Comparison of large deformation failure control method in a deep gob-side roadway: A theoretical analysis and field investigation

Under the dual influence of the mining disturbance of the previous working face and the advanced mining of the working face,the roadway is prone to large deformation,failure,and rockburst.Roadway stabilization has always significantly influenced deep mining safety.In this article we used the research background of the large deformation failure roadway of Fa-er Coal Mine in Guizhou Province of China to propose two control methods:bolt-cable-mesh+concrete blocks+directional energy-gathering blasting(BCM-CBDE method)and 1st Generation-Negative Poisson’s Ratio(1G NPR)cable+directional energy-gathering blasting+dynamic pressure stage support(πgirder+single hydraulic prop+retractable U steel)(NPR-DEDP method).Meantime,we compared the validity of the large deformation failure control method in a deep gob-side roadway based on theoretical analysis,numerical simulations,and field experiments.The results show that directional energy-gathering blasting can weaken the pressure acting on the concrete blocks.However,the vertical stress of the surrounding rock of the roadway is still concentrated in the entity coal side and the concrete blocks,showing a’bimodal’distribution.BCM-CBDE method cannot effectively control the stability of the roadway.NPR-DEDP method removed the concrete blocks.It shows using the 1G NPR cable with periodic slipping-sticking characteristics can adapt to repeated mining disturbances.The peak value of the vertical stress of the roadway is reduced and transferred to the deep part of the surrounding rock mass,which promotes the collapse of the gangue in the goaf and fills the goaf.The pressure of the roadway roof is reduced,and the gob-side roadway is fundamentally protected.Meantime,the dynamic pressure stage support method withπgirder+single hydraulic prop+retractable U steel as the core effectively protects the roadway from dynamic pressure impact when the main roof is periodically broken.After the on-site implementation of NPR-DEDP method,the deformation of the roadway is reduced by more than 45%,and the deformation rate is reduced by more than 50%.

Stress environment of entry driven along gob-side through numerical simulation incorporating the angle of break

Angle of break(AOB)is the acute angle created by the coal seam bedding plane and caving line formed by roof strata movement after extraction of a longwall panel.It has a significant influence on stress redistribution both in the gob and abutment.Throughout numerical simulation investigations up to now,little attention has been paid to it or an AOB of 90°was used,which however,is not realistic.This paper presents a detailed numerical modelling incorporating the AOB against Zhenchengdi Coal Mine.The AOB was obtained through cross-measure boreholes.Hoek-Brown constitutive model was used to simulate the rock masses.Double-yield constitutive model,which was best fitted by Salamon's model,was used to simulate the gob.The results show that a‘‘/\shape"shear failure zone develops around the gob.The shear failure in the floor along the panel edge is due to opposite shear of rock mass on two sides of the caving line,and the number of yielded zones within the gob floor close to the gob edge is smaller.According to the research,the entry was determined to be driven under the gob edge employing splitlevel longwall panel layout(SLPL).The other numerical simulation for SLPL shows that stress around the god-side entry is much smaller than pre-mining stress,and the area of intact rock mass at the elevating section is larger than conventional layout.Numerical modelling was then validated by field observation.

Rock burst mechanism analysis in an advanced segment of gob-side entry under different dip angles of the seam and prevention technology

In order to investigate the frequent occurrences of rock burst in gob-side entry during the mining process of the mining zone No. 7, the mechanical model of main roof of fully-mechanized caving mining before breaking was established by the Winkler foundation beam theory, and the stress evolution law of surrounding rock with different dip angles of the seam during the mining process was analyzed by using FLAC3 D. The results show that: with the dip angle changing from 45° to 0°, the solid-coal side of gobside entry begins to form an L-shaped stress concentration zone at a dip angle of 30°, and the stress concentration degree goes to higher and higher levels. However, the stress concentration degree of the coalpillar side goes to lower and lower levels; the influence range and peak stress of the abutment at the lateral strata of adjacent gob increase with dip angle decreasing and reach a maximum value at a dip angle of 0°, but the tailgate is not affected; the abutment pressure superposition of two adjacent gobs leads to stress concentration further enhancing in both sides of gob-side entry. With the influence of strong mining disturbance, rock burst is easily induced by dynamic and static combined load in the advanced segment of gob-side entry. To achieve stability control similar to that in the roadway, the key control strategy is to reinforce surrounding rock and unload both sides. Accordingly, the large-diameter drilling and high-pressure water injection combined unloading and reinforced support cooperative control technology was proposed and applied in field test. The results of Electromagnetic Emission(EME) and field observation showed that unloading and surrounding rock control effect was obvious.

Surrounding rock control of gob-side entry driving with narrow coal pillar and roadway side sealing technology in Yangliu Coal Mine

Gob-side entry driving can increase coal recovery ratio, and it is implied in many coal mines. Based on geological condition of 10416 working face tailentry in Yangliu Coal Mine, the surrounding rock deformation characteristics of gob-side entry driving with narrow coal pillar is analysed, reasonable size of coal pillar and reasonable roadway excavation time after mining are achieved. Surrounding rock control technology and effective roadway side sealing technology are proposed and are taken into field practice. The results showed that a safer and more efficient mining of working face can be achieved. In addition, results of this paper also have important theoretical significance and valuable reference for surrounding rock control technology of gob-side entry driving with narrow coal pillar under special geological condition.

Control mechanism and technique of floor heave with reinforcing solid coal side and floor corner in gob-side coal entry retaining

Floor heave is the most common convergence in gob-side entry retaining.The paper analyzes the form,process and characteristics of gob-side entry retaining with the comprehensive methods of theoretical analysis,numerical simulation and the field trial.Research results present that bending and folding floor heave is the main factor in the stage of the first panel mining;squeezing and fluidity floor heave plays a great role in the stable stage of gob-side entry retaining;the combination of the former two factors affects mainly the stage of the second mining ahead;abutment pressure is a fundamental contribution to the serious floor heave of gob-side entry retaining,and sides corners of solid coal body are key part in the case of floor heave controlling of gob-side entry retaining.Floor heave of gob-side entry retaining can be significantly controlled by reinforcing sides and corners of solid coal body,and influence rules on the floor heave of gob side entry retaining of sides supporting strength and the bottom bolt orientation in solid coal side are obtained.Research results have been successfully applied in gob-side entry retaining of G20-F23070 face haulage roadway in #2 coal mine of Pingmei Group,and the field observation shows that the proposed technique is an effective way in controlling the floor heave of gob-side entry retaining.

Spatiotemporal evolution rule of rocks fracture surrounding gob-side roadway with model experiments

A series of plane-strain physical model experiments are carried out to study the spatiotemporal evolution rule of rocks fracture surrounding gob-side roadway, which is subjected to the pressure induced by the mining process. The digital photogrammetry technology and large deformation analysis method are applied to measure the deformation and fracture of surrounding rocks. The experimental results indicate that the deformation and fracture of coal pillars are the cause to the instability and failure of the surrounding rocks. The spatiotemporal evolution rule of the rock deformation and fracture surrounding gob-side roadway is obtained. The coal pillar and the roof near coal pillar should be strengthened in support design. The engineering application results also can provide a useful guide that the combined support with wire meshes, beam, anchor bolt and cable is an effective method.

Stability control of gob-side entry retained under the gob with close distance coal seams

In multi-seam mining,the interlayer rock strata between the upper coal seam(UCS)and the lower coal seam(LCS)appear damage and strength weakening after mining the UCS.Ground stability control of the gob-side entry retaining(GER)under the gob with close distance coal seams(CDCS)is faced with difficulties due to little attention to GER under this condition.This paper focuses on surrounding rock stability control and technical parameters design for GER under the gob with CDCS.The floor rock strata damage characteristics after mining the UCS is first evaluated and the damage factor of the interlayer rock strata below the UCS is also determined.Then,a structural mechanics model of GER surrounding rock is set up to obtain the main design parameters of the side-roadway backfill body(SBB)including the maximum and minimum SBB width calculation formula.The optimal SBB width and the water-to-cement ratio of high water quick-setting material(HWQM)to construct the SBB are determined as 1.2 m and 1.5:1.0,respectively.Finally,engineering trial tests of GER are successfully carried out at#5210 track transportation roadway of Xingwu Colliery.Research results can guide GER design under similar mining and geological conditions.

Cable-truss supporting system for gob-side entry driving in deep mine and its application

In order to solve the large deformation controlling problem for surrounding rock of gob-side entry driving under common cable anchor support in deep mine, site survey, physical modeling experiment, numerical simulation and field measurement were synthetically used to analyze the deformation and failure characteristics of surrounding rock. Besides, applicability analysis, prestress field distribution characteristics of surrounding rock and the control effect on large deformation of surrounding rock were also further studied for the gob-side entry driving in deep mine using the cable-truss supporting system. The results show that, first, compared with no support and traditional bolt anchor support, roof cable-truss system can effectively restrain the initiation and propagation of tensile cracks in the roof surrounding rock and arc shear cracks in the two sides, moreover, the broken development of surrounding rock, roof separation and extrusion deformation between the two sides of the roadway are all controlled; second, a prestressed belt of trapezoidal shape is generated in the surrounding rock by the cable-truss supporting system, and the prestress field range is wide. Especially, the prestress concentration belt in the shallow surrounding rock can greatly improve the anchoring strength and deformation resisting capability of the rock stratum;third, an optimized support system of ‘‘roof and side anchor net beam, roof cable-truss supporting system and anchor cable of the narrow coal pillar" was put forward, and the support optimization design and field industrial test were conducted for the gob-side entry driving of the working face 5302 in Tangkou Mine, from which a good supporting effect was obtained.

Failure laws of narrow pillar and asymmetric control technique of gob-side entry driving in island coal face

In allusion to the problems of complex stress distribution in the surrounding rock and deformation failure laws, as well as the difficulty in roadway supporting of the gob-side entry driving in the island coal face, 2107 face in Chengjiao Colliery is researched as an engineering case. Through physical mechanical test of rock, theoretical and numerical simulation analyses of rock, the analysis model of the roadway overlying strata structure was established, and its parameters quantified. To reveal the deformation law of the surrounding rock, the stability of the overlying strata structure was studied before, during and after the roadway driving. According to the field conditions, the stress distribution in coal pillar was quantified, and the surrounding rock deformation feature studied with different widths of the pillars in gob-side entry driving. Finally, the pillar width of 4 m was considered as the most reasonable. The research results show that there is great difference in support conditions among roadway roof, entity coal side and narrow pillar side. Besides, the asymmetric control technique for support of the surrounding rock was proposed. The asymmetric control technique was proved to be reasonable by field monitoring, support by bolt-net, steel ladder and steel wire truss used in narrow pillar side.

Stability Control of Gob-Side Entry Retaining in Fully Mechanized Caving Face Based on a Compatible Deformation Model

The stability control of gob-side entry retaining in fully mechanized caving face is a typical challenge in many coal mines in China.The rotation and subsidence of the lateral cantilever play a critical role in a coal mine,possibly leading to instability in a coal seam wall or a gob-side wall due to its excessive rotation subsidence.Hence,the presplitting blasting measures in the roof was implemented to cut down the lower main roof and convert it to caved immediate roof strata,which can significantly reduce the rotation space for the lateral cantilever and effectively control its rotation.Firstly,the compatible deformation model was established to investigate the quantitative relationship between the deformation of the coal seam wall and the gob-side wall and the subsidence of the lateral cantilever.Then,the instability judgments for the coal seam wall and gob-side wall were revealed,and the determination method for the optimal roof cutting height were obtained.Furthermore,The Universal Distinct Element Code numerical simulation was adopted to investigate the effect of roof-cutting height on the stability of the retained entry.The numerical simulation results indicated that the deformation of the roadway could be effectively controlled when the roofcutting height reached to 18 m,which verified the theoretical deduction well.Finally,a field application was performed at the No.3307 haulage gateway in the Tangan coal mine,Ltd.,Shanxi Province,China.The field monitoring results showed that the blasting roof cutting method could effectively control the large deformation of surrounding rocks,which provided helpful references for coal mine safety production under similar conditions.

Non-harmonious deformation controlling of gob-side entry in thin coal seam under dynamic pressure

The behavior of gob-side entry under dynamic pressure is totally different from the one driven after the movement of overlying strata above the adjacent coalface goal. The gob-side entry will experience severe roof lateral structural adjustments caused by adjacent coalface mining. Thus the deformation and failure characteristics of narrow coal pillar along the gob should be carefully considered. On the basis of the data of the gob-side entry obtained in a thin coal seam under dynamic pressure, the measures to reinforce the narrow coal pillar are put forward. In addition, the non-harmonious controlling of the rock structures and non-equilibrium gob-side entry deformation is proposed to avoid potential failure. Field practices show that the supporting problems of the gob-side entry under dynamic pressure can be well addressed, which could be used in other similar minin~ cases.

Stability of coal pillar in gob-side entry driving under unstable overlying strata and its coupling support control technique

Considering the situation that it is difficult to control the stability of narrow coal pillar in gob-side entry driving under unstable overlying strata, the finite difference numerical simulation method was adopted to analyze the inner stress distribution and its evolution regularity, as well as the deformation characteristics of narrow coal pillar in gob-side entry driving, in the whole process from entry driving of last working face to the present working face mining. A new method of narrow coal pillar control based on the triune coupling support technique (TCST), which includes that high-strength prestressed thread steel bolt is used to strain the coal on the goaf side, and that short bolt to control the integrity of global displacement zone in coal pillar on the entry side, and that long grouting cable to fix anchor point to constrain the bed separation between global displacement zone and fixed zone, is thereby generated and applied to the field production. The result indicates that after entry excavating along the gob under unstable overlying strata, the supporting structure left on the gob side of narrow coal pillar is basically invalid to maintain the coal-pillar stability, and the large deformation of the pillar on the gob side is evident. Except for the significant dynamic pressure appearing in the coal mining of last working face and overlying strata stabilizing process, the stress variation inside the coal pillar in other stages are rather steady, however, the stress expansion is obvious and the coal pillar continues to deform. Once the gob-side entry driving is completed, a global displacement zone on the entry side appears in the shallow part of the pillar, whereas, a relatively steady fixed zone staying almost still in gob-side entry driving and present working face mining is found in the deep part of the pillar. The application of TCST can not only avoid the failure of pillar supporting structure, but exert the supporting capacity of the bolting structure left in the pillar of last sublevel entry, thus to jointly maintain the stability of coal pillar.

Stress and deformation analysis of gob-side pre-backfill driving procedure of longwall mining:a case study

At present,non-pillar entry protection in longwall mining is mainly achieved through either the gob-side entry retaining(GER)procedure or the gob-side entry driving(GED)procedure.The GER procedure leads to difficulties in maintaining the roadway in mining both the previous and current panels.A narrow coal pillar about 5-7 m must be left in the GED procedure;therefore,it causes permanent loss of some coal.The gob-side pre-backfill driving(GPD)procedure effectively removes the wasting of coal resources that exists in the GED procedure and finds an alternative way to handle the roadway maintenance problem that exists in the GER procedure.The FLAC^(3D) software was used to numerically investigate the stress and deformation distributions and failure of the rock mass surrounding the previous and current panel roadways during each stage of the GPD procedure which requires"twice excavation and mining".The results show that the stress distribution is slightly asymmetric around the previous panel roadway after the"primary excavation".The stronger and stiffer backfill compared to the coal turned out to be the main bearing body of the previous panel roadway during the"primary mining".The highest vertical stresses of 32.6 and 23.1 MPa,compared to the in-situ stress of 10.5 MPa,appeared in the backfill wall and coal seam,respectively.After the"primary mining",the peak vertical stress under the coal seam at the floor level was slightly higher(18.1 MPa)than that under the backfill(17.8 MPa).After the"secondary excavation",the peak vertical stress under the coal seam at the floor level was slightly lower(18.7 MPa)than that under the backfill(19.8 MPa);the maximum floor heave and maximum roof sag of the current panel roadway were 252.9 and 322.1 mm,respectively.During the"secondary mining",the stress distribution in the rock mass surrounding the current panel roadway was mainly affected by the superposition of the front abutment pressure from the current panel and the side abutment pressure from the previous panel.The floor heave of the current panel roadway reached a maximum of 321.8 mm at 5 m ahead of the working face;the roof sag increased to 828.4 mm at the working face.The peak abutment pressure appeared alternately in the backfill and the coal seam during the whole procedure of"twice excavation and mining"of the GPD procedure.The backfill provided strong bearing capacity during all stages of the GPD procedure and exhibited reliable support for the roadway.The results provide scientific insight for engineering practice of the GPD procedure.

Comparative Analysis of the Distribution Characteristics of Floor Stress Field between Gob-Side Entry Retaining with Roof Cutting and Conventional Mining

All coal fields in North China are affected by floor confined water to varying degrees, floor failure and water inrush risk have always been a major problem to baffle coal mining activities. Roof cutting and pressure relief and the lack of protective coal pillar can cause the change of floor stress field, leading to the change of the floor failure depth, stress field of floor is the key to determine the depth of floor failure. In order to deeply study the distribution characteristics of floor stress field in gob-side entry retaining mining with roof cutting, taking the 50107 and 50109 working faces of Dongdong Coal Mine in Chenghe as the research objects, the numerical simulation software is used to simulate the floor stress field distribution of gob-side entry retaining mining with roof cutting and conventional mining. The distribution characteristics of the floor stress field of the working face are compared and analyzed under the three modes of conventional mining of reserved coal pillar, the first mining face of gob-side entry retaining with roof cutting and gob-side entry retaining with roof cutting. The results show that the peak stress concentration in front of the working face all occurs at 10 m under the three mining modes. The stress concentration area in front of conventional working face of reserved coal pillar is mainly in the middle of the working face. The stress concentration area in front of the first working face of gob-side entry retaining with roof cutting (50107) is located in the middle of the working face and the side of the working face of the retaining roadway. The stress concentration area of the working face (50109) is mainly in the middle and the two ends of the working face. The order of the peak value of the maximum concentrated stress in front of the working face is conventional working face of reserved coal pillar > the first working face of gob-side entry retaining with roof cutting (50107) > working face of gob-side entry retaining with roof cutting (50109). There is a stress reduction zone behind the working face, but there is a stress concentration phenomenon extending to the outside of the roadway, and the stress distribution is obviously different. Conventional working face of reserved coal pillar and the first working face of gob-side retaining with roof cutting (50107) show a double peak form of stress concentration on the outside of the two ends of the roadway, and the peak value of the concentrated stress at the rear of the working face is in the following order: On the side close to the transportation roadway, conventional working face of reserved coal pillar = the first working face of gob-side entry retaining with roof cutting (50107) > working face of gob-side entry retaining with roof cutting (50109);on the side close to the return airway, conventional working face of reserved coal pillar > the first working face of gob-side entry retaining with roof cutting (50107) > working face of gob-side entry retaining with roof cutting (50109).

Ground response and failure mechanism of gob-side entry by roof cutting with hard main roof

This study is the result of long-term efforts of the authors’team to assess ground response of gob-side entry by roof cutting(GSERC)with hard main roof,aiming at scientific control for GSERC deformation.A comprehensive field measurement program was conducted to determine entry deformation,roof fracture zone,and anchor bolt(cable)loading.The results indicate that GSERC deformation presents asymmetric characteristics.The maximum convergence near roof cutting side is 458 mm during the primary use process and 1120 mm during the secondary reuse process.The entry deformation is closely associated with the primary development stage,primary use stage,and secondary reuse stage.The key block movement of roof cutting structure,a complex stress environment,and a mismatch in the supporting design scheme are the failure mechanism of GSERC.A controlling ideology for mining states,including regional and stage divisions,was proposed.Both dynamic and permanent support schemes have been implemented in the field.Engineering practice results indicate that the new support scheme can efficiently ensure long-term entry safety and could be a reliable approach for other engineering practices.

Combined support mechanism of rock bolts and anchor cables for adjacent roadways in the external staggered split-level panel layout

Using the spatial structure of the external staggered split-level panel layout,a combined support technology for adjacent roadways was developed and analyzed for a rock bolt and anchor cable mechanism.The influence of the side rock bolt and anchor cable parameters on the mechanical properties of the anchorage body and the support stress distribution of the lateral coal body were revealed using the FLAC3D software.The optimal support parameters of the side rock bolts and anchor cables were subsequently determined,and the support effect of gob-side entry in a mining scenario was verified.The results show that the support of the side rock bolts and anchor cables improves the mechanical properties and stress state of the anchorage body,producing a good protective effect on the coal body of the air-intake entry roof and side wall.This is beneficial to the stability of the side wall and the realization of the suspension effect for roof rock bolts and anchor cables,which in turn makes the surrounding rock maintenance of the gob-side entry to a thick coal seam more favorable.

Layout and support technology of entry for pillar face

In order to improve the recovery rate of coal, some mines have begun to recover the residual protective pillars in the form of short wall faces. However, it is difficult to control stability of the haulage entry and the ventilating entry under the mining influences of the pillar face and the two side faces. Thus the 4311 face, which was designed to recover the 57 m wide residual protective pillar in Guojiashan Coal Mine,was taken as engineering background. Distribution law of stress and plastic zone in the residual protective pillar was analyzed using the numerical simulation. Then the gob-side entry driving technology was proposed to layout the entries for the pillar face. Based on the analysis of stress distribution and deformation characteristics of surrounding rocks in gob-side entry driving with different width of narrow pillars, the width of the narrow pillar of the entries in the 4311 face was decided to be 4 m. In order to control stability of the gob-side entry driving, the mechanical model of the main roof was established and deformation characteristic of surrounding rock was analyzed. Then the bolt support technology with high strength and high pre-tightening force was proposed for entry support. Especially, the hydraulic expansion bolts were used to support the narrow pillar rib. The engineering results show that the width of the narrow pillar is reasonable and the entry support technology is effective. The research achievement can provide some references to pillar recovery for other coal mines.

Stability analysis and control technology of gob‑side entry retaining with double roadways by flling with high‑water material in gently inclined coal seam

To ameliorate the defects of insufcient support resistance of traditional roadside flling bodies for gob-side entry retaining(GER),overcome the inability to adapt to the deformation of surrounding rock,and isolate the goaf efectively,a new type of high-water material as a roadside flling body for GER technology with double roadways was proposed.The instability analysis and control technology of GER with double roadways by flling high-water material into a gently inclined coal seam were studied.The basic mechanical properties of the new high-water material were investigated through laboratory experiments,and their main advantages were identifed.The reasonable width of the roadside flling wall of a high-water material was obtained by combining ground pressure observation and theoretical calculations.The distribution characteristics of the stress and plastic zone of surrounding rock of GER after being stabilized by the disturbance of the working face were studied using numerical simulations,and the failure range of GER by flling with high-water material was revealed.Based on this,a coupling control technology of anchor cables and bolts+single props+metal mesh+anchor bolts is proposed.Through the coupling methods of arranging borehole peeping and observing the convergences of surrounding rock,the results demonstrate that GER with double roadways by flling with a 1.8-m-wide high-water material has a good control efect.The above research will play an active role in promoting the application of high-water materials in GER roadside flling.