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Theoretical analysis of the secondary development of mining-induced surface cracks in the Ordos region

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Abstract

Prior studies have indicated that mining-induced surface dynamic cracks in eastern China only undergo one “expanding-closure” development cycle. However, field measurements from the Bulianta mines of northwestern China demonstrated that ground dynamic cracks in the Ordos region went through two “expanding-closure” cycle. Using in situ measurement data and theoretical analysis, we find that the strata control theory cannot reasonably explain this special phenomenon. In this paper, we propose a novel explanation from the perspective of soil mechanics. A comparison of two field examples in eastern and northwestern China demonstrates that our theoretical explanation is in agreement with in situ observations and therefore is a reasonable interpretation for the secondary development of ground dynamic cracks in the Bulianta mines. This study provides a theoretical basis for the mechanism of mining-induced ground dynamic cracks.

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Adapted from Hu et al. (2014)

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Notes

  1. Specifications for the first-order leveling and second-order leveling in China, GBT12897-2006.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China and Shenhua Group Co., Ltd (Grant No. U1361203). The authors would like to thank the editor and reviewers for their contributions to the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment Science and Spatial Informatics, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, People’s Republic of China

    Yuankun Xu & Kan Wu

  2. Fengfeng Group, Jizhong Energy Group Co., Ltd, Handan, 056000, People’s Republic of China

    Zhihui Bai

  3. Institute of Land Reclamation and Ecological Restoration, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Zhenqi Hu

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  1. Yuankun Xu
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  2. Kan Wu
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  3. Zhihui Bai
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  4. Zhenqi Hu
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Correspondence to Kan Wu.

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Xu, Y., Wu, K., Bai, Z. et al. Theoretical analysis of the secondary development of mining-induced surface cracks in the Ordos region. Environ Earth Sci 76, 703 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-017-7050-6

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