Backfilling is widely used to control surface subsidence and stope stability to improve pillar recovery. Furthermore, it is also an effective way to process and dispose of mining waste such as coal gangue and tailings. In this study, the hydraulic-mechanical properties of cemented paste backfill materials (CPB) were investigated. Twenty-eight cemented coal gangue-fly ash backfill mixtures were prepared with different water, cement, fly ash and coal gangue content and the slump, segregation and water bleeding ratio tests were conducted. Increasing fly ash content increased the slump value and decreased the segregation value of the slurry. The uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of the cemented coal gangue-fly ash backfill samples were tested at different curing times. Based on the test results, an optimized recipe was used for the field trial. Longwall cut and backfilling mining method was used in the 2300 mining district to recycle the coal pillar between longwall 2301 and 2302. Both stress and displacement meters were installed in the goaf and their performance was monitored continuously. An increase in stress and displacement values were observed to occur with the working face advanced (up to 325 m and 375 m, respectively); thereafter, a trend of stabilization was observed. The monitoring results suggest that the backfills can efficiently control the roof movement and surface subsidence as well as improve pillar recovery.

The low early strength of materials for paste filling in mines caused by low early strength of composite cementing material has been a severe issue. In this study, the effects of sulphoaluminate cement and gypsum on strengths of composite cementing material were investigated experimentally by employing the constrained formulation uniform design. With the content of the sulphoaluminate cement below 14% and the content of the gypsum below 16%, the compressive strengths of composite cementing materials increased, especially early strength. However, the initial and final setting time does not meet the engineering requirements in this case. Optimization tests of composite additives demonstrated that H₂BO₃(0.3%) + Na₂SO₄(0.1%) and H₂BO₃(0.3%) + NaNO₂(0.1%) were ideal setting retarding and early strengthening composite additives as they can both reduce the initial and final setting time and enhance compressive strengths of composite cementing material. Investigations by XRD and SEM revealed that the hydration products of composite cementing material were dominated by AFt (ettringite) at the early stage and by C-S-H (hydrated calcium silicate) gel + CH (calcium hydroxide) gel at the middle and late stages. The hydration products of ratio-optimized composite cementing material do not restrain each other due to the generation sequence. Instead, they grew interactively and were coupled, thus facilitating the growth of the hardened body. This study can provide references for optimization of composite cementing material for paste filling in coal mines.

Cemented paste backfill containing coal gangue and fly ash (CGFACPB) is an emerging backfill technique for coal mines that allows environmentally hazardous coal gangue and fly ash to be reused in the underground goaf. Meanwhile, CGFACPB can provide an efficient ground support and reduce the surface subsidence. Due to the difference of consolidation environment between the laboratory and the field, the mechanical properties of the cemented paste backfill vary significantly. In this paper, the core specimens were collected from an underground coal mine where the CGFACPB was used for coal mining, and the mechanical properties of the collected specimens were investigated. The cores were obtained from the underground coal mine, and then the standard cylinders or discs were prepared in laboratory. The uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), Young’s modulus, and Poisson’s ratio were determined by the compression tests, and the tensile strength was achieved by the Brazilian test. Then the internal friction angle and cohesion were calculated using the improved Mohr–Coulomb strength criterion. The results showed the development of UCS can be divided into four stages, and the final long‐term stable value was about 5.1 MPa. The development of Young’s modulus had similar trend. Young’s modulus had a range from 550 MPa to 750 MPa and the mean value of 675 MPa. Poisson’s ratio gradually increased with the underground curing duration and eventually approached the stable value of 0.18. The failure type of compression samples was mainly single‐sided shear failure. The development of tensile strength can be divided into two stages, and the stable value of the tensile strength was about 1.05 MPa. The development of cohesion can be divided into four stages, and the stable value was about 1.75 MPa. The stable value of the internal friction angle was about 25°. This study can provide significant references for not only the long‐term stability evaluation of CGFACPB in the field but also the design of optimal recipe of the cemented paste backfill (CPB).

During the coal mining process, underground water is generated from the longwall face. In the meantime, the coal cutting process would produce coal particles. Coal slurry is generated in the underground working site, especially for water abundant coal mines. The generated coal slurry is treated to prevent water pollution. Due to the extensively existing of the suspended solid, the traditional process method would often introduce new problems. In this study, laboratory testing was conducted to investigate the characteristics, including the particle size distribution of the coal sludge, coal slurry compositions, slurry viscosity and coal mine water quality. In order to improve the coal slurry treatment efficiency, based on the laboratory results, a novel combined treatment of underground coal slurry is proposed. First, the coarse grained coal slurry is process by a vibrating screening machine. Then, the coal slurry containing fine coal powders is processed through a settling pond. The sedimentation results of the coal solid materials are analyzed. The polymer flocculant is also added into the coal slurry to improve the sedimentation. These combined treats of the coal slurry significantly remove the suspended solid and improve the quality of the coal mine water. Based on the laboratory testing, the specific details of the field applications are designed. The key novelty of this paper is the underground background. All of these treatments are based on the underground environment and are capable of being applied in underground workings. From field applications and observations, these novel combined treatments of coal slurry in the underground site are effective. This study provides a novel method to treat the coal slurry, which has innovations from engineering aspect. These procedures are useful for the underground coal slurry treatment, especially for water-abundant coal mines. The normal coal production is guaranteed and less affected by the coal slurry discharge process. Meanwhile, the water pollution problem is much addressed and the damage of coal slurry to the environment is reduced.