Service Life Prediction of Shaft Sidewall Exposed to Sulfate Environment

Abstract

Under the influence of underground water with high concentration of sulfate, several vertical shafts in the Huang-Huai region are seriously corroded but have varying degradation degrees in different parts. Taking the auxiliary shaft of Lin-Huan coal mine as the research subject, the mechanism of this phenomenon was studied. Then, wet-dry alternated and immersion corrosion tests were carried out, and it was found that only the dry-wet alternated accelerate test is representative of the corrosion mechanism that cause the corrosion in the shaft. However, it will cost much time and money for the laboratory test to reach the same degradation depth. To solve this problem, combining with field and laboratory tests, a modified theoretical degradation model was developed to evaluate the residual life of the corroded sidewall. The results indicate that the residual life of the shaft sidewall is 25 years, and the damaged parts have no need for an immediate reinforcement.