ABN 57 410 620 309

MINE SUBSIDENCE TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Reprint

from the

Proceedings of the
Third Triennial Conference on Buildings and
Structures subject to Ground Movement
Mine Subsidence Technological Society
Newcastle, 5th to 7th February 1995

This document is available to members of the society at

www.mstsociety.org

Important disclaimers and copyright information

Responsibility for the content of these papers rests upon the Authors and not the Mine
Subsidence Technological Society. Data presented and conclusions developed by the authors
are for information only and are not intended for use without independent substantiating
investigation on the part of the potential user.
All rights reserved. Other than brief extracts, no part of this publication may be produced in
any form without the written consent of the Mine Subsidence Technological Society. The
Society encourages reproduction of its publications and consent is usually looked upon
favourably. It is a requirement that full and complete acknowledgement be cited when
referencing articles published in these proceedings.

ISBN 0 646 22573 1

A Society of the Institution of Engineers, Australia

PO Box 208, THE JUNCTION NSW 2291

Ph: 02 4926 4440 Fax: 02 4929 7121

www.mstsociety.org

BEHAVZOUR OF STRUCTURES SUBJECTED TO MINE SUBSIDENCE

BRIAN BURTON.
District Supervisor
Mine subsidence Board
Lake Macquarie
INTRODUCTION
This paper is written to review and examine the effects mine subsidence has on structures and
the technical matters raised when undertaking mitigatory works and repairing these structures.
In particular this paper will examine the effects on transmission towers, buried pipe work, sealed
roads and domestic structures. It is not intended that this paper be a research document but rather
a review of the present state of knowledge and a reference document to promote discussion and
thought about the effects of mine subsidence on structures.
As time goes by it will become more necessary to mine under structures to maximise the recovery of the states coal resource, to that end it will be necessary for more Engineers to become
aware of the effects of mine subsidence and in particular the effects that subsidence has on
structures.
The manner in which a structure reacts is dependent upon the magnitude of the tilt and strains
induced by subsidence, the location of the structure in relation to the extracted coal and the
ability of the structure to resist the induced subsidence effects

For the purposes of this paper it is proposed to examine the effects of the two most important
products of vertical subsidence, that is horizontal strain and tilt.
Tilt - the change in vertical difference between two points on the earth surface, divided by
the distance between the two points and expressed in mmlm
Strain - strains may be tensile (+) or compressive (-) and are caused by differential movement of horizontal points on the surface and is expressed in mmlm

It is proposed that this paper concentrate on the subsidence effects of longwall mining on surface improvements, however some of the observations are applicable to pillar extraction methods. It is also proposed, where appropriate, to give indicative estimates of the cost of repairs and
steps that can be taken to mitigate the effects of mine subsidence.
The writer has experience of mine subsidence resulting from pillar extraction and long wall
mining in the Lake Macquarie area, the experience in this area is probably transferable to other
area's where mining is at similar depths and geology.

Conference on buildings and structures subject to ground movements 5th-7th February 1995
www.mstsociety.org

1.0 TRANSMISSION TOWERS

There are basically two types of transmission
towers, they are suspension towers and tension
towers. As the name implies a suspension tower
only supports the load of the conductors. Tension towers are located at a change of direction in the transmission line and anchors the
conductors to create tension in the cables.
Transmission cables are normally tensioned to
35kN and earth wires are tensioned to 10kN.
(The earth cable is usually located at the top of
the tower and is directly attached to the tower
for earthing purposes). Suspension towers are
designed to support the load of the conductors
and resist the transverse wind loads, they are
not designed to resist overturning in the longitudinal direction. Examination of the plan view
of a tower will indicate that the base is wider
in the axis transverse to the line of the conductor than it is in the axis parallel (longitudinal)
to the line of the conductor.
The two subsidence criteria, tilt and slrain,
have discernibly different effects on towers.
Tilt relates to verticality and changes in the
tension in the transmission cables and the earth
wire, whereas the strain affects the structural
stability of the tower legs.
For this paper I have only considered the effects of subsidence on suspension towers. To
date there has been a far greater demand to
mine under suspension towers and there has
been almost no requirement to mine under tension towers. Because suspension and tension
towers serve a different purpose, they are structurally differentand should be considered separately.
1.1 Tilt
The effects of tilt in suspension towers is related to the verticality of the tower and the
change in tension induced in the supported
conductors.
Because suspension towers are designed to
support the vertical load and resist the imposed

wind loads they can withstand tilt transverse

to the direction of the power line but less in the
longitudinal direction. See Fig. 1
Figure I .
Suspension towers
Suppolt cables a d wimaand

~loads

Tension tower.
Anchors
w a n tension
codudors to

Increase in tension
because of change in
distance

1.1.1 The ability of a tension tower to withstand the effect of tilt is dependent upon the
increase or reduction in the tension of the conductors, which to some extent is dependent on
the distance between the two adjoining tension
towers.
The amount of transverse tilt a tower can withstand is normally determined by the ability of
the conductors to accommodate the increase
in tension, to assist in this the conductors can
be supported in "dropper links" and roller supports.
1.2 The catinary of the power cables is also
a consideration, for example if a tower is to be
lowered or the tension in the cable is altered,
the clearance from the earth surface at the mid
span may be reduced. Pacific Power have a
minimum clearance from the cables to the earth
surface of 9.0 metres, the statutory minimum
standard is 7.5 metres. Other considerations
when checking for clearance between the cables and earth are the temperature of the conductors under normal conditions and under
peak load conditions.
1.3 Horizontal Strains
When considering the effects of horizontal
strain on transmission towers, the structural
stability of the tower legs is critical. Strain in
the earth surface reduces or increases the distance between the legs of the tower.
Generally it has been accepted that changes in

Conference on buildings and structures subject to ground movements 5th-7th February 1995
www.mstsociety.org

the distance between the legs of a standard

tower of up to 50mm is acceptable. For greater
changes in distance, structural analysis is required. Larger strains may cause deformation
of the "K" bracing causing failure of the tower,
tension can also cause deformation "buckling"
in the legs and consequent failure of the tower.
If excessive strain is predicted it will be necessary to protect the structure by the installation of a cruciform footing or alternatively dismantle the tower and install temporary wood
pole structures.

structures wheras there are normally no "outages " necessary for the installation of
cruciform footings and roller sheaves.
1.4.2 Fortunately all the mitigatory work carried out to this time has been on suspension
towers, there has been no requirement to undertake mitigatory works on tension towers,
because of the requirement of tension towers
to act as tension anchors the structural requirements of the towers are different to suspension towers.
1.4.3 From recent experience the cost to install
a cruciform footing for a 500kV suspension
tower is in the order of sixty to seventy thousand dollars, the cost to install wood pole structures is in the order of two hundred thousand
dollars for one tower replacement. The cost of
the "outages" to the electrical supply system is
not compensatableunder the Mine Subsidence
Compensation Act.

500kV Tower

1.4 Mitigatory Works.

To accommodate the effects of tilt and strain,
towers may been replaced with temporary
wood pole structures or alternatively they can
have cruciform footings installed.
1.4.1 From recent experience at Cumnock
Colliery where two wood pole structures consisting of four poles each were installed, and
Cooranbong Colliery (TowerA11) where roller
sheaves and a reinforced concrete cruciform
footing were installed to mitigate the effects
of subsidence, it has become apparent that the
installation of the cruciform footing is more
effective. In future the use of timber poles may
be discontinued. There are limitations on the
height obtainable with wood pole structures
and for this reason it may be necessary to install more than one structure. Also substantial
"outages" are required to install wood pole

2.0 BURIED SERVICE PIPELINES

For the purpose of this paper it is proposed to
concentrate on waste water pipelines. There
may be some similarities with other forms of
pipe work, buried for various purposes.
Waste water pipelines have in some area's in
the past been installed in accordance with Ordinance 46. (where there was no water authority and the installation of pipe work was in the
control of the Local Council) Since the introduction of the new Local Government Act in
1993, all pipe work is now installed in accordance with Australian Standard 3500.2

In some specific area's within Proclaimed Mine

Subsidence Districts household sewers are installed to accomodate mine subsidence. The

Conference on buildings and structures subject to ground movements 5th-7th February 1995
www.mstsociety.org

mine subsidencedesign requirements included

in AS 3500.2 clause 5.10, are as follows.

ing and a two metre head of water. Also the

pipes were tested for cross sectional deformations.

pipes laid in 75mm of granular material

minimum grade of 1.65% ( l7mdm)
solvent cementjointed or rubber ring jointed
where the diameter is greater than 150 mm
enquiry is recommended.
(the Standard does not indicate the area's
within the Proclaimed Districts where the
specified requirements apply)
Limited research has been carried out into the
effects of subsidence on buried pipelines. However two projects that warrant mention are,
the research work at Newvale Colliery over
Longwall No.7. and the monitoring work carried out by the Hunter Water Corporation at
Woodrising over Longwalls 9. & 10. at Teralba
Colliery.
2.1 At Newvale Colliery five, forty metre
lengths of pipe were installed in various styles,
as follows
150 Dia. V.C.- 20M in 600mm lengths and
20M in 1200M lengths.
150mm U.P.V.C. sewer grade, in 3M
lengths, laid in accordance with AS 3500.2,
clause 5.10
l00mm U.P.V.C. in 3M lengths with rubber ringed joints.
lOOmm U.P.V.C. laid in 6M lengths and solvent jointed.
90mm thin walled U.P.V.C. (storm water)
The pipes were laid almost parallel to the longitudinal axis of the Longwall. The pipes were
tested prior to, during and after mining by
Closed Circuit Television (C.C.T.V.) monitor-

The subsidence predictions for Longwall No.

7, were as follows.
Tensile strains l.7mmlM to 3.4mmIM.
Compressive 2.7mm/M to 4.1mm/M
The actual subsidence recorded was as follow,
Tensile strain
Compressive Strain

lmm/M
1 to 2mm/M

Unfortunately because the strains recorded

were not of the magnitude predicted, the strains
were below the design strain for the pipe specifications. All the pipes survived the test intact,
remained water tight and operationally serviceable, and maintained their cross sectional
shape after subsidence.
2.2 Prior to mining in Longwall's 9. & 10. at
Teralba Colliery, in 1992, in association with
the Mine Subsidence Board, the Hunter Water
Corporation inspected pipe work in the vicinity of the Woodrising subdivision with Closed
Circuit Television, the pipes were as follows.
670 metres of 675mm dia. plastilined concrete
530 metres of 375mm dia. VC
153 metres of 225mm dia VC
Following the mining the pipelines were
reinspected and apart from some circumferential cracking in five of the 375mm VC pipes,
one displaced joint and a "mass" of tree roots
in the 225mm VC pipe there was no damage
recorded as a result of mine subsidence.
The subsidence recorded as resulting from
Longwalls 9. & 10. was 580mm, with strains
of -4.8 and +1.5 mm/m and tilt of 5mdm.

Conference on buildings and structures subject to ground movements 5th-7th February 1995
www.mstsociety.org

2.3 In both of the cases mentioned above no

reference has been made to the effects of tilt,
from observation of the table below, which is
partially extracted from AS 3500.2 it is unlikely that the grade in pipe work of diameters
less than 125mm will be adversely affected by
tilt. In larger diameter pipes there has been no
research undertaken to determine the degree
of tilt that will cause pipes to be innefective.

Diameter

Min Grade AS3500

Conversion

3.2 Strain causes cracking and buckling of

the road surface, which if left unattended reduces the life of the road surface and also causes
safety problems. It is unlikely that horizontal
strain would cause a problem with the horizontal alignment of a road.
During the restoration of the road surface care
should be taken to protect against reflective
cracking appearing through to the restored surface, from the underlying cracks in the earth
surface.
3.3 During 1992 and 1993Main Road Road
392 at Cooranbong was undermined by
Cooranbong Colliery. The mining was in the
Great Northern Seam at an approximate depth
of one hundred metres, the actual recorded subsidence was:

2.4 There is a requirement that further research be done on both small and large diameter pipes to determine their ability to withstand horizontal strains and remain seniceable.
Also there is a requirement to research the effects of tilt and loss of grade to determine the
effects on serviceability of larger diameter
pipelines.

3.0

SEALED ROADS

3.1 The effects of tilt on sealed road structures relates to the loss of cross fall,
superelevation and the maintenance of smooth
vertical curves and acceptable lines of sight.
Straight road normally has a cross fall to shed
water, the cross fall is provided both ways fiom
the centreline. A change from normal cross fall
to superelevation occurs as the road changes
from a straight to a curve, the superelevation
is to facilitate safe cornering.

Maximum Sub 1.2M

Tilts
20mmlm
Tensile Strain
14mmlm
Compressive Strain 20mm/m plus.
The subsidence caused cracking and buckling to the road structure and also detrimental
effects on the geometry of the road structure,
including minimum sight distances and cross
fall. The life of the structure was adversley affected because of the cracking and the possible ingress of water.

3.3.1 Horizontal Strains

The compression caused buckling and distortion in the bituminous surface requiring daily
monitoring and grinding to maintain the road
surface in a safe motoring condition.
3.3.2 Tensile strains caused cracking in the
bituminous surface up to 50mm wide. Cracking allows the ingress of water into pavement
gravels and when subject to a continual impact loading "pumping" takes place causing
failureof the road base and the bituminous seal.

Conference on buildings and structures subject to ground movements 5th-7th February 1995
www.mstsociety.org

3.4 Testing and monitoring.

Prior to mining it is desirable to obtain survey
data of the long and cross sections and also
have the road surface tested with a Benkleman
Beam to determine the deflection of the pavement under specified load conditions.
3.5 The relevant standard for the geometric
design of rural roads is "Rural Road Design
1993"

4.0 DOMESTIC STRUCTURES

4.1 From experience in the Lake Macquarie
area, where the minimum cover to longwall
mining has been about 150 metres, the effects
of curvature on domestic structuresof average
plan dimensions is not discernible whereas the
effects of tilt and strain are readily identifiable.
Because domestic structures such as dwellings,
paving, fences and other outbuildings are of
relatively small plan dimensions the radius of
curvature is of no consequence. Tilt will first
become evident in the disruption to the normal drainage patterns, the apparent change in
water level in swimming pools and the tendency for hung doors to swing closed or open
where previously they did not. Tilt is not visually evident at less than about 7 to 10mm/M.

4.2 Tilt
Following the extraction of coal and the occurrence of subsidence, the effects of tilt will
first be noticed in drainage in roof gutters and
formed drains also swimmingpools and swinging doors.
Tilt can also cause disruption to the natural
drainage patterns. Where there is substantial
natural grade the effects of tilt will be of no
consequence, however where there is minimal
grade, disruption to the existing drainage pattern is possible. Drainage across the direction

of the extraction is most likely to be affected.

4.2.1 In 1991the Mine SubsidenceBoard commissioned the Department of Civil Engineering and Surveying at Newcastle University to
undertake research to determine how level or
out of level dwellings are under normal circumstances. The research indicated that in modem
construction, (dwellings built in the last ten
years) the mean deviation from level was
2.39mm/m, with the maximum deviation found
to be 8.7mrn/m, in the sample of 83 dwellings
surveyed.
4.2.2 The failure of guttersldrains is dependent on the amount of induced tilt, the pre existing grade and the location of the outlets.
To rectify the grades in roof gutters, they can
sometimes be adjusted for grade or if necessary replaced. If extra outlets are installed it
may be necessary to direct the water to the
original stormwater pipe work by supporting
connecting pipe work from the underside of
the floor timbers.
4.2.3 The other common sign of tilt is the effect on hung doors, when the doorjamb moves
out of plumb the door tends to swing in the
direction of the tilt. To rectify this problem it is
necessary to plumb the door jambs or alternatively relevel the dwelling.

4.2.4 To rectify the effects of tilt in concrete

swimming pools it is necessary to remove the
tiles and finish on the edge beam, to below the
water level, leaving the reinforcement in position. After forming up, a new beam is poured,
ensuring that the new beam is level.
To level fibreglass pools it is necessary to excavate, remove the pool and regrade the sand
bed to restore the level in the fibre glass shell.
4.2.5 The writer is not aware of any action that
can be taken to mitigate tilt, it is more a matter
of relevelling the improvements following the
subsidence, if necessary.

Conference on buildings and structures subject to ground movements 5th-7th February 1995
www.mstsociety.org

4.3 The severity of damage to domestic

structures, resulting from horizontal strains is
dependent on the magnitude of the strains, the
type of footing (slabs), the type of construction and the nature of the foundation materials. The size of the structure and it's plan dimensions should also be considered, for example long runs of guttering, tennis courts or
large paved area's where there is no provision
for expansion are very susceptible to damage
resulting from horizontal strains.
4.3.1 Strip footings will deflect horizontally
as a result of compression, for example if a
length of strip footing is anchored at each end
by an intersecting footing, horizontal deflection of up to lOmm has been recorded where
compression is less than 5mm/ M. If the
method of construction is an infill slab, with a
sand fill the repairs to the foundation brickwork become very difficult, having to retain
the fill material during the repairs to the brickwork Servicepipe work projecting through the
underside of slabs are also susceptible to damage.
Figure 4

BrWork moved laterabj as a

resut af compressivestrain
and the anchoringaffect af the
concrete stab.

Footing and hflsiab subpcted to compressivestram

4.3.2 Large plan dimension structures such as

brick, concrete or bituminous paved area's and

continuous long lengths of concrete such as

kerb and guttering are very susceptibleto damage resulting from compressive strain.
4.3.3 Some action can be taken to mitigate the
damage resulting from horizontal strains in the
surface. Trenching of the earth surface to create a barrier to the progression of strain, particularly compression, or the creation of slip
planes at DPC. level, or the underside of the
floor slab.
Trenching around structures is a simple process which can be complicated by the presence
of service pipes, paving and other additions to
the main structure. The process includes the
excavation of a trench transverse to the direction of the strain, the excavated trench is then
filled with a suitable compressible filler (e.g.
polystyrene, vermiculite) to maintain the walls
in the trench, following the subsidence the filler
can be removed and the trench filled with earth.
It may be possible to eliminate the fill material, depending on the ability of the walls of
the excavation to remain stable for a short period of time.
4.3.4 The cost to excavate the trench and install a polystyrene filler would be in the vicinity of $50 / lineal metre. This can be inflated
by the presence of service pipe work, the restoration of paving and other surface finishes
that may be encountered. If the polystyrene is
not required the costs will be reduced by more
than half.
4.3.5 To protect concrete slabs on the ground,
against the effects of strain and to protect disconnected units from moving apart, prior to
subsidence metal straps are fitted to resist and
hold units together. The Board has previously
fitted 100x lOmm flat straps to the edge of the
slabs, the straps are held in position by a drilled
chemical anchors fixed into the edge of the slab.
The cost of this procedure is minimal, in the
order of $20 / lineal metre, however, again this
is subject to access and the presence of other
structures.

Conference on buildings and structures subject to ground movements 5th-7th February 1995
www.mstsociety.org

To understand the effects of mine subsidence on surface structures it is best

SUMMARY.
that subsidence be thought of in terms of tilt and strain, the past practice of putting emphasis
on a maximum vertical subsidence can be misleading.
Flowing from this paper it is apparent that more research is required into the long and short
term serviceability of larger diameter pipe work, with larger diameter pipe work being laid to
flatter grades. When tilt occurs and the grades in pipe work is reduced, when does pipe work
become infective?
Also the policy of the Mine Subsidence Board requiring household sewers in some area's to
be installed to accommodate subsidence. I believe that a strong technical argument could be
made to support the Board reviewing it's current policy with the view'of removing the present
requirement for household sewer installations.
The views expressed in this paper are the views of the writer only and do not necessarily
represent the views or policies of the Mine Subsidence Board.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Longwall Mining Subsidence Effects on Sewer Test
Pipelines at Newvale Colliery - Trevor Thornton
Pipeline Inspection for the Mine Subsidence Board,
at Fennel Bay / Marmong Point - Hunter Water
Report on out of level Survey. Booragul/ Woodrising
Estate - Department of Civil Engineering and
Surveying. University of Ne wcastle

Conference on buildings and structures subject to ground movements 5th-7th February 1995
www.mstsociety.org