Stability analysis of longwall top-coal caving face in extra-thick coal seams based on an innovative numerical hydraulic support model

The relationship between support and surrounding rock is of great significance to the control of surrounding rock in mining process.In view of the fact that most of the existing numerical simulation methods construct virtual elements and stress servo control to approximately replace the hydraulic support problem,this paper establishes a new numerical model of hydraulic support with the same working characteristics as the actual hydraulic support by integrating numerical simulation software Rhino,Griddle and FLAC3D,which can realize the simulation of different working conditions.Based on this model,the influence mechanism of the supporting strength of hydraulic support on surrounding rock stress regulation and coal stability in front of the top coal caving face in extra thick coal seam were researched.Firstly,under different support intensity,the abutment pressure of the bearing coal and the coal in front of it presents the “three-stage”evolution characteristics.The influence range of support intensity is 15%–30%.Secondly,1.5 MPa is the upper limit of impact that the support strength can have on the front coal failure area.Thirdly,within a displacement range of 2.76 m from the coal wall,a support strength of1.5 MPa provides optimal control of the horizontal displacement of the coal.

Numerical and theoretical study of large-scale failure of strata overlying sublevel caving mines with steeply dipping discontinuities

The deformation and fracture evolution mechanisms of the strata overlying mines mined using sublevel caving were studied via numerical simulations.Moreover,an expression for the normal force acting on the side face of a steeply dipping superimposed cantilever beam in the surrounding rock was deduced based on limit equilibrium theory.The results show the following:(1)surface displacement above metal mines with steeply dipping discontinuities shows significant step characteristics,and(2)the behavior of the strata as they fail exhibits superimposition characteristics.Generally,failure first occurs in certain superimposed strata slightly far from the goaf.Subsequently,with the constant downward excavation of the orebody,the superimposed strata become damaged both upwards away from and downwards toward the goaf.This process continues until the deep part of the steeply dipping superimposed strata forms a large-scale deep fracture plane that connects with the goaf.The deep fracture plane generally makes an angle of 12°-20°with the normal to the steeply dipping discontinuities.The effect of the constant outward transfer of strata movement due to the constant outward failure of the superimposed strata in the metal mines with steeply dipping discontinuities causes the scope of the strata movement in these mines to be larger than expected.The strata in the metal mines with steeply dipping discontinuities mainly show flexural toppling failure.However,the steeply dipping structural strata near the goaf mainly exhibit shear slipping failure,in which case the mechanical model used to describe them can be simplified by treating them as steeply dipping superimposed cantilever beams.By taking the steeply dipping superimposed cantilever beam that first experiences failure as the key stratum,the failure scope of the strata(and criteria for the stability of metal mines with steeply dipping discontinuities mined using sublevel caving)can be obtained via iterative computations from the key stratum,moving downward toward and upwards away from the goaf.

Experimental study on the interrelation of multiple mechanical parameters in overburden rock caving process during coal mining in longwall panel

In order to comprehend the dynamic disaster mechanism induced by overburden rock caving during the advancement of a coal mining face, a physical simulation model is constructed basing on the geological condition of the 21221 mining face at Qianqiu coal mine in Henan Province, China. This study established, a comprehensive monitoring system to investigate the interrelations and evolutionary characteristics among multiple mechanical parameters, including mining-induced stress, displacement, temperature, and acoustic emission events during overburden rock caving. It is suggested that, despite the uniformity of the overburden rock caving interval, the main characteristic of overburden rock lies in its uneven caving strength. The mining-induced stress exhibits a reasonable interrelation with the displacement, temperature, and acoustic emission events of the rock strata. With the advancement of the coal seam, the mining-induced stress undergoes four successive stages: gentle stability, gradual accumulation, high-level mutation, and a return to stability. The variations in other mechanical parameters does not synchronize with the signifcant changes in mining-induced stress. Before the collapse of overburden rock occurs, rock strata temperature increment decreases and the acoustic emission ringing counts surges with the increase of rock strata displacement and mining-induced stress. Therefore, the collaborative characteristics of mining-induced stress, displacement, temperature, and acoustic emission ringing counts can be identifed as the precursor information or overburden rock caving. These results are in good consistent with on-site situation in the coal mine.

Technical parameters of drawing and coal-gangue field movements of a fully mechanized large mining height top coal caving working face

Under fully mechanized, large mining height top coal caving conditions, the shield beam slope angle of the support increases due to the enlargement of the top coal breaking and caving space. This results in a change of the caving window location and dimensions and, therefore, the granular coal-gangue movement and flows provide new characteristics during top coal caving. The main inferences we draw are as follows. Firstly, after shifting the supports, the caved top coal layer line and the coal gangue boundary line become steeper and are clearly larger than those under common mining heights. Secondly, during the top coal caving procedure, the speed of the coal-gangue flow increases and at the same drawing interval, the distance between the coal-gangue boundary line and the top beam end is reduced. Thirdly, affected by the drawing ratio, the slope angle of the shield beam and the dimensions of the caving window, it is easy to mix the gangue. A rational drawing interval will cause the coal-gangue boundary line to be slightly behind the down tail boom lower boundary. This rational drawing interval under conditions of large mining heights has been analyzed and determined.

Analysis of factors of top coal caving in fully mechanized sublevel caving face in soft coal and control

According to the analysis of the mechanism of top coal caving, the caving condition was pointed out, and many factors of caving were also determined. Then the relationship between factors and caving was studied. Based on the above research, one effective method by using field monitoring was brought forward to determine the controlling factor. Then some related key technologies were provided, such as keeping the integrality of the top-coal, raising the horizontal resistance of supports and decreasing the real end-face distance etc.. At last one application of this method was presented, and it was proved to be an effective method.

Analysis of the dialectical relation between top coal caving and coal-gas outbtu rst

According to the different engineering mechanical states of top coal caving andnormal stoping of gaseous loose thick coal seams,the dialectical relation between thiscaving method and dynamic disasters was analyzed by simulating the change of stressstates in the process of top coal initial caving with different mining and caving ratios basedon the ANSYS10.0.The variation of elastic energy and methane expansion energy duringfirst top coal caving was analyzed by first weighting and periodic weighting and combiningwith coal stress and deformation distribution of top coal normal stoping as well as positiveand negative examples in top coal caving of outburst coal seam.The research shows thatthe outburst risk increases along with the increase of the caving ratio in the initial miningstage.In the period of normal stoping,when the mining and caving ratio is smaller than1:3 and hard and massive overlying strata do not exist (periodic weighting is not obvious),it is beneficial to control ground stress leading type outburst.Thus,it is unreasonable toprohibit top coal caving in dangerous and outburst prone areas.

Caving thickness effects of surrounding rocks macro stress shell evolving characteristics

In order to explore the influence of different caving thicknesses on the MSS distributionand evolving characteristics of surrounding rocks in unsymmetrical disposal andfully mechanized top-coal caving (FMTC),based on unsymmetrical disposal characteristics,the analyses of numerical simulation,material simulation and in-situ observation weresynthetically applied according to the geological and technical conditions of the 1151(3)working face in Xieqiao Mine.The results show that the stress peak value of the MSS-baseand the ratio of MSS-body height to caving thickness are nonlinear and inverselyproportional to the caving thickness.The MSS-base width,the MSS-body height,theMSS-base distance to working face wall and the rise distance of MSS-base beside coalpillar are nonlinear and directly proportional to the caving thickness.The characteristics ofMSS distribution and its evolving rules of surrounding rocks and the integrated cavingthickness effects are obtained.The investigations will provide lots of theoretic referencesto the surrounding rocks' stability control of the working face and roadway,roadway layout,gas extraction and exploitation,and efficiency of caving,etc.

Technological optimization of fully mechanized caving mining face with large mining heights

Fully mechanized cave mining with large mining height is a new mining method, due to its large mining thickness and lower roadway excavation, the technology has been widely used in China＇s thick seam mining. In order to improve the top-coal recovery ratio of fully mechanized cave mining with large mining height, a study was conducted on optimizing the caving process, based on the mechanized caving face 1302N in Longgu Coal Mine. This was achieved by improving the PFC numerical calculation methods, and establishing a more accurate model system. On this basis, the recovery ratio of the top coal in different drawing intervals and technologies was investigated in order to achieve a reasonable caving process. The top-coal tracking system was used for practical surveying of the recovery ratio of top coal.

Reliability analysis of the velocity matching of coal cutting and caving in fully mechanized top-coal caving face

The matching relationship between coal cutting and caving in fully mechanized top-coal caving face is analyzed in detail from the angle of reliability. The coupling equation of reliability is established correspondingly, and the mathematical equation of the coefficient of velocity matching of coal cutting and caving is obtained, which meets a certain reliability demand for making the working procedure of coal caving not influence coal cutting of coal-cutter. The results show that the relationship between the coefficient of the velocity matching and the reliability of coal cutting and caving system is linear on the whole when R <0.9. It is pointed out that different numerical value should be selected for different coal face according to different demand for reliability.

Key technologies and equipment for a fully mechanized top-coal caving operation with a large mining height at ultra-thick coal seams

Thick and ultra-thick coal seams are main coal seams for high production rate and high efficiency in Chinese coal mines, which accounts for 44 % of the total minable coal reserve. A fully mechanized top-coal caving mining method is a main underground coal extraction method for ultra-thick coal seams. The coal extraction technologies for coal seams less than 14 m thick were extensively used in China. However, for coal seams with thickness greater than 14 m, there have been no reported cases in the world for underground mechanical extraction with safe performance, high efficiency and high coal recovery ratio. To deal with this case, China Coal Technology ＆ Engineering Group, Datong Coal Mine Group, and other 15 organizations in China launched a fundamental and big project to develop coal mining technologies and equipment for coal seams with thicknesses greater than 14 m. After the completion of the project, a coal extraction method was developed for top-coal caving with a large mining height, as well as a ground control theory for ultra-thick coal seams. In addition, the mining technology for top-coal caving with a large mining height, the ground support technology for roadway in coal seams with a large cross-section, and the prevention and control technology for gas and fire hazards were developed and applied. Furthermore, a hydraulic support with a mining height of 5.2 m, a shearer with high reliability, and auxiliary equipment were developed and manufactured. Practical implication on the technologies and equipment developed was successfully completed at the No. 8105 coal face in the Tashan coal mine, Datong, China. The major achievements of the project are summarized as follows： 1. A top-coal caving method for ultra-thick coal seams is proposed with a cutting height of 5 m and a top-coal caving height of 15 m. A structural mechanical model of overlying strata called cantilever beam-articulated rock beam is established. Based on the model, the load resistance of the hydraulic support with a large mining height for top-coal caving method is determined. With the analysis, the movement characteristics of the top coal and above strata are evaluated during top-coal caving operation at the coal face with a large mining height. Furthermore, there is successful development of comprehensive technologies for preventing and controlling spalling of the coal wall, and the top-coal caving technology with high efficiency and high recovery at the top-coal caving face with a large mining height. This means that the technologies developed have overcome the difficulties in strata control, top-coal caving with high efficiency and high coal recovery, and enabled to achieve a production rate of more than 10 Mtpa at a single top-coal caving face with a large mining height in ultra-thick coal seams; 2. A hydraulic support with 5.2 m supporting height and anti-rockburst capacity, a shearer with high reliability, a scraper conveyor with a large power at the back of face, and a large load and long distance headgate belt conveyor have been successfully developed for a top-coal caving face with large mining height. The study has developed the key technologies for improving the reliability of equipment at the coal face and has overcome the challenges in equipping the top-coal caving face with a large mining height in ultra-thick coal seams; 3. The deformation characteristics of a large cross-section roadway in ultra-thick coal seams are discovered. Based on the findings above, a series of bolt materials with a high yielding strength of 500-830 MPa and a high extension ratio, and cable bolt material with a 1 × 19 structure, large tonnage and high extension ratio are developed. In addition, in order to achieve a safe roadway and a fast face advance, installation equipment for high pre-tension bolt is developed to solve the problems with the support of roadway in coal seams for top-coal caving operation with a large mining height; 4. The characteristics of gas distribution and uneven emission at top-coal caving face with large mining height in ultra-thick coal seams are evaluated. With the application of the technologies of gas drainage in the roof, the difficulties in gas control for high intensive top-coal caving mining operations, known as ＂low gas content, high gas emission＂, are solved. In addition, large flow-rate underground mobile equipment for making nitrogen are developed to solve the problems with fire prevention and safe mining at a top-coal caving face with large mining height and production rate of more than 10 Mtpa. A case study to apply the developed technologies has been conducted at the No. 8105 face, the Tashan coal mine in Datong, China. The case study demonstrates that the three units of equipment, i.e., the support, shearer and scraper conveyor, are rationally equipped. Average equipment usage at the coal face is 92.1%. The coal recovery ratio at the coal face is up to 88.9 %. In 2011, the coal production at the No. 8105 face reached 10.849 Mtpa, exceeding the target of 10 Mtpa for a topcoal caving operation with large mining height performed by Chinese-made mining equipment. The technologies and equipment developed provide a way for extracting ultra-thick coal seams. Currently, the technologies and equipment are used in 13 mining areas in China including Datong, Pingshuo, Shendong and Xinjiang. With the exploitation of coal resources in Western China, there is great potential for the application of the technologies and equipment developed.

Fracturing,caving propagation and influence of mining on groundwater above longwall panels–a review of predictive models

Historically there have been a number of different hypotheses and empirical models developed in an attempt to describe the nature of fracturing above longwall panels in underground coal mining.The motivation for suchmodels varies,ranging fromunderstanding the impact ofmining on surface subsidence,to back-analysis of caving behaviour in the immediate roof behind the longwall face.One of the most critical motivating factors that is taking on increased importance in many coalfields,is the need for better understanding,and hence prediction of the impact of mining on overlying strata,particularly strata units acting as aquifers for different groundwater horizons.This paper reviews some of the major prediction models in the context of observed behaviour of strata displacement and fracturing above longwall panels in the southern coalfields of New South Wales,south of Sydney.The paper discusses the parameter often referred to as"height of fracturing"in terms of the critical parameters that influence it,and the relevance and appropriateness of this terminology in the context of overlying sub-surface subsidence and groundwater impact.The paper proposes an alternative terminology for this parameter that better reflects what it is and how it is used.The paper also addresses the potential role of major bedding shear planes mobilised by mining and their potential influence on overlying subsidence and groundwater interference.

Structure and deformation measurements of shallow overburden during top coal caving longwall mining

Mining induced pressures are strong and overburden failure areas are large in top coal caving longwall mining, which constrains high production and safety mining. By employing the combination of the full view borehole photography technique and the seismic CT scanner technique, the deformation and failure of overlying strata of fully mechanized caving face in shallow coal seam were studied and the failure development of overburden was determined. Results show that the full view borehole photography can reveal the characteristics of strata, and the seismic CT scanner can reflect the characteristics of strata between the boreholes. The combined measurement technique can effectively determine the height of fractured and caved zones. The top end of the caved zone in Yangwangou coal mine employing the top coal caving longwall mining was at the depth of 171 m and fractured zone was at the depth of 106-110 m. The results provide a theoretic foundation for controlling the overburden strata in the shallow buried top coal caving panel.

A review of cavability evaluation in longwall top coal caving

Longwall Top Coal Caving has been considered as one of the most effective technologies for the extraction of underground thick coal seams. A large number of studies on the applicability of Longwall Top Coal Caving into new mine sites have linked the success of its application to the geo mechanical understanding of the cavability of the top coal. The paper aims to improve the knowledge of the top coal cavability evaluation. A range of parameters that affect the top coal cavability were first identified. Afterward, a number of cavability assessment methods and classifications were reviewed. The result is important in that it assists researchers in developing an advanced and reliable tool for the top coal cavability evaluation.

Numerical analysis of application for induction caving roof

New method for handling roof of the base successive mining is proposed, which is induction caving in the roof. The key is that it is made certain to the station of the space-time in the induction caving roof, as the stress is released with the mining process. And applying the catastrophe theory, the influencing factors of induction caving roof are studied in the emptied areas, such as the mechanical property of the surrounding rock, the area of the gob,the scope and dimension of tensile stress. The results show that the key factor is the area of the gob to the method of the induction caving roof. Then according to the geology and the ore characteristic, the three dimension FEM mechanical model is built in Tongkeng Mine, the laws of the tensile stress are analyzed to the space and the time in the roof with the mining, then it is rational design to the mine step and time of the handing the roof.

Simulation of recovery of upper remnant coal pillar while mining the ultra-close lower panel using longwall top coal caving

With the depletion of easily minable coal seams,less favorable reserves under adverse conditions have to be mined out to meet the market demand.Due to some historical reasons,large amount of remnant coal was left unrecovered.One such case history occurred with the remnant rectangular stripe coal pillars using partial extraction method at Guandi Mine,Shanxi Province,China.The challenge that the coal mine was facing was that there is an ultra-close coal seam right under it with an only 0.8–1.5 m sandstone dirt band in between.The simulation study was carried out to investigate the simultaneous recovery of upper remnant coal pillars while mining the ultra-close lower panel using longwall top coal caving(LTCC).The remnant coal pillar was induced to cave in as top coal in LTCC system.Physical modelling shows that the coal pillars are the abutments of the stress arch structure formed within the overburden strata.The stability of overhanging roof strata highly depends on the stability of the remnant coal pillars.And the gob development(roof strata cave-in)is intermittent with the cave-in of these coal pillars and the sandstone dirt band.FLAC3D numerical modelling shows that the multi-seam interaction has a significant influence on mining-induced stress environment for mining of lower panels.The pattern of the stress evolution on the coal pillars with the advance of the lower working face was found.It is demonstrated that the stress relief of a remnant coal pillar enhances the caveability of the pillars and sandstone dirt band below.

Similar material simulation of time series system for induced caving of roof in continuous mining under backfill

With the help of similar material simulation test,time series system for induced caving of roof in continuous mining under complex backfill in ore body No.92 of Tongkeng Tin Mine was studied. According to the similarity theory,a two-dimensional similar simulation test-bed was constructed. The stress and displacement that change along with the advance of mining were acquired and analyzed automatically by data system. The processes of continuous mining of ore-block in 5 intervals and artificial induced caving of roof were simulated. The results of the test show that ore body remained as safety roof in thickness of 15 m guarantees the safe advance of stoping work face. Caving of safety roof puts in practice at the first two mining intervals when the third interval of continuous mining is finished,and one interval as the safety distance should be kept all the time between stopping and caving. While mining in the last interval,pre-slotting should be implemented first of all,and the roof of the last two mining intervals is caved simultaneously. Only this kind of time series system can be an efficient and safe way for induced caving of roof in continuous mining.

Numerical Simulation of Independent Advance of Ore Breaking in the Non-pillar Sublevel Caving Method

The mechanism of stress generation and propagation by detonation loading in five separate independent advance of ore breaking patterns is discussed in the paper. An elastic numerical model was developed using AN- SYS/LS-DYNA 3D Nonlinear Dynamic Finite Element Software. In this package ANSYS is the preprocessor and LS-DYNA is the postprocessor. Numerical models in the paper to actual were l：10 and the element mesh was dissected in scanning mode utilizing the symmetry characteristics of the numerical model. Five different advance rates were studied. Parameters, such as the time required to maximum stress, the action time of the available stress, the maximum velocity of the nodes, the stress penetration time, the magnitude of the stress peak and the time duration for high stress were numerically simulated. The 2.2 m advance appeared optimum from an analysis of the simulation results. The results from numerical simulation have been validated by tests with physical models.

Failure of hanging roofs in sublevel caving by shock collision and stress superposition

Hanging roofs or high hang-ups.a common problem in sublevel caving mining,usually result in a large ore loss and undermine mining safety.This paper analyzed the formation of a hanging roof and showed that increased confining pressure and reduced free surface were its main characteristics.In order to break down a hanging roof,a new method based on shock wave collision and stress superposition was developed.In this method,two blastholes containing multi-primer at different positions are simultaneously initiated at first.By doing this,a new free surface and a swell room can be created.After these holes are fired,a long delay time is given to the next blasthole so that the fragments from the first twohole blasting have enough time to fall down.This new method was applied to three hanging roofs in one production area,and all of them were successfully broken down.Field inspection indicated that almost no damage was caused in the nearby drifts/tunnels due to the new method.In addition,the far field vibrations were found to be smaller than the maximum vibrations induced by some other blasts.

Theoretical description of drawing body shape in an inclined seam with longwall top coal caving mining

Understanding the characteristics of drawing body shape is essential for optimization of drawing parameters in longwall top coal caving mining.In this study,both physical experiments and theoretical analysis are employed to investigate these characteristics and derive a theoretical equation for the drawing body shape along the working face in an inclined seam.By analyzing the initial positions of drawn marked particles,the characteristics of the drawing body shape for different seam dip angles are obtained.It is shown that the drawing body of the top coal exhibits a shape-difference and volume-symmetry characteristic,on taking a vertical line through the center of support opening as the axis of symmetry,the shapes of the drawing body on the two sides of this axis are clearly different,but their volumes are equal.By establishing theoretical models of the drawing body in the initial drawing stage and the normal drawing stage,a theoretical equation for the drawing body in an inclined seam is proposed,which can accurately describe the characteristics of the drawing body shape.The shape characteristics and volume symmetry of the drawing body are further analyzed by comparing the results of theoretical calculations and numerical simulations.It is shown that one side of the drawing body is divided into two parts by an inflection point,with the lower part being a variation development area.This variation development area increases gradually with increasing seam dip angle,resulting in an asymmetry of the drawing body shape.However,the volume symmetry coefficient fluctuates around 1 for all values of the seam dip angle variation,and the volumes of the drawing body on the two sides are more or less equal as the variation development volume is more or less equal to the cut volume.Both theoretical calculations and numerical simulations confirm that the drawing body of the top coal exhibits the shape-difference and volume-symmetry characteristic.

Support-surrounding rock relationship and top-coal movement laws in large dip angle fully-mechanized caving face

When mining the fully-mechanized longwall caving face along strike, the unstable equipment, the low top-coal recovery ratio and the difficulty in controlling surrounding rock may occur due to large dip angle. Considering the effects of strike angle on support stability, the ‘‘support-surrounding rock"mechanical models of support topple and support slip were established in this paper. On the basis, the influencing factors of support stability were analyzed and the technical measures of controlling support and surrounding rock stability were put forward. Then the loose particles simulation experiment was conducted to analyze the impacts of caving directions and methods on the top-coal recovery in large dip angle fully-mechanized caving face. Finally, the ‘‘upward sequence and double-openings doublerounds" caving technology was determined. The research results are of great scientific significance and practical values to improve large dip thick seam mining technology.