Effects of water soaked height on the deformation and crushing characteristics of Loose gangue backfill material in solid backfill coal mining

In solid backfill coal mining (SBCM), loose gangue backfill material (LGBM) is used to backfill the goaf after coal resources are exploited from the underground mines. Under certain geological conditions, LGBM with a certain height may be soaked in the water, and then becomes saturated, significantly altering its mechanical properties. The confined compression experiments were used in this paper to analyze the deformation and the crushing characteristics of LGBM with varying water soaked heights in coal mines. The results showed that a large number of small holes that were distributed in the gangue blocks were the main reason why the material absorbed water and was softened. The crushing ratio and the maximum axial strain of LGBM samples gradually increased with the water soaked heights of the samples. In addition, there was a strong linear correlation between the crushing ratio and the maximum axial strain. When LGBM was used as a solid backfill material in SBCM, its deformation resistance would significantly decrease after it was soaked in the water. Higher water soaked height of LGBM led to lower deformation resistance and greater influence on the quality of backfilling. This research has great significance in getting a deep and better understanding of the mechanical properties of LGBM, as well as guiding engineering practice.