Underground Research Laboratories in Japan: What Are the Important Factors for Facilities Design?

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Sato ◽  
S. Mikake ◽  
M. Sakamaki ◽  
K. Aoki ◽  
S. Yamasaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Analysis ◽  
Sedimentary Rock ◽  
Mechanical Stability ◽  
Ventilation System ◽  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
Crystalline Rock ◽  
Ventilation Network ◽  
Main Stage ◽  
Middle Stage ◽  
Ventilation Shaft

This paper describes the current status of two Japanese off-site Underground Research Laboratories (URLs) Projects, one for crystalline rock and the other for sedimentary rock. This paper is focused on mechanical stability and ventilation, important factors relevant to the design and construction of deep underground facilities. High-pressure inflow, another important factor, will be included in the URL project for crystalline rock. The site of the URL project for crystalline rock is located in Mizunami, Gifu, in the central part of the main island of Japan. The regional geology consists of the Tertiary and Quaternary sedimentary rocks overlying Cretaceous granitic basement. Surface-based investigations, including geological mapping, a seismic refraction survey and shallow borehole investigations, and site preparation at the MIU (Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory) Project site have started in 2002. Numerical analysis is carried out to understand mechanical stability around the openings. The ventilation system design is based on numerical analysis using a ventilation network model. Grouting against the high-pressure inflow is planned. Conceptual design for the MIU at present is as follows: • Two 1,000 m shafts, a Main Shaft (6.5m φ) and a Ventilation shaft (4.5m φ); • Two experimental levels, the Main Stage at 1,000 m and the Middle Stage, at 500 m depths. The site of the URL project for sedimentary rock is located in Horonobe, Hokkaido, north of the main island of Japan. The geology consists of Tertiary sedimentary rocks. Surface-based investigation phase started in 2001. Numerical analysis is carried out to understand mechanical stability of the openings, and to design support. The numerical analysis using ventilation network model is carried out to design the ventilation system and disaster prevention method. Conceptual design for the Hnb-URL at present is as follows: • Two 500 m shafts and a Ventilation shaft; • Two experimental levels, the Main Stage at 500 m and the Middle Stage at 250 m depths.

scholarly journals Defining of the required parameters of the main fans on the ventilation shaft for the target model of the hard coal mine Y in connection with its decommissioning

2021 ◽  
Vol 906 (1) ◽  
pp. 012052
Author(s):  
Piotr Mocek
Keyword(s):  
Coal Mine ◽  
Mine Water ◽  
Ventilation System ◽  
Drainage System ◽  
Ventilation Network ◽  
Hard Coal ◽  
Target Model ◽  
Ventilation Shaft ◽  
Water Pumping ◽  
Hard Coal Mining

Abstract The article presents the results of the analysis and calculations of the ventilation network of the decommissioned hard coal mine Y for the model of its target operation. After the end of hard coal mining and the liquidation of most of the mining excavations, the former Y hard coal mine will become an element of the drainage system and a protection for other, still active mining plants. In order for the Y excavation to be transformed into a mine water pumping station, its ventilation system should be rebuilt, and new parameters of the main fan should be determined for a smaller network of mining excavations. For this purpose, using the AERO-2016D program by POK “Zachód” Spółka z o.o., the parameters of the ventilation network were simulated in the target model of mine Y after the liquidation of the “Southern” shaft and mining excavations at levels 530m and 660m. The results of the simulation made it possible to select the optimal main fans for the target model of the transformed mine Y.

A metasedimentary source of gold in Archean orogenic gold deposits

Geology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iain K. Pitcairn ◽  
Nikolaos Leventis ◽  
Georges Beaudoin ◽  
Stephane Faure ◽  
Carl Guilmette ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sedimentary Rock ◽  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
Gold Deposits ◽  
Metamorphic Grade ◽  
Orogenic Gold ◽  
Metal Source ◽  
Main Metal ◽  
Metasedimentary Rocks ◽  
Orogenic Gold Deposits ◽  
Archean Orogenic Gold Deposits

The sources of metals enriched in Archean orogenic gold deposits have long been debated. Metasedimentary rocks, which are generally accepted as the main metal source in Phanerozoic deposits, are less abundant in Archean greenstone belts and commonly discounted as a viable metal source for Archean deposits. We report ultralow-detection-limit gold and trace-element concentrations from a suite of metamorphosed sedimentary rocks from the Abitibi belt and Pontiac subprovince, Superior Province, Canada. Systematic decreases in the Au content with increasing metamorphic grade indicate that Au was mobilized during prograde metamorphism. Mass balance calculations show that over 10 t of Au, 30,000 t of As, and 600 t of Sb were mobilized from 1 km3 of Pontiac subprovince sedimentary rock metamorphosed to the sillimanite metamorphic zone. The total gold resource in orogenic gold deposits in the southern Abitibi belt (7500 t Au) is only 3% of the Au mobilized from the estimated total volume of high-metamorphic-grade Pontiac sedimentary rock in the region (25,000 km3), indicating that sedimentary rocks are a major contributor of metals to the orogenic gold deposits in the southern Abitibi belt.

A New Advance in Tunnel Ventilation Design Planning

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark P. Colino ◽  
Elena B. Rosenstein
Keyword(s):  
Ventilation System ◽  
National Fire Protection Association ◽  
Capital Cost ◽  
Smooth Transition ◽  
Mechanical Equipment ◽  
Tunnel Ventilation ◽  
Tunnel Fire ◽  
Ventilation Shaft ◽  
Emergency Ventilation ◽  
Ventilation Fan

The new train signaling, traction power and tunnel ventilation system coordination guidelines enacted in National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 130 have brought the necessity and cost of tunnel ventilation fan shafts into greater focus. The guidelines were aimed at coordinating the three aforementioned rail systems to control the number of trains that could be between successive ventilation shafts during an emergency — in recognition of the fact that the best protection to both incident and non-incident train passengers and crew is to allow no more than one train in each ventilation zone. Though based in safety, these new NFPA guidelines can substantially expand the capital cost and environmental impact of new rail tunnel projects by adding more ventilation shafts and tunnel fan equipment to the scope of work. In addition, the resulting increase in the required number of ventilation shafts and tunnel fan equipment can hinder existing railroad properties as they seek to either increase their train throughput rates, or reduce their tunnel electrical infrastructure. Fortunately, a new kind of emergency ventilation shaft has been developed to facilitate compliance with the NFPA 130 Standard without the excessive capital cost and far-reaching environmental impacts of a traditional emergency ventilation shaft. This new kind of emergency ventilation shaft is called the Crossflue. The Crossflue is a horizontal passage between parallel rail tunnels with a single ventilation fan-motor unit installation. The Crossflue fan is designed to transfer air/smoke flows from one (occupied, incident) tunnel to another (unoccupied, non-incident) tunnel — thereby protecting the incident tunnel at the expense of the non-incident tunnel. The Crossflue passage has angled construction to allow a smooth transition of airflows both into and out of the adjoining tunnels. In addition to the fan, the Crossflue contains a ventilation damper, sound attenuators, ductwork transitions and flexible connectors within the fan equipment line-up; the functionality of all this mechanical equipment is described in the paper. To preserve underground space and minimize the rock excavation, the Crossflue fan is both remotely-powered and remotely-controlled; the fan is only operated as part of a pre-programmed response to tunnel fire events. The methodology utilized to design the Crossflue was taken from the Subway Environmental Design Handbook (SEDH); the SEDH [1] was specifically developed for rail tunnel ventilation design and is the preeminent reference volume in the industry. In summary, the Crossflue provides a dual benefit of achieving NFPA 130 compliance, while at the same time minimizing the construction, equipment, environmental, and energy costs of a traditional tunnel ventilation shaft.

Competence and lithostratigraphy of host rocks govern kimberlite pipe morphology

2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-137
Author(s):  
David E. Newton ◽  
Amy G. Ryan ◽  
Luke J. Hilchie
Keyword(s):  
Host Rock ◽  
Sedimentary Rock ◽  
Kimberlite Pipe ◽  
Crystalline Rock ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Compressed Air ◽  
Unconsolidated Sediments ◽  
Final Shape ◽  
Class 1 ◽  
Host Rocks

We use analogue experimentation to test the hypothesis that host rock competence primarily determines the morphology of kimberlite pipes. Natural occurrences of kimberlite pipes are subdivided into three classes: class 1 pipes are steep-sided diatremes emplaced into crystalline rock; class 2 pipes have a wide, shallow crater emplaced into sedimentary rock overlain by unconsolidated sediments; class 3 pipes comprise a steep-sided diatreme with a shallow-angled crater emplaced into competent crystalline rock overlain by unconsolidated sediments. We use different configurations of three analogue materials with varying cohesions to model the contrasting geological settings observed in nature. Pulses of compressed air, representing the energy of the gas-rich head of a kimberlitic magma, are used to disrupt the experimental substrate. In our experiments, the competence and configuration of the analogue materials control the excavation processes as well as the final shape of the analogue pipes: eruption through competent analogue strata results in steep-sided analogue pipes; eruption through weak analogue strata results in wide, shallow analogue pipes; eruption through intermediate strength analogue strata results in analogue pipes with a shallow crater and a steep-sided diatreme. These experimental results correspond with the shapes of natural kimberlite pipes, and demonstrate that variations in the lithology of the host rock are sufficient to generate classic kimberlite pipe shapes. These findings are consistent with models that ascribe the pipe morphologies of natural kimberlites to the competence of the host rocks in which they are emplaced.

scholarly journals Construction Network Ventilation System for Underground LPG Storage Cavern

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
pp. 1521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Lin
Keyword(s):  
Ventilation System ◽  
Ventilation Network ◽  
Road Tunnel ◽  
Axial Fan ◽  
Completion Status ◽  
Co Concentration ◽  
Ventilation Technique ◽  
Fluent Software ◽  
Ventilation Performance ◽  
Two Stages

Construction ventilation system is divided into two stages based on completion status of shafts in the underground petroleum storage project in Jinzhou, China. With the help of theoretical analysis and numerical simulations by using FLUENT software, in the first stage, reasonable construction ventilation is designed and cases with different outside temperature are discussed to investigate the effect of ventilation performance. It is found that with temperature difference increases, peak value of CO concentration, exhausting time of dirty air and required time to meet the CO concentration qualification decrease, but the influence degree is quite limited. Gallery-type network ventilation technique (GNVT) refined from theories of operation ventilation for road tunnel and mining ventilation network, is proposed to conduct the second stage construction ventilation. Ventilation performance of different ventilation schemes with various shafts’ states and diverse arrangements of fans are also analyzed in this study. It turns out that Axial-GNVT with shafts taking in fresh air and access tunnel ejecting dirty air has much better performance than traditional forced ventilation from access tunnel. Improved energy saving scheme is finally adopted to guide the construction. In addition, it is worth mentioning that there is no need to build middle ventilation shafts and construct shafts as large and long as possible. Field test of wind speed, dust, poisonous gas, atmospheric pressure, temperature are performed to detect ventilation effectiveness. Reduction coefficient =0.69is obtained from the test results in consideration of super-large section and it also indicates that there is no difference if the axial fan is at the shaft mouth or in the bottom.

Effect of rock strength on exhumation and the thermochronologic record: The south-central Colorado example

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Kainz ◽  
Lon Abbott ◽  
Rebecca Flowers ◽  
James Metcalf
Keyword(s):  
Low Temperature ◽  
Sedimentary Rock ◽  
Rock Strength ◽  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
Sedimentary Basins ◽  
Crystalline Basement ◽  
Precambrian Basement ◽  
The West ◽  
South Central ◽  
Sangre De Cristo

<p>Past work has used the Southern Rocky Mountains (SRM) in the U.S. state of Colorado to illustrate the important role that rock strength plays in the histories recorded by the apatite fission track (AFT) and apatite (U-Th)/He (AHe) low-temperature thermochronometers (Flowers & Ehlers, 2018). The SRM were initially raised during the Laramide Orogeny, ca. 70-45 Ma, but consensus exists that the region also experienced a later, post-Laramide exhumation event. Flowers & Ehlers (2018) pointed to the low erosion potential of the Precambrian crystalline basement rocks that crop out in most SRM ranges as a primary reason for the abundance of 55-70 Ma “Laramide” AFT and AHe dates in the region, compared to a paucity of younger dates that would presumably be produced through erosion triggered by the post-Laramide exhumation event. South-central Colorado offers a test of this hypothesis, due to lateral variations in rock erodibility provided by the presence here of both sedimentary and crystalline Laramide ranges and adjacent sedimentary basins. The combination of our ongoing AHe study with previous south-central Colorado AFT and AHe work reveals kilometer-scale post-Laramide (Oligo-Miocene) exhumation has occurred in areas that possess thick sedimentary rock sequences whereas exhumation has been negligible where crystalline basement comprises the land surface. </p><p>South-central Colorado’s Sangre de Cristo Mountains consist of an imbricate stack of thrust sheets composed of Permian sedimentary rock. About 30 km farther east stand the Wet Mountains, another Laramide range – but one composed of Precambrian basement rock. The Raton Basin, a SRM foreland basin filled with 2 km of synorogenic fill underlain by a thick sequence of marine shale, lies south and east of the two ranges. The Wet Mountains thus form a peninsula of strong crystalline rock surrounded by more erodible sedimentary rocks to the west, south, and east. </p><p>Our study and that of Landman (2018) records at least 2 km of erosion in the Raton Basin east and south of the Wet Mountains since 25 Ma. Lindsey et al (1986) obtained 24-15 Ma AFT dates from the Paleozoic sedimentary rocks of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, demonstrating that kilometer-scale Oligo-Miocene exhumation occurred just west of the Wet Mountains. By contrast, Kelley and Chapin (2004) obtained only pre-Laramide AFT ages between 228-110 Ma for 17 samples of Precambrian basement from the crest of the Wet Mountains. A 32 Ma ash flow tuff unconformably overlies Precambrian basement on Greenhorn Mountain, the Wet Mountains’ highest and southernmost peak. Its presence reinforces the conclusion, based on the AFT dates, that Oligo-Miocene erosion of the Wet Mountain massif has been minimal simultaneous with kilometer-scale exhumation to the west, south, and east. These results illustrate the important role that rock strength plays in determining the dates recorded in low-temperature thermochronologic studies.</p>

3. Sedimentary rocks

2016 ◽  
pp. 29-50
Author(s):  
Jan Zalasiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Sedimentary Rock ◽  
Chemical Weathering ◽  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
Chemical Environment ◽  
Combined Effects ◽  
Star System ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Physical And Chemical

The Earth has the greatest abundance and variety of sedimentary strata in our star system, dating back some 3.8 billion years. ‘Sedimentary rocks’ describes the processes that create different types of sedimentary rocks, which form a key guideline in reconstructing Earth’s history. Particles are created by both physical and chemical weathering. These particles are then moved by different modes of transport and sorted by size, which affect the resulting sedimentary rock. Sedimentary layers can remain as soft muds or loose sands for millions of years, but most buried sedimentary layers harden and turn into rock, under the combined effects of increasing heat and pressure, and of changes in chemical environment.

Enigmatic provenance signature of sandstone from the Okwa Group, Botswana

2020 ◽  
Vol 123 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-342
Author(s):  
T. Andersen ◽  
M.A. Elburg ◽  
J. Lehmann
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Sedimentary Rock ◽  
Age Distribution ◽  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Significant Shift ◽  
Zircon Age ◽  
Three Samples ◽  
Isotope Distributions

Abstract Detrital zircon grains from three samples of sandstone from the Tswaane Formation of the Okwa Group of Botswana have been dated by U-Pb and analysed for Hf isotopes by multicollector LA-ICPMS. The detrital zircon age distribution pattern of the detrital zircons is dominated by a mid-Palaeoproterozoic age fraction (2 000 to 2 150 Ma) with minor late Archaean – early Palaeoproterozoic fractions. The 2 000 to 2 150 Ma zircon grains show a range of epsilon Hf from -12 to 0. The observed age and Hf isotope distributions overlap closely with those of sandstones of the Palaeoproterozoic Waterberg Group and Keis Supergroup of South Africa, but are very different from Neoproterozoic deposits in the region, and from the Takatswaane siltstone of the Okwa Group, all of which are dominated by detrital zircon grains younger than 1 950 Ma. The detrital zircon data indicate that the sources of Tswaane Formation sandstones were either Palaeoproterozoic rocks in the basement of the Kaapvaal Craton, or recycled Palaeoproterozoic sedimentary rocks similar to the Waterberg, Elim or Olifantshoek groups of South Africa. This implies a significant shift in provenance regime between the deposition of the Takatswaane and Tswaane formations. However, the detrital zircon data are also compatible with a completely different scenario in which the Tswaane Formation consists of Palaeoproterozoic sedimentary rock in tectonic rather than depositional contact with the other units of the Okwa Group.

Analysis of a new strategy for emergency ventilation and escape scenario in long railway tunnels in the fire mode

2018 ◽  
Vol 233 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Behtash Hakimzadeh ◽  
Mohammad Reza Talaee
Keyword(s):  
Ventilation System ◽  
Control Panel ◽  
Fire Dynamics ◽  
Railway Tunnel ◽  
Rescue Operation ◽  
Tunnel Ventilation ◽  
Precise Control ◽  
Ventilation Shaft ◽  
Emergency Ventilation ◽  
Safe Path

The creation of a safe path for evacuating passengers from a tunnel during fire accidents is an important function of a mechanical ventilation system in tunnels. In this work, the operation of emergency ventilation in the fire mode in a long railway tunnel with push–pull ventilation shafts is analyzed using a fire dynamics simulator. As the passenger trains are lengthy – and so is a tunnel – when trains pass through a tunnel, the position of fire on the train becomes an important parameter for rescuing the passengers through a safe path. The novelty of this study is in the design of emergency ventilation scenarios that consider the position of fire on the train in addition to the tunnel ventilation shafts. For this case study, a lengthy (8 km) urban railway tunnel in Tehran with four rail tracks and eight ventilation shafts is considered for designing emergency ventilation scenarios and control of fire products. The fire source is a passenger train wagon with a 25-MW heat release rate. It is shown that, during the rescue operation of the passengers, the location of fire on the train may lead to reverse the ventilation scenario compared with the traditional ones that use only the tunnel shafts. Also, it is observed that there is a region with 50 m radius around each ventilation shaft, i.e. the absolute exhaust zone, where the ventilation system must be set at the exhaust mode due to the presence of fire, to minimize the spreading of fire products downstream. All the logical scenarios of the tunnel ventilation system are designed and demonstrated to create a critical ventilation velocity in the tunnel, which would help in developing a more precise control panel of the tunnel in the fire mode.

Application of Fuzzy Mathematics in Selection Air Flow Regulating Program

2013 ◽  
Vol 423-426 ◽  
pp. 2291-2296
Author(s):  
Wei Wei Ye ◽  
Xian Ping Xie ◽  
Meng Wei Han ◽  
Shi Yun Luo ◽  
Zhen Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Flow ◽  
Ventilation System ◽  
Mine Ventilation ◽  
Practical Significance ◽  
Ventilation Network ◽  
The North ◽  
Regulation Scheme ◽  
Controlling System ◽  
North Part ◽  
Optimal Tree

Selecting the optimal air regulation scheme of mine ventilation network, the essence is to choose the network a most optimal tree and obtain the corresponding optimal cosine tree combination program.Due to a synthetic consideration of the influence of production.Management economy and other aspects on the tree selection,the air flow regulating and controlling system made by the authors is optimum It is satisfactory to use the model for the north part ventilation system of Laochang tin mine of Yunnan tin Industrial crop. It is of practical significance to combine organically air flow regulating and controlling system with mine ventilation system.

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