USE OF FLY ASH FOR REMOTE FILLING

OF UNDERGROUND CAVITIES
AND PASSAGEWAYS
.J

By Edwin M. Murphy, Malcolm 0. Magnuson, Pete Suder, Jr.,

and John Nagy

report of investigations 7214

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Stewart L. Udall, Secretary

BUREAU OF MINES
John F. O'Leary, Director
 CONTENTS

Abstract 1
Introduction. 1
Large-scale experiments 3
Dry borehole, dry passageway....... 4
Dry borehole, 5 feet from face in a wet entry. 4
Wet boreholes 5
Pneumatic injection of coarse material 7
Water flushing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Fly-ash injection in an operating mine 8
Pneumatic transport of fly ash 9
Fly-ash injection in an abandoned mine 10
Calculation of the weight of fly ash to fill a void 13
Surface experiments 16
Inclined passageway 16
Injection into rubble 16
Flow of materials around obstructions and into voids 16
Fly-ash dam 20
Sunnnary ... 23
Appendix 25

ILLUSTRATIONS

1. System for pneumatic injection of fly ash in the Experimental Coal

Mine .. .... 3
2. A 10-foot-wide, 6-foot-high entry sealed remotely with fly ash. 5
3. Conical pile of moist fly ash formed at bottom of hole 6
4. Crushed limestone and water being flushed into a borehole . 9
5. Plan view of 118-foot-long, 16-foot-wide, 7-foot-high entry in an
operating mine ....... 10
6. Abandoned-mine fire near Lloydsville, showing surface features and
location of boreholes. o 11
7. Fly ash being injected pneumatically into an abandoned mine 12
8. Fly-ash plug in entry ............ 14
9. Simulated inclined entry ............... 17
10. Simulated inclined entry with fly-ash plug at rubble. 18
11. Three-inch rubble in a 6- by 8-foot simulated entry 19
12. Fly ash injected into 3-inch rubble 20
13. Interior of rubble pile permeated with fly ash..... 21
14. Simulated mine entry with roof cavity and obstructions 22
15. Shrinkage test specimens ... 22

TABLES

1. Particle-size distribution of materials studied 7

A-1. Field data on fire control operations at an abandoned mine . 25
 USE OF FLY ASH FOR REMOTE FILLING OF UNDERGROUND CAVITIES
AND PASSAGEWAYS

by

Edwin M. Murphy, 1 Malcolm 0. Magnuson, 2 Pete Suder, Jr., 3 and John Nagy 4

ABSTRACT

Methods are described for filling underground cavities remotely with dry
material pneumatically injected through a borehole to seal openings, prevent
air movement, and reduce subsidence; this often brings underground fires under
control by limiting the access of air.

Large-scale tests were made in the Bureau of Mines Experimental Coal Mine,
Bruceton, Pa., in an operating mine, and in an abandoned Pennsylvania mine.
Supplemental trials were made aboveground in galleries and in the laboratory.
The parameters studied include horizontal and inclined passageways, obstruc-
tions in the entry, water leakage into the borehole, dry material, and grout
and slurry mixes. The materials studied were fly ash, crushed and pulverized
limestone, and sand.

Best results were obtained with dry fly ash, though satisfactory seals
were obtained with the other materials. When a borehole is dry and ends at an
open void, casing is not necessary. If more than 5 gpm of water flows in the
borehole, if the void contains loose debris, or if coarse material is injected,
a material feedpipe should be inserted through the borehole.

Fly ash was most suitable for remote filling because of its low angle of
repose (8 ) and its good flow characteristics. The depth of borehole through
which the fly ash is injected has no appreciable effect on the filling
operation.
INTRODUCTION
This Bureau of Mines investigation was undertaken to develop a practical
method for forming tight, stable sears in inaccessible mine workings by pneu-
matic injection of fly ash through a borehole.
1 Chemical research engineer, Dust and Ventilation.
2 Project coordinator, Mine Fire Control.
3
Mining engineer, Mine Fire Control.
4Project coordinator, Dust and Ventilation.
All authors are with the Health and Safety Research and Testing Center,
Bureau of Mines, Pittsburgh, Pa.
2

In active mine workings, particula~ly in gassy mines where an explosive

atmosphere may form, a fire is often confined by stoppings built at appreci-
able distances from the burning area to reduce chance of explosion. To
recover equipment and minimize loss of production for the extended time ordi-
narily required for the relatively large, confined volume to cool, the extent
of the sealed zone may be reduced by installing closer stoppings or seals.
Experience has shown that it is sometimes necessary or advantageous to con-
struct the seals remotely from the surface because of the great distances
involved, roof falls, or flooding. Remote seals may also be useful in con-
trolling subsidence, caving, and mine drainage. Formerly, no satisfactory
procedures or materials were available for constructing seals remotely.

Following exploratory trials by the Bureau in 1963, 5 mineral wool was

injected with partial success in recovering a 400-foot-deep West Virginia mine
following an extensive fire. 6 Seals were formed in 11 entries in the mine.
The operation was cumbersome because a special nozzle, which had to rotate,
was required. Water, flowing in some boreholes, affected the quality of the
seals.

Fires in abandoned mine workings induce subsidence, cause air pollution,

and present a health hazard when carbon monoxide is liberated. In the past,
these fires were controlled by surface sealing, trenching, loading out, and by
water flushing. Procedures and field experience in controlling fires in inac-
tive workings were described previously. 7 The new system, described herein,
for remote filling and sealing of cavities should provide a supplemental
method for controlling fires in the inactive workings.

Except for two trials, one in an operating coal mine and the other in an
abandoned mine, the tests were made at the Bureau's Experimental Coal Mine.
Eleven large-scale experiments using pneumatic injection and one trial using
water flushing were made. Eight of these tests were with fly ash, three with
crushed limestone, and one with dry sand. At the Experimental Coal Mine,
6-inch-diameter boreholes, 45 to 65 feet in depth, were drilled from the sur-
face to intercept the horizontal 6-foot-high by 10-foot-wide passageways. One
of these holes was at the rib, the others were midway between the ribs. The
boreholes, s cased with a 10-foot length of pipe to prevent caving at the
collar, were dry.

5 Nagy, John, Donald W. Mitchell, and Edwin M. Murphy. Sealing a Coal-Mine

Passageway Through a Borehole: A Progress Report. BuMines Rept. of Inv.
6453, 1964, 13 pp.
6
Coal Age. Fire, Explosions and Recovery Federal No. 1 Mine. November 1963,
pp. 78-85, 92-95.
7
Griffith, Franklin, E., Malcolm 0. Magnuson, and Glenn J. R. Toothman. Con-
trol of Fires in Inactive Coal F~rmations in the United States. BuMines
Bull. 590, 1960, 105 pp.
8 The Consolidation Coal Company drilled the boreholes and provided the fly ash

for the three initial trials in the Experimental Coal Mine.