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Rock fracture propagation is a major hazard for mining and tunnel excavation in fractured rock masses or coal seams. A longwall mining panel with a typical dimension of 200m (width)×1000m (length)×3m (height) can be considered as an open edge crack. The fracturing processes in the vicinity of the edge crack (or the longwall panel) particularly in the roof and floor are critically important for the safety of mining operation because fracturing can lead to water inrush and dynamic loading on the working face. It’s therefore important to understand and predict the pre-existing edge crack initiation and propagation in rock masses. This paper describes a study investigating the mechanisms and pathways of rock fracture under uniaxial compression. In this study, a rock-like material which consists of model gypsum, water and diatomaceous earth at a mass ratio of 165:75:2 was used. The uniaxial compression strength of the material decreased with the increase of the length of pre-existing edge crack. During the tests, wing (tensile) cracks were first observed at the tip of the pre-existing edge crack. This was followed by secondary cracks as the loading increased. The final failure of the specimens however was dominated by tensile cracks throughout the specimens. Due to the sudden crack initiations in the specimens, the loading stress in the specimen varies stepwise, and acoustic emission (AE) energy and amplitude showed abrupt changes when crack initiated. When the crack initiation occurred, the loading stress of the specimens showed a notable retreat in the stress-strain curve, and the recorded AE energy and amplitude showed a sharp spike. These findings from this experimental study have been applied to the underground longwall mining to explain the failure mechanisms in the floor of the mining panel. The fracturing process associated with the pre-existing edge crack resembles the formation of flow channels for water inrush during longwall mining.

Laboratory study on the propagation of edge cracks in rock-like material and its implication in coal mining