Determination of isolation layer thickness for undersea mine based on differential cubature solution to irregular Mindlin plate

摘要

The differential cubature solution to the problem of a Mindlin plate lying on the Winkler foundation with two simply supported edges and two clamped edges was derived. Discrete numerical technology and shape functions were used to ensure that the solution is suitable to irregular shaped plates. Then, the mechanical model and the solution were employed to model the protection layer that isolates the mining stopes from sea water in Sanshandao gold mine, which is the first subsea mine of China. Furthermore, thickness optimizations for the protection layers above each stope were conducted based on the maximum principle stress criterion, and the linear relations between the best protection layer thickness and the stope area under different safety factors were regressed to guide the isolation design. The method presented in this work provides a practical way to quickly design the isolation layer thickness in subsea mining.