Fluid Flows in Geotechnical Engineering

A special issue of Fluids (ISSN 2311-5521). This special issue belongs to the section "Geophysical and Environmental Fluid Mechanics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2022) | Viewed by 15774

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Mining Institute of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 614007 Perm, Russia
Interests: artificial ground freezing; heat and mass transfer; numerical simulation; thermal monitoring; mine shaft; underground mine; mine ventilation systems; dust–air mixture
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The construction and operation of underground mines and other geotechnical structures is accompanied by a large number of interrelated processes of heat and mass transfer, and phase transformations of fluids in soil pores and cracks. The study of these processes is important for a deeper understanding of the evolution of geotechnical systems and safe and energy-efficient operation of these systems.

The aim of this Special Issue is to bring together many articles to better understand the role of various physical processes in complex geotechnical systems and their interrelationships.

Dr. Mikhail Semin
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fluids is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • groundwater flows
  • heat and mass transfer
  • underground mining
  • mine airways
  • mine water
  • mine air

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (8 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

11 pages, 942 KiB  
Article
Unsteady Coupled Heat Transfer in the Air and Surrounding Rock Mass for Mine Excavations with Distributed Heat Sources
by Artem Zaitsev, Andrey Shalimov and Dmitriy Borodavkin
Fluids 2023, 8(2), 67; https://doi.org/10.3390/fluids8020067 - 14 Feb 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1363
Abstract
This paper presents an unsteady coupled heat transfer model in mine air and surrounding rock mass in the presence of distributed heat sources. The case of distributed heat sources is typical when analyzing the temperature distribution in mine excavations equipped with conveyor systems. [...] Read more.
This paper presents an unsteady coupled heat transfer model in mine air and surrounding rock mass in the presence of distributed heat sources. The case of distributed heat sources is typical when analyzing the temperature distribution in mine excavations equipped with conveyor systems. For this case, the asymptotic value of the air temperature at the end of the mine excavation is determined not only by the heat exchange between the air and surrounding rock mass but also by the thermal power of distributed heat sources and the total airflow. This conclusion is confirmed by the experimental data presented in the paper for a longwall in a potash mine. We formulate the mathematical model and calculate the distribution of air parameters along the length of an excavation, considering heat release from the conveyor and surrounding rock mass. The results show that a distributed heat release is necessary for correctly calculating the air temperature in working areas. The numerical simulations allow us to recommend a redistribution of air between the haulage and conveyor roadways in the presence of distributed heat sources. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluid Flows in Geotechnical Engineering)
Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 6213 KiB  
Article
Research on Location Selection of Personnel Door and Anemometer Based on FLUENT
by Tao Qin, Teng Zhang, Yanwei Duan and Yongli Liu
Fluids 2023, 8(1), 26; https://doi.org/10.3390/fluids8010026 - 10 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1405
Abstract
The structural design of ventilation structures and the arrangement of anemometers in the main ventilation roadway of an underground mine play an important role in the accurate measurement of air speed. It is one of the important tasks of mine ventilation management and [...] Read more.
The structural design of ventilation structures and the arrangement of anemometers in the main ventilation roadway of an underground mine play an important role in the accurate measurement of air speed. It is one of the important tasks of mine ventilation management and intelligent-ventilation-system construction to determine the position of anemometers. In this paper, the CFD numerical simulation method is used to determine the position of the personnel door in the automatic air door by FLUENT software simulating and analyzing the air-speed cloud diagram and air-pressure cloud diagram in the two-dimensional roadway model. Under the same air speed, comparing the air-speed distribution of different cross-sections in the three-dimensional roadway model when the wide door and the personnel door are opened, the anemometer is set at the 25 m cross-section behind the air door, and the air-speed distribution of the cross-section at different air speeds is simulated. The average air-speed line and the specific installation position of the anemometer on the line are obtained by Origin software. The result shows that the position of the personnel door is 400 mm from the middle line of the roadway, and the measurement error of the anemometer is small on the left side of the roadway (0.41, 2.45) and the right side of the roadway (4.59, 2.43) at 25 m behind the air door, which provides a theoretical basis for the measurement of air speed in a coal mine ventilation roadway. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluid Flows in Geotechnical Engineering)
Show Figures

Figure 1

22 pages, 3771 KiB  
Article
Ground-Penetrating Radar Method for Studying Water Drainage in Sand Layers
by Vladimir Shapovalov, Andrey Vasilchenko, Victor Yavna, Andrei Kochur and Maksim Okost
Fluids 2022, 7(12), 379; https://doi.org/10.3390/fluids7120379 - 9 Dec 2022
Viewed by 1580
Abstract
A ground-penetrating radar (GPR) technology was developed to study the process of water drainage in sand layers with an insignificant concentration of dusty and clayey particles when moistened from above. The technology includes a method of calibration of the GPR equipment, algorithms for [...] Read more.
A ground-penetrating radar (GPR) technology was developed to study the process of water drainage in sand layers with an insignificant concentration of dusty and clayey particles when moistened from above. The technology includes a method of calibration of the GPR equipment, algorithms for processing the GPR information, and their software implementation. The technology was used to process the results of laboratory GPR measurements obtained during draining of water through sand layers from different quarries for 100 h. The absolute values and the changes in the refractive index and specific conductivity near the sand layer upper boundary and on average over the layer depth were calculated. The results show that the developed technology makes it possible to determine electrophysical properties with an accuracy of up to 10%. The developed method for calculating relative reflectivity and its derivative with respect to the depth of the layer made it possible to visualize the information contained in the radargrams on the distribution of water near the surface and deep in the sand layers. The application of the method makes it possible to quantitatively estimate the moisture content near the upper boundary of the layer and the depth of the location of the most moistened areas of the layer depending on the duration of water drainage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluid Flows in Geotechnical Engineering)
Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 6212 KiB  
Article
Numerical Simulation on Temperature and Moisture Fields Around Cooling Towers Used in Mine Ventilation System
by Maxim Zhelnin, Anastasiia Kostina, Oleg Plekhov, Artem Zaitsev and Dmitriy Olkhovskiy
Fluids 2022, 7(10), 317; https://doi.org/10.3390/fluids7100317 - 28 Sep 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2003
Abstract
For heat rejection, small air-cooling towers are widely used in mine ventilation systems. However, the thermal efficiency of the cooling towers can be significantly affected by their geometrical arrangement and crosswind conditions. In certain ambient conditions, heated air coming from an exit of [...] Read more.
For heat rejection, small air-cooling towers are widely used in mine ventilation systems. However, the thermal efficiency of the cooling towers can be significantly affected by their geometrical arrangement and crosswind conditions. In certain ambient conditions, heated air coming from an exit of one tower can flow to intakes of other towers, which leads to a reduction in the thermal efficiency of the entire ventilation system. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of crosswind speed and tower spacing on the temperature and moisture content of intakes of cooling towers. For this purpose, a three-dimensional CFD model of the non-isothermal turbulent flow of moist air around cooling towers is proposed. The model is based on the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations with a standard turbulence model which are supplemented by heat transfer and moisture transport equations. The investigation of the effects of the crosswind speed and the tower spacing was carried out for two cooling towers by multiparametric numerical simulation using the CFD model. It was shown that the upstream tower protects the downstream one from the effect of the crosswind. The increase in the crosswind speed causes a rise in temperature and moisture content at the intakes of the downstream tower. The increase in the tower spacing, in general, contributes to a decrease in air temperature at the intakes of the downstream tower. However, at low crosswind speed, the heat transfer at the intakes can rise with the tower spacing due to a reduction in the protection possibilities of the upstream tower. Results of the numerical simulation of airflow around three cooling towers indicated that the increase in the number of cooling towers contributes to a rise in temperature and moisture content at the intakes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluid Flows in Geotechnical Engineering)
Show Figures

Figure 1

11 pages, 4036 KiB  
Article
Study of the Influence of Thermal Convection on Temperature Measurement in Thermal Control Boreholes during Artificial Ground Freezing
by Mikhail Semin and Lev Levin
Fluids 2022, 7(9), 298; https://doi.org/10.3390/fluids7090298 - 9 Sep 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1374
Abstract
This paper considers the problem of thermal convection of a calcium chloride solution in a vertical borehole. A non-uniform temperature distribution with a given vertical gradient is set at the walls of the borehole. The non-stationary temperature distribution along the borehole axis was [...] Read more.
This paper considers the problem of thermal convection of a calcium chloride solution in a vertical borehole. A non-uniform temperature distribution with a given vertical gradient is set at the walls of the borehole. The non-stationary temperature distribution along the borehole axis was analyzed, and its deviations from the temperature at the walls were investigated. From a practical point of view, this problem is important for estimating the error in distributed temperature measurements over the depth of thermal control boreholes during artificial ground freezing. In this study, an area near the bottom of the borehole was identified where the fluid temperature at the borehole axis deviates significantly from the temperature at the wall. The maximum deviations of the fluid temperature from the temperature at the walls, as well as the length of the temperature deviation sections, were determined. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluid Flows in Geotechnical Engineering)
Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 1669 KiB  
Article
The Static Analysis of the Gas Content and the Gas-Dynamic Characteristics at the Second Potash Bed in the Starobinsk Potassium Salts Deposit
by Sergey S. Andreyko, Natalya Litvinovskaya, Artem Papulov and Tamara Lyalina
Fluids 2022, 7(8), 278; https://doi.org/10.3390/fluids7080278 - 15 Aug 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1839
Abstract
The use of the new mining technology on the Third potash bed at the Starobinsk potash salt deposit is accompanied by the displacement of the undermined rocks. The displacement is accompanied by the foliation. The gas accumulates in the resulting foliation. The gas [...] Read more.
The use of the new mining technology on the Third potash bed at the Starobinsk potash salt deposit is accompanied by the displacement of the undermined rocks. The displacement is accompanied by the foliation. The gas accumulates in the resulting foliation. The gas accumulations in the roof or the floor rocks can be the cause of a rockburst. A rockburst poses a threat to the miners’ lives, breaks driving and wide equipment and stops the working activity of the mines. Therefore, the study of the underworking effect on the gas content and the gas-dynamic characteristics are relevant problems in mining science. Thus, the purpose of this work is the study of the underworking effect on the gas content and the gas-dynamic characteristics. The τ criterion was used for testing the data samples. At the second stage of the comparative statistical analysis, two hypotheses H0 and H1 were accepted which were later subjected to verification using Student’s t-test. The gas parameters are changed by the camera floor and are not changed by other places. Therefore, the effect of the rock underworking leads to the formation of the additional foliation of the floor and, accordingly, to the free gases’ redistribution along the stratigraphic section and, ultimately, to the significant changes of the free gas content, the starting gas release and the gas pressure. The validity of the effect of the undermining can be the intensive gas releases repeatedly recorded in the process of drilling research holes into the soil with the ejection of a piece of the rock. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluid Flows in Geotechnical Engineering)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

12 pages, 2573 KiB  
Article
Barite-Free Muds for Drilling-in the Formations with Abnormally High Pressure
by Ekaterina Leusheva, Nazim Alikhanov and Valentin Morenov
Fluids 2022, 7(8), 268; https://doi.org/10.3390/fluids7080268 - 4 Aug 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3537
Abstract
This paper discusses problems associated with water-based drilling fluids used for drilling formations with abnormally high pressure. The available solutions are suitable for a narrow range of applications, especially when weighted muds should be used. This paper reviews the experience of searching and [...] Read more.
This paper discusses problems associated with water-based drilling fluids used for drilling formations with abnormally high pressure. The available solutions are suitable for a narrow range of applications, especially when weighted muds should be used. This paper reviews the experience of searching and developing a new type of drilling mud based on saturated brines. With the referenced papers as the basis, the authors developed compositions of such brine-based drilling muds. A distinctive feature of the considered compositions is the absence of barite, which is often used as a weighting agent. The paper presents a methodology for creating and investigating the proposed drilling fluids. The rheological properties and thermal stability of the muds at various temperatures were studied. The results show that proposed drilling fluids can be efficiently used for drilling formations with abnormally high pressure. It is assumed that the developed muds have greater versatility than analogues. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluid Flows in Geotechnical Engineering)
Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 2874 KiB  
Article
Parameterization of the Model of Artificial Clay Freezing Considering the Effect of Pore Water Salinity
by Mikhail Semin, Lev Levin, Sergey Bublik, Gennadiy Brovka, Andrey Brovka and Kirill Agutin
Fluids 2022, 7(6), 186; https://doi.org/10.3390/fluids7060186 - 27 May 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1887
Abstract
This paper considers the artificial freezing of an argillite-like clay layer containing a NaCl salt solution in its pore space. The experimental results of the thermophysical properties of the clay with various salinities and water content in soil samples are presented. We determine [...] Read more.
This paper considers the artificial freezing of an argillite-like clay layer containing a NaCl salt solution in its pore space. The experimental results of the thermophysical properties of the clay with various salinities and water content in soil samples are presented. We determine the parameters of the soil freezing characteristic curves, the dependences of the specific heat capacity, and thermal conductivity based on temperature and salinity. These parameters are used in the formulation of a simple thermodynamic model for the artificial freezing of a clay layer with a single freezing pipe. The model includes diffusive transfer of heat and salt concentration, as well as salt precipitation when the eutectic point is reached. The motivation for using the simplified model is to understand the general patterns of soil freezing when considering the effect of salinity, as well as to test the proposed numerical finite-difference algorithm for solving the problem of freezing a clay layer based on the method of equivalent heat capacities. Using the algorithm, we analyzed the regularities of the redistribution of dissolved and precipitated salt in frozen soil, and also evaluated the effect of diffusive salt transfer on the numerical solution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluid Flows in Geotechnical Engineering)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop