UBC Theses and Dissertations

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UBC Theses and Dissertations

The development of a fibreglass cable bolt Mah, G. Peter

Abstract

The development of a fibreglass cable bolt (FCB) as an alternative to steel cable bolts has been presented. The primary objective of the investigation was to develop a working FCB prototype that was cuttable and easily installed in hard rock mines. The FCB was required to be cuttable by a continuous road-header without adverse affects to equipment, personnel or processing circuits. POLYSTAL, an advanced composite with a circular profile, has been used to develop the working prototype. The methods o finvestigation, included: over seventy-five (75) laboratory and in situ pull-tests, five (5) preliminary laboratory shear tests, two (2) trial in situ installations and three (3) preliminary flotation tests. Conclusions have been drawn regarding the selection of a cuttable material, failure modes and mechanisms, axial and shear load/displacement behaviours, immediate and potential applications, design guidelines, mineral processing effects, installation costs and future research directions. In general, it has been proven that the FCB exists as a viable alternative to steel for cable bolt reinforcement. However, the FCB does not currently exist as an optimized, or only, composite support alternative to steel. These aspects remain outstanding to the further development of composites for use as cable bolt reinforcement. Control of the composite manufacturing process is crucial to achieve a more economical product in the future.

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