Evaluation of roof cutting by directionally single cracking technique in automatic roadway formation for thick coal seam mining

Automatic roadway formation by roof cutting is a sustainable nonpillar mining method that has the potential to increase coal recovery,reduce roadway excavation and improve mining safety.In this method,roof cutting is the key process for stress relief,which significantly affects the stability of the formed roadway.This paper presents a directionally single cracking(DSC)technique for roof cutting with considerations of rock properties.The mechanism of the DSC technique was investi-gated by explicit finite element analyses.The DSC technique and roof cutting parameters were evaluated by discrete element simulation and field experiment.On this basis,the optimized DSC technique was tested in the field.The results indicate that the DSC technique could effectively control the blast-induced stress distribution and crack propagation in the roof rock,thus,achieve directionally single cracking on the roadway roof.The DsC technique for roof cutting with optimized parameters could effectively reduce the deformation and improve the stability of the formed roadway.Field engineering application verified the feasibility and effectiveness of the evaluated DSC technique for roof cutting.

Experimental research of overburden movement and subsurface water seeping in shallow seam mining

Shallow seam coal field has the largest coal reserve in China. Mining in shallow depth causes serious problems, and subsurface dewatering is a major issue. In this paper, the physical simulating models were prepared to study overburden movement and aquiclude stability in the shallow seam mining of Yushuwan Coalfield, China. According to the characteristic of clay aquiclude and bedrock in the overburden, the proper simulation materials for simulating the plastic clay aquiclude layers and brittle bedrock layers were determined by the stress-strain tests and hydrophilic tests. The physical simulating models of solid medium and two phases of solid-liquid medium were carried out to simulate the failure and caving process of the roof and overburden, as well as the subsurface water seeping. Based on the simulation, it was found that the movement of clay aquiclude follows the movement of the underlying bedrock layers. The stability of aquiclude is mainly affected by cracks in fracture zone. The tests also showed that the best way to control the stability of aquiclude is to reduce the subsiding gradient, and there is a possibility of ground water conservation under longwall mining in Yushuwan Mine. This research provides a foundation for further study on mining dewatering and water conservation.

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.

Experimental study on the deformation and failure mechanism of overburden rock during coal mining using a comprehensive intelligent sensing method

Understanding the spatiotemporal evolution of overburden deformation during coal mining is still a challenge in engineering practice due to the limitation of monitoring techniques. Taking the Yangliu Coal Mine as an example, a similarity model test was designed and conducted to investigate the deformation and failure mechanism of overlying rocks in this study. Distributed fiber optic sensing(DFOS), highdensity electrical resistivity tomography(HD-ERT) and close-range photogrammetry(CRP) technologies were used in the test for comprehensive analyses. The combined use of the three methods facilitates the investigation of the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of overburden deformation, showing that the mining-induced deformation of overburden strata was a dynamic evolution process. This process was accompanied by the formation, propagation, closure and redevelopment of separation cracks.Moreover, the key rock stratum with high strength and high-quality lithology played a crucial role in the whole process of overburden deformation. There were generally three failure modes of overburden rock layers, including bending and tension, overall shearing, and shearing and sliding. Shear failure often leads to overburden falling off in blocks, which poses a serious threat to mining safety. Therefore, realtime and accurate monitoring of overburden deformation is of great significance for the safe mining of underground coal seams.

采深和松散层厚度对开采沉陷地表移动变形影响的数值模拟研究

文章以山西霍州辛置煤矿2204工作面为试验研究基地,采用岩石破裂软件RFPA2D模拟开采沉陷过程,研究煤层采动后地表移动及变形的规律;系统地分析了采深采厚比对地表移动及变形的影响。