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The strata movement and ground pressure under disturbances from extra thick coal seam mining: a case study of a Coal Mine in China

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AbstractSection Abstract

The exploitation of extra thick coal seams (ETCSs) has been emphasized in the Chinese coal industry. However, the strata movement and ground pressure under the mining conditions of an ETCS constitute a complex problem that urgently requires comprehensive understanding and efficient solution. With the background of the working face of the Tashan Coal Mine (Shanxi, China), a physical simulation test and numerical study based on the discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) are conducted to investigate the aforementioned problem. The movement of the overlying strata is first observed and discussed based on physical simulation. Next, a quantitative comparative analysis of the displacement field and stress field are carried out. The conclusions are as follows: (1) in the process of the ETCSs mining, the evolution of strata structure can be summarized into four patterns, namely, the simply supported beam pattern, the multi-simply supported beam pattern, the cantilever beam pattern, and the multi-cantilever beam pattern. (2) The fractal dimension can provide a quantitative expression for the structural evolution of the strata. The fractal dimension indicates that the fracture of the immediate roof and key stratum may significantly trigger the movement of the strata. (3) Based on the integration of DDA and physical simulation, the movement of the key stratum can be divided into three stages, namely, the stable stage, the fracture stage, and the compaction stage. The displacement of other strata is generally dominated by these three stages. (4) The mining disturbances and constraint reaction of the adjacent rock mass are responsible for the direction and magnitude evolution of stress in the key stratum. The gradual and full release of vertical stress of the key stratum indicates that the direction of the principal stress may change from horizontal and vertical to only horizontal. Moreover, the constraint reaction of the fractured rock mass causes a rapid increase in stress of the key stratum. (5) The movement of key stratum significantly impacts the pressure propagation. The stress in front of the working face accumulates sharply under such an effect and then shows a moderate increase with the sufficiency of the relative movement of the adjacent rock mass and release of the stress of the key stratum. These results indicate that the movement of the key stratum may be the underlying reason for the ground pressure.

AbstractSection Article highlights

  • The structure evolution of the overlying strata under the mining disturbances is qualitatively summarized and quantitatively described.

  • The inherent relation and intrinsic influence between the key stratum movement and ground pressure during the mining process is revealed.

  • The role of the key stratum for the pressure propagation and ground pressure behaviors is clarified and discussed.

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Acknowledgements

This project is supported by the National key research and development program (2022YFC2904102), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51827901), Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Science and Engineering (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education (DESE202106) and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Sciences and Geothermal Energy Exploitation and Utilization (2020-3). The authors acknowledge the supports of the above-mentioned Funding Agencies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Underground Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, Jiangsu, China

    Yanan Gao, Donghao Lan, Yudong Zhang & Xueyun Chang

  2. School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, Jiangsu, China

    Yanan Gao, Donghao Lan, Yudong Zhang & Xueyun Chang

  3. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Sciences and Geothermal Energy Exploitation and Utilization, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China

    Yanan Gao & Mingzhong Gao

  4. State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610025, Sichuan, China

    Jing Xie & Mingzhong Gao

  5. Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610025, Sichuan, China

    Jing Xie & Mingzhong Gao

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  1. Yanan Gao
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Correspondence to Yanan Gao.

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Gao, Y., Lan, D., Zhang, Y. et al. The strata movement and ground pressure under disturbances from extra thick coal seam mining: a case study of a Coal Mine in China. Geomech. Geophys. Geo-energ. Geo-resour. 8, 199 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40948-022-00506-y

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