Advances of Rheological Characteristics of Rock Mass in Deep Mining

With the increasing depth of mineral resources, deep mining has become the new frontline of exploring and exploiting mineral resources. The deep mining environment manifests high in-situ stress, high ground temperature, and high karst water pressure, which results in mechanical behaviors of rock mass being quite different from those in the shallow part. Also, associated deep mining disasters evince in a more serious manner, which encompass roadway deformation, mining pressure in the stope, increased instability in the stope, and rock burst and rock burst accumulation. In this regard, the safety and efficiency of exploring and exploiting deep mineral resources is dependent on creep mechanisms, large deformation mechanisms, and long-term stability control methods of deep rock mass.

This Research Topic aims to present and disseminate recent advances of rheological characteristics of rock mass in deep mining as well as to promote the development of advanced control methods for long-term stability of surrounding rocks.

This Research Topic encourage scholars to address the following themes that include, but are not limited to:

• Mechanical behaviors of deep rock mass
• Rheological characteristics of deep rock mass
• Characteristics of strata movement
• Rock mass mechanics test
• Creep constitutive models and instability criterion
• Rock mass fracture and energy evolution
• Seepage analysis of fractured deep rock mass
• Large deformation control methods of deep rock mass
• Long-term stability control methods of deep rock mass
• Backfilling underground mining