Analysis of stability of coal pillars with multi-coal seam strip mining

Strip mining is one of the efficient measures to control surface subsidence and mining damage. However, the researches on the laws of the geological mining factors to upper and lower pillar's stability are still deficient in multi-coal seam strip mining at present. Based on the three dimension fast Lagrangian analysis of continua (short for FLAC3D) numerical simulation software, the laws of the stress increasing coefficient on the coal pillar and its stability were systematically studied for different depths, different mining widths, different interlayer spacings, different mining thicknesses, different properties of interstratified rock and the spacial relations of the upper and lower pillars in vertical alignment in multi-coal seam strip mining. The function relation between the stress increasing coefficient of upper and lower pillars with the mining depth, mining widths, interlayer spacing, mining thickness, property of interstratified rock and the spatial relationship were obtained.

Law of surface movement for multi-coal seam strip mining

It is an important part of green mining to control the disasters of coal mining which have caused irreversible damages to buildings and ecological environment. Strip mining is one of the efficient measures to control surface subsidence and mining damage. However, the research on the laws of the surface subsidence are still deficient in multi-coal seam strip mining at present. Based on the Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua(short for FLAC3D) numerical simulation software, the laws of the surface subsidence and horizontal movement were systematically studied for different depths, different mining widths, different distances between seams, different mining thickness, different parameters between seams and the special relations of the upper pillar and the lower pillar in the vertical direction in multi-seam strip mining. The function relation between the maximum subsidence and the maximum horizontal movement with the depth, the mining width, the seam distance, mining thickness, different parameters between seams and the partial offset are summarized respectively. Finally the formula integrating the surface maximum subsidence value and the maximum horizontal movement was deduced. The results can be used for reference theory and measure in forecasting the surface displacement in multi-coal seam strip mining.

Coalbed methane enrichment model of low-rank coals in multi-coals superimposed regions: a case study in the middle section of southern Junggar Basin

The Middle Jurassic Xishanyao Formation in the central section of the southern Junggar Basin has substantial amounts of low-ranked coalbed methane(CBM)recourses and is typically characterized by multi superimposed coal seams.To establish the CBM enrichment model,a series of experimental and testing methods were adopted,including coal maceral observation,proximate analysis,low temperature nitrogen adsorption(LTNA),methane carbon isotope determination,porosity/permeability simulation caused by overburden,and gas content testing.The controlling effect of sedimentary environment,geological tectonic,and hydrogeological condition on gas content was analyzed in detail.The results demonstrate that the areas with higher gas content(an average of 8.57 m3/t)are mainly located in the Urumqi River-Santun River(eastern study area),whereas gas content(an average of 3.92 m3/t)in the Manasi River-Taxi River(western study area)is relatively low.Because of the combined effects of strata temperature and pressure,the gas content in coal seam first increases and then decreases with increasing buried depth,and the critical depth of the inflection point ranges from 600 m to 850 m.Affected by the changes in topography and water head height,the direction of groundwater migration is predicted from south to north and from west to east.Based on the gas content variation,the lower and middle parts of the Xishanyao Formation can be divided into three independent coalbearing gas systems.Within a single gas-bearing system,there is a positive correlation between gas content and strata pressure,and the key mudstone layers separating each gas-bearing system are usually developed at the end of each highstand system tract.The new CBM accumulation model of the multi-coals mixed genetic gas shows that both biological and thermal origins are found in a buried depth interval between 600 m and 850 m,suggesting that the coals with those depths are the CBM enrichment horizons and favorable exploration regions in the middle section of the southern Junggar Basin.An in-depth discussion of the low-rank CBM enrichment model with multi-coal seams in the study region can provide a basis for the optimization of CBM well locations and favorable exploration horizons.