SCT Operations (Strata Control Technology)
  • Jesse Puller

Welcome to SCT's own publications library which contains a collection of recent publications and other resources with reliable research about our technology. 

  • Experience of Using the ANZI Strain Cell in Exploration Boreholes to Determine the Three Dimensional Stresses at Depth - J.Puller, K.Mills

    This paper describes recent use of the ANZI (Australia, New Zealand Inflatable) strain cell and the overcoring method of stress relief in exploration boreholes to determine three dimensional in situ stresses at depths approaching 1km in a one-day operation. The results from each of the various stages of a routine overcoring operation are described to illustrate the information each step can provide. The results from an Australian site is presented to illustrate the opportunities to characterise the three dimensional in situ stress environment when multiple high confidence measurements are achieved. The ANZI strain cell is an instrument system that uses the overcoring method of stress relief to determine the three dimensional in situ stresses in rock. The instrument has been used successfully for over three decades in numerous underground mining and civil projects, but technical advances over the last decade have allowed the system to be deployed routinely in surface exploration boreholes. Recent development of a downhole high-precision data logger, a wireline enabled drilling system and an instrument deployment system has simplified the process of obtaining three dimensional overcore measurements remote from any underground excavation at depths approaching 1km. J.Puller-Experience-of-Using-the-ANZI-Strain-Cell-in-Exploration-Boreholes-to-Determine-the-Three-Dimensional-Stresses-at-Depth.pdf1.3 MB
  • Development of the ANZI strain cell for three dimensional in situ stress determinations in deep exploration boreholes - Ken Mills - Jesse Puller

    The Australia, New Zealand Inflatable (ANZI) strain cell is an instrument used to determine the three dimensional in situ stresses with a high level of confidence, through the overcoring method of stress relief. The ANZI cell has been used for over three decades at numerous sites around the world, typically in short inclined boreholes drilled from underground mines. Technical advances during the last decade have seen the ANZI cell deployed and overcored in increasingly deeper surface exploration boreholes. Recent development of a downhole electronic data logger, a wireline enabled drilling system and an instrument deployment system has greatly simplified the process of obtaining three dimensional overcore measurements at depth. This paper describes the ANZI strain cell, its operation and recent development for overcoring in exploration boreholes. The capability to deploy ANZI strain cells in exploration boreholes represents a significant breakthrough for the design of underground mines and underground excavations generally. Being able to obtain high confidence measurements of the in situ stresses at the planning stage of any underground construction activity provides the opportunity to take advantage of these stresses. Not only does it become possible to protect key infrastructure by locating it away from areas of stress concentration, advantage can be taken of the major stresses to promote caving through appropriate design. Development-of-the-ANZI-strain-cell-for-three-dimensional-in-situ-stress-determinations-in-deep-exploration-boreholes-K.Mills-J.Puller-2017.pdf887 KB
  • In-Situ Stress Measurements and Stress Change Monitoring to Monitor Overburden Caving Behaviour and Hydraulic Fracture Pre-Conditioning - Jesse Puller, Ken Mills, Rob Jeffrey

    A coal mine in New South Wales is longwall mining 300 m wide panels at a depth of 160–180 m directly below a 16–20 m thick conglomerate strata. As part of a strategy to use hydraulic fracturing to manage
    potential windblast and periodic caving hazards associated with these conglomerate strata, the in-situ stresses in the conglomerate were measured using ANZI strain cells and the overcoring method of stress relief. Changes in stress associated with abutment loading and placement of hydraulic fractures were also measured using ANZI strain cells installed from the surface and from underground. Overcore stress measurements have indicated that the vertical stress is the lowest principal stress so that hydraulic fractures
    placed ahead of mining form horizontally and so provide effective pre-conditioning to promote caving of the conglomerate strata. Monitoring of stress changes in the overburden strata during longwall retreat was undertaken at two different locations at the mine. The monitoring indicated stress changes were evident 150 m ahead of the longwall face and abutment loading reached a maximum increase of about 7.5 MPa. The stresses ahead of mining change gradually with distance to the approaching longwall and in a direction consistent with the horizontal in-situ stresses. There was no evidence in the stress change monitoring results to indicate significant cyclical forward abutment loading ahead of the face. The forward abutment load determined from the stress change monitoring is consistent with the weight of overburden
    strata overhanging the goaf indicated by subsidence monitoring. In-Situ-Stress-Measurements-and-Stress-Change-Monitoring-to-Monitor-Overburden-Caving-Behaviour-and-Hydraulic-Fracture-Pre-Conditioning-Jesse-Puller-Ken-Mills-Rob-Jeffrey-2015.pdf1.8 MB
  • Experience of using the ANZI Strain Cell for stress change monitoring

    This Paper describes the ANZI (Australia, New Zealand Inflatable) strain cell and some examples of its application for stress change monitoring. The instrument has been used over the past three decades to measure three dimensional in situ stresses using the overcoring method of stress relief and monitor three dimensional stress changes in a range of applications mainly associated with underground coal mining, but also with civil and metalliferous mining projects.

    The ANZI strain cell has a pressuremeter design that allow 18 electrical resistance strain gauges at various orientations to be pressure bonded directly to the rock on a borehole wall. The instrument's soft polyurethane membrane and hollow pressuremeter design have characteristics that facilitate deployment, enhance data gathering, and simplify analysis. Further recent developments that improve deployment and monitoring have increased the capability of the instrument. Automatic, remote, and high speed monitoring at resolutions of just a few microstrain has significantly improved the capability to measure and thereby understand the nature of changes in the three dimensional stress in rock strata around excavations in rock. EXPERIENCE-OF-USING-THE-ANZI-STRAIN-CELL-FOR-STRESS-CHANGE-MONITORING-KEN-MILLS-DAVE-SELMO-JESSE-PULLER-JIM-SIMONOVKSI-2015.pdf1.1 MB
  • Experience of Using the ANZI Strain Cell for Three Dimensional In Situ Stress Determinations in Deep Exploration Boreholes - Ken Mills - Jesse Puller

    This paper describes the Australia, New Zealand Inflatable (ANZI) strain cell, its operation, and recent development for overcoring in exploration boreholes. The ANZI strain cell is an instrument system that uses the overcoring method of stress relief to determine the three-dimensional, in-situ stresses in rock. The instrument has been used successfully for over three decades in numerous underground mining and civil projects, but technical advances over the last decade or so have allowed the system to be deployed in surface exploration boreholes to greater depths than was previously possible. Recent development of a downhole electronic data logger, a wireline-enabled drilling system, and an instrument deployment system has simplified the process of obtaining three-dimensional overcore measurements at depths approaching 1km to a single shift operation.

    The capability to deploy ANZI strain cells in surface exploration boreholes represents a significant breakthrough for the design of underground mines and underground excavations generally. Highconfidence characterisation of the in-situ stresses at the design stage provides the opportunity to design key infrastructure and mining systems to take advantage of the in-situ stress field from the outset before mining begins. Understanding the three-dimensional, insitu stress field not only provides a measure of the magnitude and direction of loads acting within the rock mass, it also provides insight into the mechanics of all the various processes driving ground deformations, including which geological fault structures are at limiting equilibrium. Experience-of-Using-the-ANZI-Strain-Cell-for-Three-Dimensional-In-Situ-Stress-Determinations-in-Deep-Exploration-Boreholes-2014.pdf2.6 MB
  • ACG Deep Mining 2012 Stress Measurement Workshop - Ken Mills

    This paper describes the development of ANZI (Australia, New Zealand Inflatable) strain cell over the past three decades and the operation of the instrument including some examples of its application. The ANZI strain cell is used for measuring strain changes in rock on borehole walls suitable for estimating in situ stresses and stress changes. The instrument comprises a pressuremeter design that allows electrical resistance strain gauges to be pressure bonded directly to the rock on a borehole wall. The strain gauges are monitored during overcoring to obtain stress relief strains for estimation of the in situ stress. In monitoring applications, strain changes within a rock mass induced by mining and other construction activities are measured over time. ACG-Deep-Mining-2012-Stress-Measurement-Workshop-K.Mills-et-al-2012.pdf1.1 MB
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