The project will use the controlled and predictable ground subsidence above an advancing coal mine longwall panel to monitor the response of test foundations built above it. Conventional foundations as well as those incorporating various mitigation techniques will be instrumented and monitored. A series of numerical analyses will be carried out on the diverse materials used and the observed subsidence and the foundation behavior will be predicted and compared with the actual behavior. The suitability of various construction, retrofitting, and repair measures as well as the location and mechanisms of structural failures will be determined. Engineers and the mining, construction and insurance industries will benefit from this work. Two undergraduate students will participate in the field measurements and numerical analyses to be carried out under this award. They will benefit from this exposure to research work and possibly reinforce their decision to pursue a graduate education.
