water-sand inrushes are especially prominent under the conditions of high water-yield properties and loose filling structures in fault zones, severely threatening the safe mining of coal mines. Previous studies focus primarily on the impact of a single factor on inrushes. Hence, it is significant to systematical investigate the regularity of water-sand inrushes within faults under the combined effects of multiple factors. MethodsBased on the fluid and granular mechanic theories, this study derived the instability criterion and flow formulas of water-sand mixtures. Using orthogonal experiments on three factors at four levels, along with a deformations-seepage test system for fractured rocks, this study investigated the impacts of clay mass fraction, sand-grain size, and initial water pressure on the inrush behavior. Results and Conclusions Clay significantly inhibited the inrush behavior. Under a clay mass fraction of 40%, the inrush behavior exhibited extremely low flow and load. The initial water pressure served as the primary force driving the inrush behavior. An increase in initial water pressure significantly enhanced the inrush intensity. The sand grain size manifested a nonlinearly regulating effect on the inrush behavior. Small or large sand grain sizes were prone to cause system instability, while moderate grain sizes could balance permeability and system stability. The multivariate statistical analysis reveals that the impacts of various factors on the inrush behavior decreased in the order of clay content, initial water pressure, and sand-grain size. The predicted optimal test conditions to minimize the flow, load, and pore water pressure include a clay mass fraction of 30%, an initial water pressure of 0.3 MPa, and sand grain size ranges of [0.3, 0.5] mm, [1, 2] mm, and [0.5, 1.0) mm, respectively. The results of this study will provide a theoretical basis for the prevention and control of water-sand inrushes caused by mining-induced fault activation.
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publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Editorial Office of Coal Geology & Exploration
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spelling doaj-art-1e6618d4e77c45a181d6f4be05b2562a2025-08-20T03:45:03ZzhoEditorial Office of Coal Geology & ExplorationMeitian dizhi yu kantan1001-19862025-07-0153712814010.12363/issn.1001-1986.25.03.018225-03-0182zhangshichuanRegularity and mechanisms of water-sand inrushes within mining-activated faultsShichuan ZHANG0Pu HUANG1Yangyang LI2Chenggong WANG3Zhenhua WU4College of Energy and Mining Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, ChinaCollege of Energy and Mining Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, ChinaCollege of Energy and Mining Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, ChinaPengzhuang Coal Mine, Shandong Energy Luxi Mining Co., Ltd., Heze 274701, ChinaPengzhuang Coal Mine, Shandong Energy Luxi Mining Co., Ltd., Heze 274701, ChinaBackgroundDuring underground coal mining, water-sand mixtures within faults may rush into mine floors. The water-sand inrushes are especially prominent under the conditions of high water-yield properties and loose filling structures in fault zones, severely threatening the safe mining of coal mines. Previous studies focus primarily on the impact of a single factor on inrushes. Hence, it is significant to systematical investigate the regularity of water-sand inrushes within faults under the combined effects of multiple factors. MethodsBased on the fluid and granular mechanic theories, this study derived the instability criterion and flow formulas of water-sand mixtures. Using orthogonal experiments on three factors at four levels, along with a deformations-seepage test system for fractured rocks, this study investigated the impacts of clay mass fraction, sand-grain size, and initial water pressure on the inrush behavior. Results and Conclusions Clay significantly inhibited the inrush behavior. Under a clay mass fraction of 40%, the inrush behavior exhibited extremely low flow and load. The initial water pressure served as the primary force driving the inrush behavior. An increase in initial water pressure significantly enhanced the inrush intensity. The sand grain size manifested a nonlinearly regulating effect on the inrush behavior. Small or large sand grain sizes were prone to cause system instability, while moderate grain sizes could balance permeability and system stability. The multivariate statistical analysis reveals that the impacts of various factors on the inrush behavior decreased in the order of clay content, initial water pressure, and sand-grain size. The predicted optimal test conditions to minimize the flow, load, and pore water pressure include a clay mass fraction of 30%, an initial water pressure of 0.3 MPa, and sand grain size ranges of [0.3, 0.5] mm, [1, 2] mm, and [0.5, 1.0) mm, respectively. The results of this study will provide a theoretical basis for the prevention and control of water-sand inrushes caused by mining-induced fault activation.http://www.mtdzykt.com/article/doi/10.12363/issn.1001-1986.25.03.0182coal minefault activationwater-sand mixturewater inrushorthogonal experimentinfluential factorinstability criterion
spellingShingle Shichuan ZHANG
Pu HUANG
Yangyang LI
Chenggong WANG
Zhenhua WU
Regularity and mechanisms of water-sand inrushes within mining-activated faults
Meitian dizhi yu kantan
coal mine
fault activation
water-sand mixture
water inrush
orthogonal experiment
influential factor
instability criterion
title Regularity and mechanisms of water-sand inrushes within mining-activated faults
title_full Regularity and mechanisms of water-sand inrushes within mining-activated faults
title_fullStr Regularity and mechanisms of water-sand inrushes within mining-activated faults
title_full_unstemmed Regularity and mechanisms of water-sand inrushes within mining-activated faults
title_short Regularity and mechanisms of water-sand inrushes within mining-activated faults
title_sort regularity and mechanisms of water sand inrushes within mining activated faults
topic coal mine
fault activation
water-sand mixture
water inrush
orthogonal experiment
influential factor
instability criterion
url http://www.mtdzykt.com/article/doi/10.12363/issn.1001-1986.25.03.0182
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AT yangyangli regularityandmechanismsofwatersandinrusheswithinminingactivatedfaults
AT chenggongwang regularityandmechanismsofwatersandinrusheswithinminingactivatedfaults
AT zhenhuawu regularityandmechanismsofwatersandinrusheswithinminingactivatedfaults