Influence of Underground Mining on Ground Surface and Railway Bridge Under Thick Alluvium

Patterns of ground movement and pore water pressure variation are obtained through a case study using a finite element method. With the progress of excavation, ground subsidence, ground inclination and horizontal displacement accelerates. Along the striking direction, a subsidence basin is formed on the ground surface induced by underground mining. The maximum subsidence is around 5.41m. The ratio of ground subsidence to the thickness of the coal seam is 1.08. The maximum inclination is 11.5 mm/m. The maximum horizontal displacement is 2.15 mm/m. At the time the coal has been excavated, the maximum pore water pressure reaches 25 kPa. In order to improve protection of structures lo- cated over the area with underground mining, the variation of additional stresses of a railway bridge induced by ground surface deformation is analyzed. The main effect of underground mining on the railway bridge is the tensile stress and the maximum value reaches as high as 4.29 MPa, which is greater than the concrete tensile strength.