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Pile Design and Construction Practice, Fifth edition

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446 Miscellaneous piling problems<br />

The magnitude of the strain can range from as much as plus or minus 0.8% of the overburden<br />

thickness above shallow workings to 0.2% over deep seams.<br />

The horizontal ground movements make it virtually impossible to use piled foundations<br />

in areas where longwall mining is proposed, or is currently being practised. The horizontal<br />

shearing forces accompanying the strains are so high that it is quite uneconomical to attempt<br />

to resist them by heavily strengthening the pile shafts. However, in areas where subsidence<br />

following longwall mining has virtually ceased it is possible to use piled foundations if it is<br />

recognized that some residual movement will take place as the collapsed strata slowly reach<br />

final equilibrium. In these cases it is desirable to terminate piles in a soil layer overlying<br />

rockhead, as shown on the left-h<strong>and</strong> side of Figure 9.10. The soil acts as a cushion, preventing<br />

any concentration of load on the broken rock strata. Long-term movements may be substantial<br />

near the boundary of the worked-out seam. If the workings are shallow, piles may be taken<br />

down through the collapsed overburden to intact rock layers below the coal seam as shown<br />

on the right-h<strong>and</strong> side of Figure 9.10. Bored <strong>and</strong> cast-in-place piles are used for this purpose,<br />

but it is essential to isolate the shaft of the pile from the overburden above the coal<br />

seam in order to avoid heavy compressive loading caused by downdrag from the collapsing<br />

strata. This isolation is achieved by placing the concrete within a shell formed from stiffened<br />

light-gauge steel sheeting, the sheeting terminating at the base of the coal seam. Below this<br />

level the concrete can be cast against the surface of the stable strata to form a ‘rock socket’,<br />

as shown in Figure 9.11. The space between the shell <strong>and</strong> the wall of the drill hole through<br />

the overburden can be filled with bentonite slurry, soft bitumen or loosely placed rock<br />

fragments. A minimum clearance of 150 mm should be provided to accommodate minor<br />

Piling<br />

Collapsed<br />

over burden<br />

Subsidence complete<br />

Very soft clay<br />

Stiff boulder clay<br />

Stowage<br />

Long-continuing<br />

small subsidence<br />

Unworked<br />

seam<br />

No<br />

subsidence<br />

Figure 9.10 Piling through collapsed ground over longwall mine workings.

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