Development and prospect on fully mechanized mining in Chinese coal mines

Fully mechanized mining(FMM)technology has been applied in Chinese coal mines for more than 40 years.At present,the output of a FMM face has reached 10-million tons with Chinese-made equipment.In this study,the new developments in FMM technology and equipment in Chinese coal mines during past decades are introduced.The automatic FMM technology for thin seams,complete sets of FMM technology with ultra large shear height of 7 m for thick seams,complete sets of fully mechanized top coal caving technology with large shear height for ultra-thick seams of 20 m,complete sets of FMM technology for complex and difficult seams,including steeply inclined seams,soft coal seams with large inclination angle,and the mechanized filling mining technology and equipment are presented.Some typical case studies are also introduced.Finally,the existing problems with the FMM technology are discussed,and prospect of FMM technology and equipment applied in Chinese coal mines is put forward.

Mining pressure monitoring and analysis in fully mechanized backfilling coal mining face-A case study in Zhai Zhen Coal Mine

Fully mechanized solid backfill mining(FMSBM) technology adopts dense backfill body to support the roof. Based on the distinguishing characteristics and mine pressure control principle in this technology, the basic principles and methods for mining pressure monitoring were analyzed and established. And the characteristics of overburden strata movement were analyzed by monitoring the support resistance of hydraulic support, the dynamic subsidence of immediate roof, the stress of backfill body, the front abutment pressure, and the mass ratio of cut coal to backfilled materials. On-site strata behavior measurements of 7403 W solid backfilling working face in Zhai Zhen Coal Mine show that the backfill body can effectively support the overburden load, obviously control the overburden strata movement, and weaken the strata behaviors distinctly. Specific performances are as follows. The support resistance decreases obviously; the dynamic subsidence of immediate roof keeps consistent to the variation of backfill body stress, and tends to be stable after the face retreating to 120-150 m away from the cut. The peak value of front abutment pressure arises at 5-12 m before the operating face, and mass ratio is greater than the designed value of 1.15, which effectively ensures the control of strata movement. The research results are bases for intensively studying basic theories of solid backfill mining strata behaviors and its control, and provide theoretical guidance for engineering design in FMSBM.