Coal Mine Remediation in South Central Illinois

Investigation of fill distribution in post-injected longwall overburden with implications for grout take estimation

“…This is particularly necessary in areas of large-scale mine voids (Holz and Batchelor, 2012); without stabilization, unexpected subsidence or sinkholes may occur at the ground surface, posing a risk to public safety (Helm et al, 2013;Ju and Xu, 2015;Turka and Gray, 2005). One such stabilization method is void filling using grout injection, which is applied to remediate sinkhole subsidence associated with voids in abandoned room-and-pillar mines (Greenwood and Hill, 2012;Holmquist et al, 2003;Karfakis and Topuz, 1991;Siriwardane et al, 2003), and surface settlement induced by other abandoned spaces such as drifts (Kipko and Kipko, 1990;Song et al, 2015). Grout injection into bedding separation (GIBS) is another effective method of ground stabilization; this method is used in existing or planned surface construction sites in conjunction with active longwall mining and utilizes the horizontal fractures at the rock layer interfaces associated with underground extraction .…”