Abstract
Grout curtains are often used to manage lateral water inflow. However, grout curtains constructed in extremely fractured rocks are not very effective, which poses a challenge for mine drainage and mining operations. So, it is crucial to consider the curtain’s effectiveness when evaluating water inflow. Large-scale pumping tests and groundwater numerical simulation were used in this study to evaluate the water inflow at an iron mine surrounded by an imperfect grout curtain. The effectiveness of the curtain was determined by comparing the hydraulic differences on both sides of the curtain and flow fields at pre- and post-grouting stages and three preferential seepage paths were identified. Given the mine’s complex boundary conditions, the telescopic mesh refinement modeling method was used; regional and local models were established using FEFLOW. The predicted inflow due to the gap in the curtain was 13,880 m3/day, accounting for 37.1% of the total 37,340 m3/day of water that still flowed into the mine. Two countermeasures, surface curtain remediation and underground grouting, were used to decrease water inflow and restore mine productivity.
Zusammenfassung
Dichtungsschleier werden häufig eingebaut, um den lateralen Wasserzustrom zu steuern. Allerdings sind Dichtungsschleier, die in extrem zerklüftetem Gestein errichtet wurden, nicht sehr effektiv, was eine Herausforderung für die Grubenentwässerung und den Bergbaubetrieb darstellt. Daher ist es wichtig, die Effektivität des Schleiers bei der Bewertung des Wasserzustroms zu berücksichtigen. In dieser Studie wurden großmaßstäbliche Pumpversuche und numerische Grundwassersimulationen eingesetzt, um den Wasserzufluss in einer Eisenmine zu bewerten, die von einem unvollkommenen Dichtungsschleier umschlossen ist. Die Effektivität des Schleiers wurde durch den Vergleich der hydraulischen Druckdifferenzen auf beiden Seiten des Schleiers und der Strömungsfelder vor und nach der Abdichtung ermittelt, und es wurden drei bevorzugte Sickerpfade identifiziert. Angesichts der komplexen Randbedingungen des Bergwerks wurde die Modellierungsmethode der teleskopischen Netzverfeinerung verwendet; regionale und lokale Modelle wurden mit FEFLOW erstellt. Der vorhergesagte Zufluss aufgrund der Lücke im Schleier betrug 13.880 m3/d, was 37,1 % der insgesamt 37.340 m3/d Wasser ausmachte, die noch in die Mine flossen. Zwei Gegenmaßnahmen wurden eingesetzt, um den Wasserzufluss zu verringern und die Produktivität der Mine wiederherzustellen: die Sanierung des Oberflächenschleiers und das Verpressen unter Tage.
Resumen
Las cortinas de lechada se utilizan frecuentemente para evitar la entrada de agua lateral. Sin embargo, las cortinas de lechada construidas en rocas extremadamente fracturadas no son muy eficaces, lo que plantea un desafío para el drenaje de las minas y las operaciones mineras. Por lo tanto, es crucial considerar la efectividad de la cortina cuando se evalúa la irrupción de agua. En este estudio se utilizaron pruebas de bombeo a gran escala y simulación numérica de aguas subterráneas para evaluar la irrupción de agua en una mina de hierro rodeada por una cortina de lechada imperfecta. La eficacia de la cortina se determinó comparando las diferencias hidráulicas a ambos lados de la cortina y los campos de flujo en las etapas previas y posteriores a la lechada y se identificaron tres vías de filtración principales. Dadas las complejas condiciones de los límites de la mina, se utilizó el método de modelación del refinamiento de la malla telescópica; se establecieron modelos regionales y locales utilizando FEFLOW. El caudal previsto debido a la brecha en la cortina fue de 13.880 m3/d, lo que representa el 37,1% del total de 37.340 m3/d de agua que aún fluía en la mina. Se utilizaron dos contramedidas, la remediación de la cortina de superficie y la lechada subterránea, para disminuir la entrada de agua y restaurar la productividad de la mina.
缺陷注浆帷幕内铁矿的地下水涌水量预测
注浆帷幕常用以控制侧向地下水流。但是,建立在极破碎围岩内的注浆帷幕可能不完全有效,仍会给矿山排水和采矿带来安全挑战。因此,涌水量评价时,考虑注浆帷幕效果致关重要。研究采用了大规模抽水试验和地下水数值模拟方法预测帷幕存在缺陷的铁矿的涌水量。通过对比帷幕两侧水力差异和注浆前后流场变化,评价了注浆帷幕效果,识别出三条优先流路径。考虑矿井边界条件复杂,采用伸缩网格细化法(TMR),建立了区域和局部FEFLOW地下水流模型。预测穿过帷幕间隙的涌水量13 880 m3/d,占现汇入矿井总涌水量37 340 m3/d的37.1%。采取了地表帷幕整治和井下注浆两种措施减少涌水量和恢复生产。
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Acknowledgements
Financial support for this work was provided by the Fundamental Research Funds of the State Key Program of National Natural Science of China (Grant No.41931284), and the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No.2015CB251601). The authors also thank the reviewers for their useful comments.
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10230_2021_777_MOESM1_ESM.pdf
Supplementary Fig. 1 Vertical structure of pumping holes and observation holes. Notes: The units of casing or borehole diameter are millimeters (mm) (PDF 1839 kb)
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Chen, W., Li, W., Wang, Q. et al. Evaluation of Groundwater Inflow into an Iron Mine Surrounded by an Imperfect Grout Curtain. Mine Water Environ 40, 520–538 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10230-021-00777-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10230-021-00777-z