VISVESVARAYA TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY, BELGAUM

Jnana Sangama, Belgaum – 590018

“USE OF FLY-ASH SLURRY IN BACKFILL GROUTING IN COAL MINES”

Technical Seminar Report

(21MN81)

Submitted by
ABHISHEK (1GV21MI003)

In the partial fulfilment for the award of the degree of

Bachelor of Engineering
In
Mining Engineering
Under the Guidance of
Profs Dr. Manjunath. A
Associate Professor,
Department of Mining Engineering,

Dr. T. THIMMAIAH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

(Estd. 1986) Oorgaum, Kolar Gold Fields, Karnataka – 563120
(Affiliated to VTU, Belgaum, Approved by AICTE - New Delhi)
NAAC Accredited 'A' Grade, NBA Accredited (CSE, ECE, Mining Engg) Program

2024–2025
 Dr. T. THIMMAIAH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
(Estd. 1986) Oorgaum, Kolar Gold Fields, Karnataka – 563120
(Affiliated to VTU, Belgaum, Approved by AICTE - New Delhi)
NAAC Accredited 'A' Grade, NBA Accredited (CSE, ECE, Mining Engg) Program
Department of Mining Engineering

CERTIFICATE
Certified that the Technical Seminar entitled

“USE OF FLY-ASH SLURRY IN BACKFILL GROUTING IN COAL MINES”

Carried out by:

ABHISHEK (1GV21MI003) a Bonafide Student of VIIIth Semester Mining Engineering in partial

fulfillment for the award of Bachelor of Engineering at Dr. T. Thimmaiah Institute of Technology
of Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum during the year 2024-25. It is certified that
all corrections/Suggestions indicated for Internal Assessment have been incorporated in the Report
deposited in the department library.
The report has been approved as it satisfies the academic requirements in report of the Technical
Seminar prescribed for the same Degree.

Signature of Guide Signature of HOD Signature of Principal

DR. MANJUNATH. A Dr. MANAS MUKHOPADHYAY Dr. SYED ARIFF

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I express my sincere gratitude to the following people and acknowledge them for helping me
in completing the seminar successfully.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to Dr. T. Thimmaiah Institute of Technology for
providing me a great opportunity to pursue the degree course.

I am very much thankful to Dr. Syed Ariff, Principal and Dr. Manas Mukhopadhyay, Head
of the Department, Department of Mining Engineering for providing support for all
seminar related activities.

I sincerely thank by heart to my internal guide Dr. Manjunath. A, Associate Professor,

Department of Mining Engineering, whose timely support and suggestions went a long way
in the completion of seminar.

I thank my Seminar Co-ordinator, Dr. Raja S, Associate Professor, Department of

Mining Engineering, for his useful guidance and valuable suggestions that helped me in
successful completion of this seminar.

Finally, I thank all the teaching and non-teaching staff of Dr. TTIT and the encouragement in
my endeavor, also nothing could have been achieved without the support and cheerful
encouragement of my parent and friends

ABHISHEK
(1GV21MI003)

i
 ABSTRACT

Cave backfill grouting implies grouting of the caving rock mass prior to it being compacted. The
filling materials strengthen the caving rock and support the overlying strata to achieve the purpose
of slowing down the surface subsidence. The broken roof will fail and collapse during mining
operations performed without appropriate supporting measures being taken. It is difficult to
perform continuous backfill mining on the working face of such roofs using the existing mining
technology. In order to solve the above problems, fly ash and mine water are considered as filling
materials, and flow characteristics of fly-ash slurry are investigated through laboratory experiments
and theoretical analyses. Laws governing the diffusion of fly-ash slurry in the void of caving rock
masses and in the void between a caving rock mass and a basic roof are obtained and verified.
Based on the results obtained from the above analyses and actual conditions at the Zhaoguan coal
mine, Shandong Province, China, a cave backfill grouting system of the hauling pipeline is
developed and successfully tested at the 1703 working face in the Zhaoguan coal mine. The results
demonstrate that a filling rate of 43.46% is achieved, and the surface subsidence coefficient of the
grouting process is found to be 0.475. Compared to the total caving method, the proposed system
is found to achieve a reduction rate of 40.63%. This effectively helps in lowering the value of the
surface subsidence coefficient. Fly ash and mine water, considered as primary materials in this
study, also play a significant role in improving the air quality and water environment.
Keywords: Environmental science, Safety engineering, Mechanical engineering

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Sl no. Content Page no.

Acknowledgment i

Abstract ii

Table of Contents iii

List of Figures iv

List of Tables v

1 Introduction 6 -7

2 Literature Review 7

2.1 Geological setting 8-9

3 Materials & methods 9

3.1 Materials 9-10

3.2 Experimental study on flow and diffusion laws of fly-ash 10

slurry
3.2.1 11
Permeation grouting theory
3.2.2 Test plan and equipment 12

3.2.3 Analysis of experimental results 12-15

4 Design 16

4.1 Slurry hauling pipeline backfill grouting process 16

4.2 17
Slurry hauling pipeline backfill grouting system
5 Example 18

5.1 Filling system layout 18-19

5.2 Filling process 20

5.3 Effectiveness of reducing subsidence 21

6 Conclusion 22

Reference 23

iii
 LIST OS FIGURES

Sl no. Name Page no.

1 8
The location of Zhaoguan coal mine.
2 Column map of the 1703 working face at the Zhaoguan coal 9
mine.

3 SEM image of fly ash with different magnifications (Left) 10-μm 10

scale and (Right) 5-μm scale

4 Schematic of the spherical diffusion theory. 10

5 Outer appearance of grouting pump, (Right) Schematic of the 13

grouting pump.
The test storehouse.
6 14

7 Grouting pressure-time relationship for three particle size grades. 15

8 Variation of filling capacity and filling rate with particle size 16

with the grouting pipe located at the top.

9 Variation of filling capacity and filling rate with particle size with 16
the grouting pipe located at the bottom.

10 Flow diagram of fly-ash slurry hauling pipeline backfill grouting 17

process

11 Stirring and pumping subsystems of the slurry hauling pipeline 18

backfill grouting system

12 Back view of filling subsystem, (Down) Side view of filling 19

subsystem.

13 Filling subsystem of slurry hauling pipeline backfill grouting 19

system.

14 Monitoring scheme of surface rock movement. 21

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 LIST OF TABEL

Table No. Description Page No.

1 Test plan to investigate the laws 13
governing the flow of fly-ash slurry in
the caving zone.
2 Values of the monitored variables over 14
the duration of the laboratory
experiment.
3 Filling volumes of the branch filling 20
pipes of the working face and filling
rates for first six filling cycles.

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[Link]

Coal accounts for 68.5% of the primary energy consumption and forms the main source of energy
in China. It is highly unlikely that this situation would change in the near future. The total coal in
the three state-owned coal mines in the Shandong province alone weighs approximately 13.8
billion tonnes, nearly 9 billion tonnes of which remain under residential buildings and account for
nearly 60% of the recoverable energy reserves. In this scenario, backfill mining technology offers
the best means to extract the coal that is buried under residential buildings. This technology has
the advantages of high recovery rate, controlled movement of the overlying strata, efficient
reduction of surface subsidence, and being potentially non-hazardous to the environment in terms
of solid-waste treatment. The filling modes currently employed in this technique include gangue
backfilling behind a mechanised supporter [1, 2, 3, 4, 5], paste backfilling [6, 7, 8, 9, 10], high
water backfilling [11, 12, 13, 14], and separation layer grouting [15, 16, 17]. These modes a vital
role in the reducing surface subsidence and controlling the movement of overlying strata. However,
the existing filling and mining technology requires filling of the gob area as a prerequisite prior to
the caving of the immediate roof. As such, the roof must possess above-average stability to ensure
optimum filling. Broken joints in the roof possess poor integrity and lack structural stability. They
may, therefore, fail and collapse during mining operations performed without appropriate
supporting measures being taken. It is, therefore, difficult to perform continuous backfill mining
on the working face of such roofs using the existing mining technology. Based on the above
characteristics, Zhang put forward the method of wide-strip filling full pillar mining [18, 19], which
proceeds in two stages—wide-strip mining and full pillar extraction. In this method, the wide strip
is used to support the immediate roof to ensure adequate filling time. However, the mining process
is complicated. Scientists from Germany and Poland proposed grouting in the caving areas of
longwall mining [20, 21, 22]. This technology focuses on filling the void between the waste rocks
before the void is compacted. The filling body is cemented with the gangue to support the roof.
However, filling is carried out after working face mined completely, and broken rocks in gob has
been compressed. As a result, the filling space ends up being smaller and the control effect of
filling body is, therefore, limited. Based on the above characteristics, this study proposes a new
surface subsidence technology—hauling pipeline backfilling for cave backfill grouting. Key
features of the proposed technology include void grouting of the caving rock mass, filling of caving
rock gaps with the hauling pipeline behind the hydraulic support, reduction in compression rate
and strengthening of broken rocks, improvement in bearing performance thereby maintaining
control over slowly moving overlying strata, and reduction in surface subsidence. The proposed

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technique is cost effective and requires neither transformation of the hydraulic support nor sealing
of the minedout area. Moreover, the proposed technique ensures simultaneous realisation of, both,
filling and mining operations as well as safe disposal of solid waste such as fly ash which has great
significance in reducing the occupation of cultivable land and environmental protection.

2. Literature Review
The increasing demand for sustainable mining practices has led to the exploration of industrial by-
products, such as fly ash, in mine backfilling operations. Fly ash, a by-product of coal combustion
in thermal power plants, has emerged as a viable material for backfill grouting in coal mines due
to its pozzolanic properties, availability, and cost-effectiveness.
1. Fly Ash Properties and Suitability
Several studies have emphasized the geotechnical and chemical properties of fly ash that make it
suitable for use in mine backfill. According to Pandey and Singh (2010), fly ash exhibits
adequate strength development when mixed with additives like lime or cement. Yadav et al.
(2014) reported that fly ash slurry provides excellent workability, low permeability, and
sufficient setting characteristics when properly stabilized.
2. Backfill Grouting Techniques
The use of fly ash slurry as a backfill grout is implemented using hydraulic transportation
techniques. Researchers like Li et al. (2017) found that fly ash-based grouts can fill voids
effectively, minimize surface subsidence, and improve ground stability. The slurry's rheological
behavior is key to ensuring pumpability and filling efficiency, as demonstrated in the work of
Zhou et al. (2019).
3. Environmental Benefits
The environmental benefits of using fly ash in backfill are widely documented. Singh and Ram
(2006) highlighted the potential to reduce the environmental footprint of both the power and
mining industries by recycling fly ash. Additionally, backfilling with fly ash can significantly
mitigate mine water pollution and acid mine drainage, as observed by Tripathi et al. (2012).

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2.1 Geological setting

Zhaoguan coal mine lies in south − west Qihe, Shandong Province, China (as shown in Fig. 1).
The 7# coal seam comprises 1703 working face, and is located in the upper part of the Taiyuan
formation. NO. 1 limestone (the first layer limestone from top to bottom) is located above the 7#
coal seam, and the distance between the two is 14.93–25.30 m (average 18.96 m). The distance
between the 5# and 7# coal seams is 38.50–47.10 m (average 42.52 m). Similarly, the distance
between the 7# and 8# coal seams is 9.79–16.57 m (average 13.33 m). The 1703 working face is
located at a depth of 415 m below ground, and the coal seam has an 80−91° northward tilt and a
relatively flat dip angle of 3−5°. Thickness of the coal seam is 0.80–1.20 m, while the average coal
thickness is 0.95 m. The recoverable index of the coal seam is a parameter that represents the
proportion of the recoverable coal seam in the evaluation area and has a value of 1 in the present
case.

Fig. 1. The location of Zhaoguan coal mine

Likewise, the variation coefficient of coal thickness is a parameter that measures coal thickness
off the average thickness. It has a value of 20% for the present case. The coal seam macro
component is of the semi-bright type, with a small amount of coal and charcoal silk belt. The
immediate roof of the 1703 working face is comprised of mudstone (Fig. 2), its thickness varying
between 1.5–5.5 m, with an average of 3.4 m. The basic roof of the 1703 working face is made of
fine sandstone, the thickness of which varies from 3 to 7 m, i.e., an average thickness of 5 m. There

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exists a layer of carbonaceous mudstone at the top of the coal seam. The thickness of this layer
varies from 0.25 to 0.4 m, with an average of 0.3 m. At the immediate bottom lies siltstone with a
thickness varying from 1 to 1.2 m (an average of 1.1 m). The basic bottom is again comprised of
fine sandstone with a thickness of 4.8 m. The 1703 working face is a fully mechanized longwall
working face. The total trend length of this working face is 960 m, and the tendency length is 215
m. The mining height of the working face is 1.2 m.
3. Materials & methods
3.1. Materials
Fly-ash slurry was chosen as the filling material in this study. Fly-ash slurry is a mixture
comprising mine water and fly ash mixed in an 8:10 proportion. Fly ash is obtained primarily from
thermal power plants in the vicinity of the mining area. A scanning electron microscope (SEM)
was used to study the particle-size distribution, and the results are plotted in Fig. 3. Fly ash consists
of oxides such as SiO2, Al2O3, FeO, Fe2O3, CaO, and TiO2. Mine water is obtained from the
pump room under the shaft of the Zhaoguan coal mine.

Fig. 2. Column map of the 1703 working face at the Zhaoguan coal mine.

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Fig. 3. SEM image of fly ash with different magnifications (Left) 10-μm scale and (Right) 5-μm
scale
Pump room under the shaft of the Zhaoguan coal mine. There exist large amounts of suspended
matter in mine water owing to its long-term contact with coal seam and rock and the influence of
mining activities. It is found that there exist large amounts of sulphate and ferrous ions in mine
water thereby contributing to its very low pH value.
3.2. Experimental study on flow and diffusion laws of fly-ash slurry
3.2.1. Permeation grouting theory
An efficient method of diffusing fly-ash slurry in cave zones is permeation grouting. The
penetration formula for slurry in sand layers was derived by Maag in 1938 [23]. Two assumptions
are proposed in the context of fly-ash slurry—(1) The grouting source is a point source; (2) Fly-
ash slurry is a Newtonian fluid. Once these assumptions are met, the slurry is found to diffuse in
the ball (as shown in Fig. 4)

Fig. 4. Schematic of the spherical diffusion theory.

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According to the Darcy's law, one may get

where Q is the grouting capacity per unit time (cm3 /s); A is infiltrating area of slurry (cm2 ); J is
hydraulic gradient; t is the grouting time (s); Kc is permeability coefficient of the slurry in the soil
layer (cm/s); K is the permeability coefficient of the soil layer (cm/s); β is the ratio of size viscosity
and water viscosity, β= μg/μw; r0 is radius of the filling pipe (cm); r, r1 is diffusion radius of slurry
(cm); ϕ is the porosity of the soil; h0 is pressure head of underground water (cm); h1 is pressure
head of grouting (cm); H is sum of pressure head of underground water and grouting (cm); μ g is
coefficient of kinetic viscosity of slurry (mPa·s); μw is coefficient of kinetic viscosity of water
(mPa·s); dh is the change of pressure head of grouting (cm); dr is the change of diffusion radius of
slurry (cm).

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3.2.2. Test plan and equipment

In order to understand the laws governing the flow of fly-ash slurry in the caving zone, a test was
conducted in the laboratory to investigate the influence of particle size and position of the grouting
hole on the flow properties of fly-ash slurry. Two position of grouting hole (at the top and bottom
of the caving zone) were considered along with three particle size grades— I (particle size of 9.5–
16 mm), II (particle size of 16–20 mm), and ¢ó (particle size of 20–25 mm)—to account for the
effect of particle size. A total of 6 group tests were conducted as summarised in Table 1. In
consideration of the dispersion of the data, every group test was repeated three times, and average
value of three times was taken as the test result.
A manual filling grouting pump was considered as the experimental power source (Fig. 5). A test
storehouse, comprising a cuboid with dimensions of 40 × 40 × 20 cm (Fig. 6), is used for holding
the gravel. Grouting methods used are classified into two categories. In the first category, grouting
is performed with the grouting pipe close to the floor; in the second category, the grouting operation
is performed from the top of the gangue collapse. When a large amount of leakage was observed
from the bottom of the test storehouse (grouting close to the floor) or the surface of the powdered
coal slurry was found to spread to the edge of the test box (grouting in the upper part of the gangue),
the grouting operation was said to have met the design requirements, and the test was terminated.
3.2.3. Analysis of experimental results
Over the course of the above experiment, the accumulated flow quantity, filling ratio, grouting
pressure, and depositing angle (i.e., the angle formed between the final deposit and the horizontal
plane when the grouting hole is in the lower part) were regularly monitored. These monitored
values are summarised in Table 2.
The variation in grouting pressure with time for three particle size grades is depicted in Fig. 7. As
can be realised from the figure, the variation in grouting pressure can be divided into four phases.
During low operation phase (Segment AB), the grouting pressure-time curve is essentially a
horizontal line representing the filling operation using fly-ash slurry through the grouting pipeline.
In this phase, the operation resistance is constant and relatively small. Next, during the linear
growth phase (Segment BC), the grouting pressure rises as a linear
Function of time.

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Table 1. Test plan to investigate the laws governing the flow of fly-ash slurry in the caving zone.

Test Influencing Test Influencing

number factor number factor

Particle size Position of Particle size Position of

grade grouting holes grade grouting holes

P1 I Top P4 I Bottom
P2 II Bottom P5 II Top

P3 III Top P6 III Bottom

Note: A. “Bottom” indicates position of the grouting pipe close to the floor; B. “Top” indicates its
position from the top of the gangue collapse.

Fig. 5. (Left) Outer appearance of grouting pump, (Right) Schematic of the grouting pump.

This stage represents the flow of fly-ash slurry in the waste rock. In this phase, an increase in powder
coal slurry leads to an increase in grouting resistance. The third phase (Segment CD) represents a
sharp decrease wherein the grouting pressure is restored to a smaller value in a short period of
time. Gangue move under the grouting pressure, and form a grouting channel. During the final stable
running phase (Segment DE), the grouting pressure–time curve once again takes the form of a
horizontal line. Form a grouting channel between the grouting pipe and the grouting resistance
remains essentially constant. The void volumes corresponding to the three particle sizes in the
simulation box are VQI = 6.14 L, VQII = 6.97 L, and VQIII = 7.82 L. VQI, VQII, VQIII are the void

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volumes between the gravel of particle size grade I, II and III respectively. The larger the particle
size, the larger is the equivalent diameter of the void formed. Large particle size also leads to a
reduction in the maximum and stable values of the grouting pressure, its changed trend is Consistent
with the law of equation (7). The grouting pressure curve demonstrates small fluctuations and a large
particle material flow in grouting.

Fig. 6. The test storehouse.

Table 2. Values of the monitored variables over the duration of the laboratory experiment.

Particle size grade Monitored variable Position of grouting holes

Top Bottom

1 2 3 Average 1 2 3 Average

I Filling capacity (L) 3.84 3.71 3.86 3.80 5.51 5.43 5.37 5.47

Filling ratio (%) 62.54 60.42 62.87 61.89 89.74 88.44 87.46 89.09

Grouting Pressure (MPa) –– –– –– –– 0.17 0.19 0.17 0.18

Depositing angle (°) –– –– –– –– 53.75 54.12 55.07 54.31

II Filling capacity (L) 4.32 4.47 4.39 4.39 5.79 5.68 5.84 5.77

Filling ratio (%) 61.98 64.13 62.98 62.98 83.07 81.49 83.79 82.78

Grouting Pressure (MPa) –– –– –– –– 0.14 0.17 0.16 0.16

Depositing angle (°) –– –– –– –– 49.31 51.04 50.48 50.28

III Filling capacity (L) 4.93 5.11 5.02 5.02 5.87 5.93 5.76 5.85

Filling ratio (%) 63.04 65.35 64.19 64.19 75.06 75.83 73.66 74.81

Grouting Pressure (MPa) –– –– –– –– 0.13 0.15 0.12 0.13

Depositing angle (°) –– –– –– –– 45.13 46.32 44.74 45.40

Note: A. Pressure values quoted in Table represent the maximum filling pressure; B. When the
grouting hole is at top, fly-ash slurry is not found at the bottom of the test box after the grouting is
finished, and the final form of the silt-coal slurry is an inverted cone under the condition of. At this
instant, its depositing angle is not measured. C. “1”, “2” and “3” represent the first, the second and

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the third experiment of each group test respectively.

Fig. 7. Grouting pressure-time relationship for three particle size grades.

pipe during the test, and the near side of the pump pressure is far greater than the far pump for
measuring pressure, what can be determined is caused by the uneven fly-ash slurry, the pressure
fluctuation amplitude curve can be used as a fly ash monitoring uniformity index.

Figs. 8 and 9 below depict the variation in filling capacity and filling ratio with particle size for
the two positions of the grouting pipe.

As seen in Figs. 8 and 9, the filling amount increases with increase in particle size, its changed trend
is consistent with the law of equation (6). When the grouting hole is located at the top, the fly-ash
slurry diffuses completely under the action of gravity, and the filling ratio increases with particle
size. When the grouting hole is located at the bottom, the diffusion of fly-ash slurry occurs under
the action of pump pressure. In this case, with an increase in particle size, the fly-ash slurry
stacking angle and filling rate are found to decrease. For all particle sizes, the filling amount and
filling rate are found to be greater when the grouting hole is near the bottom of the storehouse than when
it is at the top. Therefore, this lower location of the grouting hole was preferred for real-world
applications of the proposed technique.

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4. Design

4.1. Slurry hauling pipeline backfill grouting process

The slurry hauling pipeline backfill grouting process can divided into three parts— stirring, pumping,
and filling (as shown in Fig. 10).

Fig. 8. Variation of filling capacity and filling rate with particle size with the grouting pipe located
at the top.

Fig. 9. Variation of filling capacity and filling rate with particle size with the grouting pipe located at the
bottom.
Stirring: Mixing water and fly-ash thoroughly in a mixer in a certain proportion (8:10 by mass).

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Pumping: Driving fly-ash slurry to the hopper of the concrete pump. The slurry is then transported to
the working face through the concrete pump and filling pipe.

Filling: The slurry is finally carried to the goaf by the filling and branch filling pipes of the
working face.

Fig. 10. Flow diagram of fly-ash slurry hauling pipeline backfill grouting process.

4.2. Slurry hauling pipeline backfill grouting system

The proposed slurry hauling pipeline backfill grouting system consists of three subsystems—
stirring, pumping, and filling. The stirring subsystem mainly includes fly-ash bin, screw feeder,
and mixer (Fig. 11). The fly-ash bin is used to stockpile the fly ash. Fly ash stockpiled in fly- ash
bin is then brought into the mixer through the screw feeder. Fly ash and mine water are then fully
mixed inside mixer in order to form fly-ash slurry. The pumping subsystem comprises a concrete
pump and filling pipe (Fig. 12). Fly- ash slurry prepared in the stirring system is driven to the hopper
of the concrete pump and transported to the filling working face far away from stirring system. The
filling subsystem includes the filling and branch filling pipes of the working face (Fig. 12). The
filling pipe is laid along tendency of the working face, and its length is approximately equal to
tendency length of the working face. The branch filling pipe of working face is laid along trend of
the working face, and its length varies between 10 to 20 m. One end of the branch filling pipe is
connected to the filling pipe of working face.

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5. Example

5.1Filling system layout

An industrial test of the proposed fly-ash slurry hauling pipeline backfill grouting was carried out at
the 1703 working face in Zhaoguan coal mine (as shown in Fig. 13). The whole filling system
was located underground. The stirring and pumping subsystems were located at the working upper
district station. The filling pipe (The pipe model is DN150) was laid up to the 1703 working face
along the district raise and rail entry. The filling pipe of the working face was laid along the tendency
of working face, and its length was measured as 215 m. A total of 15 tees were fitted on the filling
pipe at intervals of 15 m. The branch filling pipe of the working face was connected to filling pipe
through the 15 tees, and its length was 10 m. A stop valve and a flowmeter are installed on the branch
filling pipe of the working face.

Fig. 11. Stirring and pumping subsystems of the slurry hauling pipeline backfill grouting
system

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Fig. 12. (Up) Back view of filling subsystem, (Down) Side view of filling subsystem.

Fig. 13. Filling subsystem of slurry hauling pipeline backfill grouting system.

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5.2 Filling process

The stepwise procedure to be followed during the fly-ash slurry hauling pipeline backfill grouting
process are as follows.

1) Open the stop value of the branch filling pipe of the working face on the lowest side.
2) Close the stop value, and open another stop value according following the sequence
from the low side to the high side.
3) Repeat step two until the filling process of all 15 stop values are completed.

4) When the working face mining proceeds forward by 10 m, repeat steps 1 through 3.
5) Repeat step four until the working face has been mined completely.

A single filling cycle includes steps 1–3, as listed above. The filling volume of every branch filling
pipe of the 1703 working face for the first six cycles is listed in Table 3. The filling rate is the ratio
of filling volume to mining volume. Owing to the fact that the overlying strata around the open-off cut
cave was not sufficient, the filling rate corresponding to the first filling cycle is only 22.40%, which
is much smaller compared to values corresponding to other cycles. The average filling rate of the
1703 working face was determined to be 43.46% (the first filling cycle not taken into consideration).

Table 3. Filling volumes of the branch filling pipes of the working face and filling rates for first
six filling cycles.

Filling cycle Filling volume of each branch filling pipe of working face (m3) Total filling volume (m3) Filling rate (%)

1# 2# 3# 4# 5# 6# 7# 8# 9# 10# 11# 12# 13# 14# 15#

1 52 36 37 36 33 35 37 40 39 34 39 38 39 41 40 576 22.40

2 110 83 86 90 83 95 92 83 77 87 88 91 80 75 80 1300 50.44

3 91 79 75 81 79 85 90 78 74 74 81 75 69 75 79 1185 46.03

4 84 74 77 79 82 78 75 71 66 64 65 69 74 73 69 1100 42.78

5 81 70 67 68 68 72 68 67 64 60 63 68 60 73 78 1027 39.76

6 82 71 70 68 66 63 57 60 62 68 66 69 65 58 63 988 38.28

Note: A. The mining volume of every filling cycle is 2580 m 3 (1.2 m × 10 m × 215 m); B. “1#”,
“2#”,… . “15#” are the number of each branch filling pipeline of working face.

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5.3 Effectiveness of reducing subsidence

The purpose of fill mining is to exercise control over surface subsidence. In order to evaluate the
effectiveness of reducing subsidence during the fly-ash slurry hauling pipeline backfill grouting
process, ground deformation observations were carried out on the surface of the 1703 working face.
Two measuring lines (trend and tendency measuring lines) were laid along the Wuzhuang main
canal (as shown in Fig. 14). The length of the trend measuring line was 1080 m, and the number
of measuring points was chosen to be 36. The tendency measuring line was 240 m in length with 8
measuring points. The distance between the measuring points in both cases was 30 m.
Based on ground deformation results monitored over a long time, the maximum surface subsidence
of the 1703 working face was found to be 0.57 m, and the subsidence coefficient was determined as
0.475. Subsidence coefficient is defined as the ratio between the maximum subsidence and mining
thicknesses. According to the ground deformation monitoring results of the 1705 and 1706 working
faces, the maximum subsidence is 0.96 m, and the subsidence coefficient is 0.80 under conditions of
cave mining. Through comparison, it can be realised that the fly-ash slurry hauling pipeline backfill
grouting process is well capable of controlling the movement of overlying strata thereby effectively
reducing subsidence. The coefficient of subsidence reduction was found to be 40.63%, and represents
ratio of the difference between the maximum subsidence under fill mining and cave mining to the
maximum subsidence under cave mining.

Fig. 14. Monitoring scheme of surface rock movement.

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USE OF FLY-ASH SLURRY IN BACKFILL GROUTING IN COAL MINES | 2024-25

[Link]
On the basis of analyses and research concerning the advantages and disadvantages of existing
filling technologies, a new filling technique called the fly-ash slurry hauling pipeline backfill
grouting has been proposed in this paper.
The process and system of the slurry hauling pipeline backfill grouting have been introduced and
thoroughly explained in the foregoing sections.
Results obtained from a real-world on-field application of the proposed technique demonstrate that
the fly-ash slurry hauling pipeline backfill grouting process is capable controlling the movement
of overlying strata thereby effectively reducing surface subsidence.
The filling rate of the 1703 working face was found to be 43.46% with coefficient of subsidence
reduction equal to 40.63%

Department of Mining Engineering, D. TTIT, KGF 22

USE OF FLY-ASH SLURRY IN BACKFILL GROUTING IN COAL MINES | 2024-25

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Department of Mining Engineering, D. TTIT, KGF 23