Collapsing minerals: Crackling noise of sandstone and coal, and the predictability of mining accidents
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Mining accidents are sometimes preceded by high levels of crackling noise which follow universal rules for the collapse of minerals. The archetypal test cases are sandstone and coal. Their collapse mechanism is almost identical to earthquakes: the crackling noise in large, porous samples follows a power law (Gutenberg-Richter) distribution P ~ E
Our results imply that acoustic warning methods are often possible within the context of mining safety measures but that that it is not only the increase of crackling noise which can be used as early warning signal but also the change of the energy distribution of the crackling events.
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1945-3027