Soil Mechanics Principles in Underground Mining

Abstract

Soil mechanics principles can be successfully applied to many of the problems encountered in underground mining. A few typical problems are described, and the application of soil mechanics to their solution is indicated. The topics considered include: (1) The design and properties of stiff fill materials for the support of underground excavations; (2) stress distribution within the fill contained by an inclined underground excavation; (3) the design of water retaining underground plugs; and (4) the design of behavior of steel‐reinforced walls of granular material used to provide roof support in shallow coal mines.