Stability mechanism and control of the pumpable supports in longwall recovery room

The load-bearing performance(LBP)of pumpable supports(PPS)is crucial for the stability of longwall pre-driven recovery room(PRR)surrounding rock.However,the unbalanced bearing coefficient(UBC)of the PPS(undertaking unequal load along the mining direction)has not been investigated.A mechanical model of the PRR was established,considering the main roof cantilever beam structure,to derive an assessment formula for the load,the failure criteria,and the UBC of the PPS.Subsequently,the generation mechanisms,and influencing factors of the UBC were revealed.Global sensitivity analysis shows that the main roof hanging length(l_(2))and the spacing between the PPS(r)significantly impact the UBC.A novel design of the PPS and the coupling control technology were proposed and applied to reduce the UBC of the PPS in the adjacent longwall PRR.Monitor results showed no failure of the PPS at the test site,with the UBC(ζ)reduced to 1.1 consistent with the design value(1.15)basically,fully utilizing the collaborative LBP of the PPS.Finally,the maximum roof-to-floor convergence of the PRR was 234 mm,effectively controlling the stability of the surrounding rock of the PRR and ensuring the mining equipment recovery.

Stability control of gob-side entry retained under the gob with close distance coal seams

In multi-seam mining,the interlayer rock strata between the upper coal seam(UCS)and the lower coal seam(LCS)appear damage and strength weakening after mining the UCS.Ground stability control of the gob-side entry retaining(GER)under the gob with close distance coal seams(CDCS)is faced with difficulties due to little attention to GER under this condition.This paper focuses on surrounding rock stability control and technical parameters design for GER under the gob with CDCS.The floor rock strata damage characteristics after mining the UCS is first evaluated and the damage factor of the interlayer rock strata below the UCS is also determined.Then,a structural mechanics model of GER surrounding rock is set up to obtain the main design parameters of the side-roadway backfill body(SBB)including the maximum and minimum SBB width calculation formula.The optimal SBB width and the water-to-cement ratio of high water quick-setting material(HWQM)to construct the SBB are determined as 1.2 m and 1.5:1.0,respectively.Finally,engineering trial tests of GER are successfully carried out at#5210 track transportation roadway of Xingwu Colliery.Research results can guide GER design under similar mining and geological conditions.

Tomography of the dynamic stress coefficient for stress wave prediction in sedimentary rock layer under the mining additional stress

In this study,the tomography of dynamic stress coefficient(TDSC)was established based on a mechanical model of stress wave propagation in bedding planes and a mathematical model of the stress wave attenuation in rock masses.The reliability of the TDSC was verified by a linear bedding plane model and field monitoring.Generally,the TDSC in the dynamic stress propagation of bedding planes increases with the following conditions:(1)the increase of the normal stiffness of the bedding plane,(2)the increase of the incident angle of the stress wave,(3)the decrease of the incident frequency of the stress wave,or(4)the growth of three ratios(the ratios of rock densities,elastic moduli,and the Poisson’s ratios)of rocks on either side of bedding planes.The additional stress weakens TDSC linearly and slowly during the stress wave propagation in bedding planes,and the weakening effect increases with the growth of the three ratios.Besides,the TDSC decreases exponentially in the rock mass as propagation distance increases.In a field case,the TDSC decreases significantly as vertical and horizontal distances increase and its wave range increases as vertical distance increases in the sedimentary rock layers.

Fixed-length roof cutting with vertical hydraulic fracture based on the stress shadow effect:A case study

Pre-driven longwall retracement roadway(PLRR)is commonly used in large mine shaft.The support crushing disasters occur frequently during the retracement,and roof management is necessary.Taking the 31107 panel as research background,the roof breaking structure of PLRR is analyzed.It is concluded that the roof cutting with vertical hydraulic fracture(HF)at a specified position,that is,fixed-length roof cutting,can reduce support load and keep immediate roof intact.The extended finite element method(XFEM)is applied to simulate hydraulic fracturing.The results show that both the axial and transverse hydraulic fracturing cannot effectively create vertical HFs.Therefore,a novel construction method of vertical HF based on the stress shadow effect(SSE)is proposed.The stress reversal region and HF orientation caused by the prefabricated hydraulic fracture(PF)are verified in simulation.The sub-vertical HFs are obtained between two PFs,the vertical extension range of which is much larger than that of directional hydraulic fracturing.The new construction method was used to determine the field plan for fixed-length roof cutting.The roof formed a stable suspended structure and deformation of the main PLRR was improved after hydraulic fracturing.

Numerical modeling of entry position design:A field case

In coal mining, roof collapse and support body failure during entry excavation are a common problem.During excavation, entry positions may be subjected to separation, shear-slip, support body failure,and roof collapse. Weak coal-rock interfaces allow for shear-slip between layers, causing anchor bolts and cables to fail. Six entry position models are created to evaluate the failure process and determine the best entry position. Results indicate that roof rocks experience bending and shear-slip along the coal-rock interface. Nearby mining activity causes asymmetric deformation of the entry and shear-slip at the roof corners. When anchor cables and bolts in the roof are insufficient to limit separation and shear-slip, support bodies are subjected to tension, shear, and bending. Once the support body fractures,the entry roof experiences progressive deformation resulting in collapse. We determine the optimal entry position in which shear-slip and residual coal are minimized.

Failure mechanism and control technology of deep soft-rock roadways:Numerical simulation and field study

Large deformations such as roof subsidence,floor heave,and two-sided deformations occur frequently in deep soft-rock roadways.The deformation becomes more severe under the combined effect of high in-situ and mining-induced stresses,which detrimentally affect the safe mining of coal.Based on the geological conditions and roadway failure characteristics of the Nanyaotou coal mine in Shanxi province,China,we used comprehensive numerical simulations and field observations to study roadway deformation and failure.The deformation mechanism of deep soft-rock roadways under dynamic pressures is described,and the corresponding control measures are proposed.The deformation and fracture development characteristics of roadways surrounding rocks were explored with a primary support scheme,and its effects were evaluated.The radius of the plastic zone and the displacement deformation of the roadway were studied by using theoretical analysis,and a combined-support design of‘‘anchor bolt+anchor cable+shotcrete+deep and shallow borehole grouting+inverted arch”was proposed to limit deformations and relieve the stress in the surrounding rocks.Numerical simulations and field monitoring showed that the combined support scheme can effectively mitigate the large deformations of ventilation roadways and provide guidance for the stable control of deep soft-rock roadways.

Rock Stress Around Noncircular Tunnel:a New SimpleMathematicalMethod

Anewsimplemathematicalmethod has been proposed to predict rock stress around a noncircular tunnel and themethod is calibrated and validatedwith a numerical model.It can be found that the tunnel shapes and polar angles affect the applicable zone of the theoretical model significantly and the applicable zone of a rectangular tunnel was obtained using this method.The method can be used to predict the values of the concentrated stress,and to analyze the change rate of rock stress and back to calculate the mechanical boundary condition in the applicable zone.The results of the stress change rate indicate that the horizontal stress is negatively related to the vertical boundary load and positively related to the horizontal boundary load.The vertical stress is negatively related to the horizontal boundary load and positively related to the vertical boundary load.These findings can be used to explain the evolution of the vertical increment in stress obtained with field-based borehole stress monitoring.