Mechanical analysis of roof stability under nonlinear compaction of solid backfill body

Based on the compaction characteristic test and the nonlinear compaction deformation characteristics of backfill material, this paper applies the theory of nonlinear elastic foundation of thin plate to establish a mechanical model of backfill body and roof in solid dense backfill coal mining. This study critically analyses the deflection equation of the roof by the energy method, derives the conditions of roof breakage and combined with concrete engineering practice analyses, determines roof movement regularity and stability in solid dense backfill mining. Analysis of the engineering practice of the 13,120 backfill panel of Pingmei 12# mine shows the theoretical maximum of roof convergence in backfill mining to be415 mm which is in significant agreement with the measured value. During the advancing process of solid backfill mining at the panel, the maximum tensile stress on the roof is less than its tensile strength which does not satisfy the conditions for roof breakage. Drilling results on the roof and ground pressure monitoring show that the integrity of roof is strong, which is consistent with the theoretical calculations described in this study. The results presented in the study provide a basis for further investigation into strata movement theory in solid dense backfill mining.

Stability control of water-enriched roofs of coal drifts

Excavation-and-support induced disturbances are likely to make water-enriched roofs to become weathered and fractured.The development and connection of cracks provide new water channels which may result in water loss,seriously affecting the in-tegrity and stability of roofs,leading to incidents of roof fall.Control of water-enriched rocks surrounding coal drifts is quite diffi-cult in China.Based on the practical situation of a water-enriched roof of a coal drift in working face 112201 of the Meihuajing coal mine,we studied the deformation features of surrounding rocks and the development of fractured areas and analyzed the major reasons for the decrease in load-carrying capacity,indicating that the key to maintain roof stability of this kind of coal drift is water retention.In addition,we proposed a staged control technology consisting of:1) surface grouting;2) cable anchor strengthening and 3) roof grouting,which has proven to be successful in this practical application.Our study indicates that,after the problem of water loss from the water-enriched roof had been effectively solved,a combined support system with high performance bolts can maintain the stability of the bearing structure,resulting in the control of roof stability in this kind of coal drift.

Influence of Lithological Characters of Coal Bearing Formation on Stability of Roof of Coal Seams

Lithology is one of the important factors influencing the stability of roof of coal seams. In order to investigate this, the phenomenon of underground pressure and distribution of pressure were studied by using the local observation and simulation test with similar materials. The observation results show that the distance of initial weighting and periodic weighting of the mudstone roof is shorter than that of sandstone roofs. The sandstone roof with a high strength has a longer distance of initial weighting and periodic weighting, the abutment stress on the working face is big and the height of caving and fracture zone is high. The peak point of abutment stress in the sandstone roof is near to the working face and the pressure bump is inclined to occur. The result is contrary to that in case of the mudstone roof with a low strength. While in the transition zone of nipped sandstone, roof rock-mass is broken and is poor in stability, therefore, it is difficult to hold the roof.

Application of coal mine roof rating in Chinese coal mines

The coal mine roof rating(CMRR) is a measure of roof quality or structure competency for bedded roof types typically of underground coal mines. The CMRR has been used widely in the US, South Africa,Canada and Australia. In order to investigate the application of the CMRR system in Chinese coal mines,two coal mines in China located in Panjiang Coal Field in Guizhou Province were investigated. Field data were collected which is required to calculate the CMRR value based on underground exposure. The CMRR values of 11 locations in two coal mines were calculated. The investigations demonstrated that the chance of mine roof failure is very low if the CMRR value is more than 50, given adequate support is installed in mine. It was found that the CMRR guideline are useful to preliminarily investigate stability in Panjiang Coal Field mines.

Study on gob-side entry retaining in fully-mechanized longwall with top-coal caving and its application

Based on the engineering background of gob-side entry retaining in fully-mechanized longwall with top coal caving(GER-FLTC) on N2105 working face of Yuwu coal mine, by adopting the methods of theoretical analysis and numerical calculation, the control techniques of surrounding rocks in GER-FLTC working face are studied in this paper. The two main difficulties of stability of surrounding rocks at gob-side retained entry in fully-mechanized longwall working face are the stability control of top coal and control of large deformation of GER-FLTC working face. Interaction mechanical model between roofing and roadside backfilling in GER-FLTC is established and the equations for the calculation of roof-cutting resistance of roadside backfilling are derived. Results of numerical calculation show that the damage zones of top coal can be categorized into the delaminating zone of top coal above the backfilling, tensile damage zone of top coal above the retained roadway and shear damage zone of the upper rib of the solid coal. Stability control of top coal is the critical part to success of GER-FLTC. With consideration of large deformation of surrounding rocks of gob-side retained entry in fully-mechanized longwall, the support technique of‘‘roofing control and wall strengthening'' is proposed where high strength and highly prestressed anchor rods and diagonal tensile anchor cables support are used for top coal, high strength and highly prestressed yielding anchor rod support is used for solid coal and roadside prestressed load-carrying backfilling is constructed by high-water material, in order to maintain the integrity of the top coal, transfer load, high resistance yielding load-carrying of solid coal, roof-cutting of roadside backfilling and support,and to achieve GER-FLTC. Results from this study are successfully applied in engineering practice.