Research on Bolt Support Technology in Soft Coal Seam Roadway

In order to solve the problem of surrounding rock control in soft coal seam roadway, taking the centralized return airway of No. 2 coal seam in Liangdu Coal Industry as the research background, the mechanical conditions of roadway surrounding rock were analyzed by means of field investigation, rock mechanics experiment and numerical simulation. The design principles of roadway support in soft coal seam were put forward: high strength anchor cable support, high preload support and high stiffness support. The bearing capacity of surrounding rock was strengthened by anchor cable support, and the deformation and failure of surrounding rock were effectively controlled. Through the numerical simulation method, the deformation and plastic failure range of roadwaysunder different support schemes are compared and analyzed. The support scheme of centralized transportation roadway is studied and determined, and the field test is carried out, which effectively controls the deformation of surrounding rock of roadway in weak coal seam.

Influence of fault slip on mining-induced pressure and optimization ofroadway support design in fault-influenced zone

This paper presents an investigation on the characteristics of overlying strata collapse and mining-induced pressure in fault-influenced zone by employing the physical modeling in consideration of fault structure. The precursory information of fault slip during the underground mining activities is studied as well. Based on the physical modeling, the optimization of roadway support design and the field verification in fault-influenced zone are conducted. Physical modeling results show that, due to the combined effect of mining activities and fault slip, the mining-induced pressure and the extent of damaged rock masses in the fault-influenced zone are greater than those in the uninfluenced zone. The sharp increase and the succeeding stabilization of stress or steady increase in displacement can be identified as the precursory information of fault slip. Considering the larger mining-induced pressure in the fault-influenced zone, the new support design utilizing cables is proposed. The optimization of roadway support design suggests that the cables can be anchored in the stable surrounding rocks and can effectively mobilize the load bearing capacity of the stable surrounding rocks. The field observation indicates that the roadway is in good condition with the optimized roadway support design.

Anchoring mechanism and application of hydraulic expansion bolts used in soft rock roadway floor heave control

Comparing with the resin bolt, the hydraulic expansion bolt has different anchoring mechanism and application advantage. According to the working mechanism of the hydraulic expansion bolt, its anchoring force is expressed in four forms including support anchoring force, tension anchoring force, expansion anchoring force and tangent anchoring force, and their values can be obtained on the basis of each calculation formula. Among them, the expansion anchoring force, which is the unique anchoring force of the hydraulic expansion bolt, can provide confining pressure to increase the strength of rock. Aiming at solving the problem of stability control in the soft rock roadway in Jinbaotun Coal Mine which has a double layer of 40 U-type sheds and cannot provide enough resistance support to control floor heave, the study reveals the mechanism of floor heave in the soft rock roadway, and designs the reasonable support parameters of the hydraulic expansion bolts. The observed results of floor convergence indicate that the hydraulic expansion bolts can prevent the development and flow of the plastic zone in the floor rock to control floor heave. Research results enrich the control technology in the soft rock roadway.

Deformation failure mechanism and application of the backfill along the goaf-side retained roadway

In order to determine the rational width of backfill in the goaf-side retained roadway, the deformation failure mechanism of surrounding rock in retained roadway is studied in the use of theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, etc., when the width of backfill is different. The results show that: with the increase of backfill width, the roof deformation above the backfill decreases; the outside of backfill obviously suffers from greater stress compared to the inner side of backfill; the damage firstly appears in the intersection of top backfill and roof; the plastic failure area is mainly distributed in the roof and floor of inside the roadway; 2 m wide backfill in the goaf-side retained roadway can meet the requirements of roadway deformation. Based on the original combination support of "anchor-mesh-belt-lock" in the haulage-track roadway, the study also considers the reinforced support of "anchor-mesh-belt" above the backfill, and 50 m ahead of working face, and 200 m behind the working face. This kind of support achieves a good result. The roadway deformation of field measurement shows that it can satisfy the need of the next working face.

Development of ensemble learning models to evaluate the strength of coal-grout materials

In the loose and fractured coal seam with particularly low uniaxial compressive strength(UCS),driving a roadway is extremely difficult as roof falling and wall spalling occur frequently.To address this issue,the jet grouting(JG)technique(high-pressure grout mixed with coal particles)was first introduced in this study to improve the self-supporting ability of coal mass.To evaluate the strength of the jet-grouted coal-grout composite(JG composite),the UCS evolution patterns were analyzed by preparing 405 specimens combining the influential variables of grout types,curing time,and coal to grout(C/G)ratio.Furthermore,the relationships between UCS and these influencing variables were modeled using ensemble learning methods i.e.gradient boosted regression tree(GBRT)and random forest(RF)with their hyperparameters tuned by the particle swarm optimization(PSO).The results showed that the chemical grout composite has higher short-term strength,while the cement grout composite can achieve more stable strength in the long term.The PSO-GBRT and PSO-RF models can both achieve high prediction accuracy.Also,the variable importance analysis demonstrated that the grout type and curing time should be considered carefully.This study provides a robust intelligent model for predicting UCS of JG composites,which boosts JG design in the field.

Roof bolting and underground roof falls

Roof bolting has been used in underground entry(roadway)support in U.S.coal mines since the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969(US Congress,1977)recognized roof bolting as the only means of underground entry(roadway)support.For U.S.underground coal mines,roof bolting pattern is fixed at 4
4 ft(1.2
1.2 m),except in the Pittsburgh Seam where longwall mining is practiced,with occasional 3.6
4 ft(1.1
1.2 m)pattern.However,roof falls or roof failure often occurs in roof-bolted entries in U.S.coal mines.Roof falls can roughly be divided into four types:skin falls,large falls,cutter roofs,and massive falls.Based on this situation,the roof is initially strengthened by bolt based on suspension and friction mechanism.By comparing roof bolting patterns in different coal producing countries,bolt density in all other countries is much higher(except South Africa)than that used in the U.S.In spite of its long history of successful application with hundreds of millions of units installed,roof bolting design is still the lack of a commonly accepted method.