Application of Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing Technology in Surrounding Rock Deformation Control of TBM-Excavated Coal Mine Roadway

After roadway excavation, the deformation and failure of roadway surrounding rocks typically results in roadway damage or collapse. Conventional monitoring techniques, such as extensometers, stress meters, and convergence stations, are only capable to detect the stress or strain data with the shallow layers of surrounding rocks, and they require arduous manual works. Moreover, in the abovementioned monitoring techniques, the monitoring instruments are installed behind the excavation face; therefore, the strain and deformation occurring in front of excavation face cannot be detected. In order to eliminate these shortcomings, an innovative monitoring system for surrounding rock deformation control has been developed base on Brillouin optical time domain reflectometry. Compared with conventional monitoring systems, the proposed system provides a reliable, accurate, and real-time monitoring measure for roadway surrounding rock deformation control over wide extension. The optical fiber sensors are installed in boreholes which are situated ahead of the excavation face; therefore, the sensors can be protected well and the surrounding rock deformation behaviors can be studied. The proposed system has been applied within a TBM-excavated roadway in Zhangji coal mine, China. The surrounding rock deformation behaviors have been detected accurately, and the monitoring results provided essential references for surrounding rock deformation control works.