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Sustainable development in coal mining requires a continuous and efficient method of coal extraction. Research shows that gob-side entries retained through roof cutting retained gob-side (RCGE) are vital for improving mining efficiency, enhancing coal recovery rates, and enabling continuous production. However, the mechanism of surrounding rock deformation during close-distance co-mining of coal seams with this technique is not yet clear. For the Jiaokou coal mine in China, due to an unreasonable stagger distance between upper and lower working faces, the gob-side entries retained at the 9102 tailgate and 10102 headgate experience severe rock pressure, leading to significant prop damage and a sharp reduction in the cross-section of the entry. This greatly hampers the reuse of these entries. To investigate this issue, we established a model to study the stress distribution of surrounding rocks at different stagger distances (20 m, 40 m, 60 m, 80 m, and 120 m) through numerical simulation and optimized the support parameters for the retained entries. Our research found that when the subsidence of the roof in the upper coal seam exceeds 0.74 m but is less than 1.33 m, there is sliding instability in the mining body. When the subsidence exceeds 1.33 m, the mining body will rotate and deform, causing significant mining pressure within the retained entry. A stagger distance of 40 m between the upper and lower working faces can reduce pressure on the face during the mining of the lower coal seam. Extensive field measurements of rock pressure revealed that the damage rate of the single column in the gob-side entries of the upper and lower coal seams does not exceed 5% and 1%, respectively. In summary, this study provides a practical method to reduce damage to entries during the mining process, thereby increasing the continuous production capability of the coal mine. This is critical for the sustainable development of coal mining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are several massive deposits around the world with different geological characteristics. Thus, different mining methods and strategies are applied based on the particularity of each method and mine experience. Particularly, in this work, we review and summarize the underground exploitation of some world-class base metal deposits based on Poland and Chilean experiences. Here, the main geological and mining parameters of Poland and Chilean mines applied in massive deposits are reported and analyzed. In Poland, mainly room and pillar methods (and variants) have been applied in massive deposits. Here, back-filling is required to maintain the mine's stability due to the large deposit size and open areas. In Chile, the block caving method is commonly used in massive underground deposits where less development is required. Here, the cave is naturally filled with broken material and a large subsidence zone is generated. In this review, it has been observed that different underground methods and strategies can be effectively used in massive deposits. Some parameters that influenced the method selection are mainly related to rock mechanics, ore recovery and dilution, subsidence zone, extraction rate, and mining experience. Here, key mining variables and parameters such as productivity, support, and equipment, as well as various issues related to the world-class deposit are studied. Additionally, a comparison between both experiences is presented, highlighting the main geological and mining parameters. This study can be used as a reference to evaluate the different option of underground mining methods to be applied in future massive mine projects with similar geological characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The more complex the hydrogeological conditions of a mine, the more likely the coal seam is to experience water inrush during the mining process, and the greater the degree of the water inrush hazard. The scientific and reasonable prediction of water inrush in mines with complex hydrogeological conditions is of great significance to the safe and efficient operation of coal mines. Taking the roof water inrush problem of the No. 3 lower coal seam in the Jisan Coal Mine as the research object, the factors affecting the roof water inrush of the coal seam were comprehensively considered from three aspects: the aquifer property, the mining fracture development and the geological structure. The evaluation index system was constructed by selecting 10 factors, including the aquifer depth and thickness, core recovery rate, brittle–plastic rock thickness ratio, number of water-resisting layers, development height of the water-conducting fracture zone, fault density, frequency density, scale index and variation coefficient of the coal seam floor dip angle. At the same time, based on the dual influence of subjective and objective weighting, the scientific and reasonable weight of each factor was ensured. The AHP-CRITIC composite weighting method was used to calculate the comprehensive weight of each factor. Finally, the roof water inrush risk prediction model was constructed. According to the prediction results, the study area was divided into a low-risk area, medium-risk area and high-risk area. Compared with the actual situation, the prediction results were basically consistent with the actual situation, and the prediction results can provide the basis for the prevention and control of water in a coal mine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backfilling technology is not always used by mining enterprises, which is conditioned by technological and economic factors, such as the need for high mining rates and costs for the technological processes of transporting backfill materials from the daylight surface to the mined-out space. This concerns the underground mining of hard coal, which is a strategic energy resource, in the mines of Ukraine. This paper aims to study the effect of leaving the waste bottom rocks in the mined-out space of the longwall face without their drawing to the earth's surface on the geomechanical state of the rocks surrounding the longwall face. The geomechanical assessment of the stress state of the rock mass surrounding the longwall face, when leaving the waste rocks from the seam bottom rocks in the mined-out space, is performed by the finite element method using the Ansys software package. A geomechanical model has been developed and substantiated, which adequately reflects the mining-geological conditions for seam mining within the extraction site, the actual structure and properties of the coal-bearing rock stratum, the parameters of the longwall face and the modified powered support for the processes of leaving the rocks in the mined-out space. The values and patterns have been determined of the decrease in the stress intensity concentrations in the coal-bearing roof mass in the frontal bearing pressure zone and destressing zone with an increase in the ratio of the rock pack thickness to the extracting seam thickness. The relative indicators of the load on the powered support section and the lowering of its roof have been determined by the ratio of the thickness of the rock pack formed in the mined-out space to the extracting seam thickness. The proposed mining method is of significant commercial and research interest for owners of coal mines developing thin coal seams because environmental costs for placing waste on the surface are reduced, and the energy potential of coal is increased due to the separation of waste rocks from coal in underground conditions. The need for a cycle of beneficiation of mined mass is eliminated and the geomechanical conditions of coal mining processes are improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing use of high-voltage transmission wires requires more and more high-voltage pylons, and sometimes, constructing pylons in mining areas is very urgent. To ensure the safe operation of pylons, coal pillars with large side lengths are usually used to provide sufficient support; however, this results in a huge waste of coal. Eight high-voltage pylons are arranged on the ground surface corresponding to the location of working face 1110 of Sima Coal Mine in Shanxi Province, China, which cannot be mined by traditional methods. Taking this as the engineering background, the failure mode of high-voltage pylon is first analyzed. Using FLAC3D numerical simulations, the influence of five different mining plans on ground surface deformation in working face 1110 is evaluated, and the vertical settlement and horizontal deformation in different areas of the ground surface, as well as the variation law of horizontal strain and slope are analyzed. According to the numerical simulation results, the range of thickness-limiting mining or backfill mining in working face 1110 is shown in scheme 3, and the key regions in the mining process are determined. Secondly, the strengthening scheme of high-voltage pylons is designed, that is, the four foundations of high-voltage pylons are connected as a whole with steel supports and steel connectors so as to improve the structural strength of the high-voltage pylon. Finally, the position change in the foundation of high-voltage pylons was monitored for 22 consecutive months. The results show that the maximum settlement of the high-voltage tower foundation is 3.1 m, which is consistent with the actual mining thickness; The high-voltage pylon was stably moved, and the change in transmission line tension and total length was usually less than 1.0%. The combined mining scheme and foundation strengthening scheme can ensure the safe operation of high-voltage pylons and provide a new method for the stability control of ground buildings in coal mining subsidence area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An extraction method for deep-seated thick seam deposits by underground mining with high resource recovery has remained a great challenge for Indian mining engineers, whereas the longwall top coal caving (LTCC) method has evolved as an effective method for various geo mining conditions in China and other counties. The percentage of top coal recovery (TCR) plays a predominant role in determining the feasibility of LTCC, which relies on the First Top Coal Caving Distance (FTCD). In this paper, the critical geotechnical parameters are identified, numerically simulated, and statistically analyzed, and the FTCD for Indian geo-mining conditions is developed and validated. A financial assessment is conducted, considering 70% top coal recovery at 85% performance level, cost of production escalated by 20% and fall in coal grade by two grades. The internal rate of return (IRR) for LTCC is 30.24% as per the sensitivity analysis where it is only 18% in single pass longwall method. This study contributes to evaluating both the technical and economic feasibility of introducing LTCC in Indian geo-mining conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gob-side entry retaining formed by roof fracturing (GERRF) is a popular non-pillar mining method. The method uses crushed rocks in gob side to support and control the movements of the gob roof. These crushed rocks will deform under roof pressure and generate desirable lateral stress on support structures of gangue rib. In this study, the deformation behavior of crushed mudstones with different particle sizes under incremental loading was investigated with an innovative experimental device that simulated boundary conditions of the GERRF method. Influence of particle size of the crushed mudstones to the generation of lateral stress applied on support structures were concurrently observed and analyzed. Research outputs from the tests showed that: (1) The particle size exerted a significant influence on the accumulated axial deformation, period axial deformation, and lateral stress applied on support structure of crushed rocks. (2) Under the same axial stress, the larger the particle size, the smaller the accumulated axial deformation of the crushed rock; A skeletal loading-bearing effect was apparent in the rock samples with larger particles (S-2, S-3). The compressive deformation process of samples S-2, S-3 divided into structural adjustment, skeletal load-bearing and crushing cum filling phases. At skeletal loading-bearing phase, the crushed rocks showed better deformation resistance and stability than other phases; (3) Two types of periodic stress-strain curves were observed for crushed mudstones in the tests. The "down-concave" type implied the deformation for the crushed mudstones was primarily a consequence of the compression in the void spaces. While the "upper-convex" type curve was resulted in particle crushing cum filling again; (4) The lateral pressure generated by large-size samples was smaller than that of small-size samples. Additionally, a poor regularity of lateral stress was observed in compression test of large-size sample (S-3). The relationship between the axial stress and lateral stress generated on the support structure was found to be approximately linear relationship under the condition that lateral pressure shows good regularity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the major pieces of equipment in fully mechanized coal mining, the drum shearer plays a critical role in improving the efficiency and energy utilization in the coal mining production process. In this paper, an energy consumption model of a shearer, derived from the analysis of the cutting and traction resistances on the shearer during different processes within a working cycle, is established. Based on the derived model, control and coordination strategies between the two speeds are proposed to minimize the shearer's energy consumption in unidirectional mining. The case study of a real coal mine shows that the proposed models are valid, and the optimal control of shearer speeds can effectively reduce the energy consumption by 5.16% in a working cycle. To gain further insights into the impact of traction speed and drum rotational speed on the shearer's energy consumption, several speed coordination cases are employed to further compare with the optimized one. Our study results show that the energy consumption of a shearer can be decreased with the increase of traction speed while decreasing drum rotational speed in coordination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conformance checking is a process mining technique that compares a process model with an event log of the same process to check whether the current execution stored in the log conforms to the model and vice versa. This paper deals with the conformance checking of a longwall shearer process. The approach uses place-transition Petri nets with inhibitor arcs for modeling purposes. We use event log files collected from a few coal mines located in Poland by Famur S.A., one of the global suppliers of coal mining machines. One of the main advantages of the approach is the possibility for both offline and online analysis of the log data. The paper presents a detailed description of the longwall process, an original formal model we developed, selected elements of the approach's implementation and the results of experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The western region of China is rich in mineral resources. The vigorous development of mineral resources has exacerbated the environmental and safety problems in the region. One of the important links to solve this problem is to control the development laws and distribution characteristics of the overburdened cracks in the mining of this area. In this paper, the Xiashijie coal mine 3-2 coal seam and 4-2 coal seam are examples of repeated mining, and are examined as the background, through theoretical analysis to optimize the size of the coal pillars in the lower section, using the 3DEC numerical simulation experiment method and the rise of the cracks in the short-distance coal seam. Repeated mining monitoring and analysis of the development law are used to ascertain distribution characteristics of overburdened cracks caused by the repeated mining process of the working face. The results show that: (1) By establishing a mechanical model of the overlying strata structure under short-distance coal seam group mining, and carrying out the force analysis of the double section coal pillar under repeated mining, the reasonable size of a lower section coal pillar was determined to be 70 m. (2) As the development height of a fracture progresses with the working face, its expansion rate undergoes four obvious changes: fluctuations within a certain range, the expansion rate reaches the peak after the rock formation is concentrated and broken, the cyclical change gradually decreases, and the expansion rate is zero after complete mining. (3) The fracture zone height of 222 and 224 face under repeated mining in the 4-2 coal seam was 19.56–22.31 times and 22.38–24.54 times larger, respectively, and the post-mining fracture extension of the face with larger width and deeper burial under repeated mining was higher than that of the adjacent face. This study provides scientific guidance for the rational division of coal pillars and the solution of the problem of water conservation mining under repeated mining in the adjacent face of a short-distance coal seam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In rock mass disturbed by mining activity, distortions in the stress balance may lead to seismic energy being emitted in reactivated seismogenic structures. One way of increasing the imaging resolution of these seismically active structures is through relocation, which itself can be achieved using the cloud collapsing method. This method partially eliminates perturbations in the location of seismic energy sources concerning the actual positions of these sources. It enables events to be grouped into spatially ordered structures that may correspond to actual tectonic structures, such as fractures, fissures, or faults. We present the results of applying the collapsing method in mining seismology using a cloud of located events recorded during mining activity at one of the coalfaces in the Bobrek hard coal mine. The relocation procedure was applied to all the foci of events recorded during mining activity on face 3/503 between April 2009 and July 2010. In the relocated point cloud, two types of the linear structure responsible for generating events are automatically distinguished using the HDBSCAN algorithm: structures directly related to mining activity and structures associated with local tectonics. The location of the separated structures of the first type corresponds to the range of coalface 3/503 and the shafts delimiting earlier mined seams 507 and 509 located below. The isolated structures of the second type, with almost vertical orientation, are associated with existing zones of discontinuity that become seismically active as a result of mining activity. The identified structures lie near the biggest events recorded, which is evidence that these structures may correspond to real discontinuity zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The depth effect of coal mechanical behavior seriously affects the safety and efficiency of deep coal mining. To explore the differences in failure behavior and damage characteristics of coal masses at different depths during the coal mining process, based on the consideration of in situ stress environment, physical properties, and mining disturbance of coal seams, triaxial unloading experiments with acoustic emission (AE) monitoring were conducted on coal samples at four different depths taken from the Pingdingshan coal mine area. The results showed that the AE activity of deep coal was more concentrated, and the cumulative AE energy of coal increased with increasing depth. The cumulative AE energy of the 1050-m coal sample was 69 times that of the 300-m coal sample. The b value representing the microcrack scale decreased with increasing depth, and the rupture degree of deep coal increased. The cracking mode of coal was classified and the failure behavior was analyzed. The cumulative tensile crack percentage of coal increased with increasing depth, and the tensile–shear composite failure occurred in the 300-m coal sample, whereas significant tensile failure occurred in the 1050-m coal sample. In addition, the damage evolution process of coal was divided into three stages, and the characteristic stress of coal was obtained. The ratio of crack initiation stress (σci) to peak stress (σc) increased with increasing depth, and the damage evolution process of deep coal was more rapid. The research results can provide useful guidance for disaster prevention and evaluation of surrounding rock stability during deep coal resource mining in the Pingdingshan coal mine area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1990s, remote sensing data have been available to monitor the surface movement for long periods of time. The analysis of satellite data shows that there is still residual subsidence (i.e., with average rates of about −10 mm/year) several decades after mining longwall panels in an area. Several years after the underground infrastructure was sealed, the surface started to move upwards. In the past, it often was claimed that movement of the surface was limited in time, i.e., a few years after mining a longwall panel. This is not the case for the conditions of the Campine coal basin, Belgium. This knowledge is important when one wants to design new operations in deep coal seams, but also when planning to stop the underground mining and to seal the access to the mine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents methods of making the rock bolt support more yieldable, especially for a stratified roof. Alongside the increasing depth of exploitation of raw material deposits, rock bolt support units are more often designed taking into account more intensive deformations and displacements of underground excavations. In the article, a room and pillar method with mined roof bending and roof reinforcement with bolt patterns of 1 m × 1 m, 1.5 m × 1.5 m and 2 m × 2 m is presented. Moreover, the laboratory tests included 1.8 m long bolts, which were embedded segmentally on the lengths of 100 mm, 150 mm and 200 mm were tested. Based on the load–displacement characteristics, the deformation energy for flat and profiled dome bearing plates was calculated. Making the segmentally embedded resin rock bolt support yieldable enabled it to perform additional work. Furthermore, it was found that rock bolt support with a dome bearing plate took over 2.5 times more energy compared to a rock bolt support equipped with a flat bearing plate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A powered roof support is one of the most important machines of a longwall system. Its basic task is to ensure the safety and continuity of the mining process. The conditions of coal mining process are constantly changing and have significantly deteriorated in recent years, which in turn has also resulted in a significant increase in the requirements for mining support. As a result, it is necessary to develop an appropriate methodology that will facilitate the design and testing process of a power roof support as well as will help to select a roof support adjusted to given conditions. The article presents such a methodology. It is based on forecasted load impacting on a roof support, tests covering selected systems and elements of the section as well as legal conditions regarding the admission of the roof support to operation. This idea was developed in the form of a procedure that, by combining the three areas, should support the decision-making process in the case of different underground conditions. In terms of the expected load impacting on the support, the research team identified the most dangerous phenomena occurring in the rock mass that can generate these loads. Stand tests included impact load and permanent clamping of an excavation. The element that significantly impacts the safety of the support operation is a hydraulic leg, and therefore it was tested together with the safety system and the control system. Model tests were also carried out for the system with a safety valve. The developed concept takes into account legal conditions, which should include test results and different support operating conditions in a more flexible way. The main purpose of the work was to develop a comprehensive methodology for testing and assessing the possibility of using a powered roof support for given mining and geological conditions based on an analysis of safety and control systems. The presented approach is undoubtedly new and original, and can be widely used. It enables better adaptation of the support to given conditions. It also fits the research and activities designed to minimize the presence of miners or service workers in hazardous underground exploitation zones and to improve efficiency and boost sustainable development of the mining industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During strip backfilling mining in coal mines, the backfilling material is the main support structure. Therefore, studying the pressure law of the backfilling material is essential for the safe and efficient mining of coal resources. Based on research into strip backfilling mining at working face number 3216 of the Shanghe Coal Mine, and to smooth transition of overlying strata loads to the backfilling material, this study proposes a three-stage strip backfilling mining method. Based on thin-plate theory, an elastic thin-plate model, a reasonable spacing of strip mining is constructed, and the reasonable mining parameters of "mining 7 m to retain 8 m" at working face number 3216 of the Shanghe Coal Mine are determined. The law of backfilling pressure in three-stage strip backfilling mining is studied through numerical simulation and physical simulation experiments. The results show that field measurement results are basically consistent with the experimental results and numerical simulation results. When three-stage strip backfilling mining is adopted, the stage-one backfilling material is the main bearing body to which the overlying rock load transfers smoothly and gradually, and the structure of the "overburden-coal pillar (or backfilling strip)" in the stope remains stable. In three-stage strip backfilling mining, the overlying rock load is ultimately transferred to the stage-one backfilling material, the stage-two backfilling material is the auxiliary bearing body, and the stage-three backfilling material mainly provides long-term stable lateral support for the stage-one backfilling material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activities of traditional longwall mining will result in ground subsidence and therefore cause issues such as damages to buildings and farmlands, water pollution and loss, and potential ecological and environmental problems in the mining region. With advantages of the longwall backfill mining method, as well as the room and pillar mining method, a continuous excavation and continuous backfill (CECB) method in longwall mining is recommended to effectively control the ground subsidence. In this method, mining roadways (MRs) are initially planned in a panel, and then they are excavated and backfilled in several stages until the whole panel is mined out and backfilled. According to the geologic conditions of an underground coal mine, and the elastic foundation beam theory, a mechanical model was built to study the subsidence of the roof while using this new mining method. In addition, methods to calculate roof subsidence in various stages in CECB were also provided. The mechanical parameters of backfilling materials, which were used in the theoretical calculation and the numerical analysis for mutual check, were defined through analyzing the stability conditions of the coal pillars and the filling bodies. The control effect for the ground subsidence of using the newly proposed mining method was analyzed based on both simulation results and site monitoring results, including the ground subsidence, horizontal displacement, tilt, curvature and horizontal strain. This research could provide suggestions to effectively control ground subsidence for a mine site with similar geologic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamic disasters caused by the failure of hard roof in the process of mining coal seriously affect the safe production in coal mines. Based on the W1123 mining coal working face of Kuangou coal mine, the physical similar material simulation experiment and acoustic emission (AE) monitoring method are used to study the failure law and AE characteristics of overburden in the process of coal mining. The stress evolution law is revealed through numerical simulation, the dangerous areas and rock burst hazard under the repeated mining with hard roof are studied combined with microseismic monitoring on site. The results show that the energy of W1123 working face released by the overburden damage under B4-1 solid coal is higher than that of the gob, and the peak value of the AE energy appears near the W1145 open-off cut. Through the statistics of the AE data, the large energy rate of AE event is defined, and the AE events with large energy rate appear in the scale of 82.4–231.2 cm within the model. This area is shown as a stress superposition area according to the numerical simulation. On the basis of comparing with the characteristics of energy distribution in the field, it is considered that the main control factors of rock burst in this area are hard roof of the working face and the stress concentration caused by the repeated mining. It provides a scientific guidance for the prevention and control measures of rock burst in this type of mining condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water conservation in mining is the key to solving the conflict between coal resource exploitation and ecological environment protection, especially in arid and semi-arid mining areas. Continuous excavation and continuous backfilling (CECB) in longwall mining is an important method to realize water conservation mining. Considering the different boundary conditions of the main roof stress in different mining phases, the mechanical models of clamped–clamped beam, continuous beam, and elastic foundation beam among filling body, main roof, and strata are established. Furthermore, the spatio-temporal evolution mechanisms of mining-induced fractures (MIF) are studied. It is found that there is a hyperbolic function relationship between MIF and the mining roadway (MR) filling percentages. Based on mining the XV coal seam under CECB in the Wangtaipu Coal Mine, the distribution patterns of MIF are studied. It is concluded that the distribution pattern is an isosceles trapezoid with the moving angle of overlying strata as the bottom angle, and the upper and lower boundary of MIF as the two parallel sides. Based on the influence coefficient of MR filling percentages on MIF, the curve of the MIF height is divided into three ranges, which include the stability control range, the critical range, and the lost control range. The controlling effects of MR filling percentages are studied, and the calculation expression of the MIF height in the stability control range is given. In engineering practice, 90% MR filling percentage is used for CECB. The MIF height is about 3.0 times of mining height, and the main roof beam is not broken. The water-resisting property of aquiclude III is not destroyed, thus, the mining does not adversely impact the water. The results provide theories and practices for controlling MIF under CECB in the conditions of extremely close distance aquifers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the characteristics of overburden deformation and energy release under different mining sequences of close-distance coal seam groups, physical material similar simulation experiments were carried out, and comprehensive monitoring methods such as dial gauge, total station, micro-seismic monitor, and pressure sensor were used to test the Guangou Coal Mine. The comparative analysis of the initial mining and the upward recovery of the B4-1 coal seam is carried out to study the migration law, mine pressure distribution, and energy release characteristics of the overlying strata during W1145 mining face mining and residual coal mining. The results show that the maximum subsidence of surface and rock formation caused by re-mining of B4-1 residual coal is 0.96 m and 2.57 m respectively, which is 0.42 m and 0.47 m lower than that of W1145 working face. The boundary angle, moving angle, and rock stratum formed by the upward recovery of the remaining coal seam are 79.3°, 81.1°, and 67.5° respectively, which are smaller than the 80.9°, 82.3°, and 75.8° formed by the first mining. The cumulative development height of the fracture zone caused by upward mining is 115.7 m, which is 8.0% smaller than the cumulative development height of the downstream fracture zone of 125.8 m. When the up-level mining is carried out, the fragmentation effect of the rock layer below the key layer is strong, which makes the loosely broken rock block have a better supporting effect. Therefore, the residual coal mining time is longer than that of the first mining. The initial pressure step of the residual coal recovery is 139.2 m, and the average step of the cycle is 34.2 m, which is significantly larger than the 128.0 m and 26.0 m of the first mining. The loose rock strata that are disturbed by the upward recovery are more likely to be broken. Therefore, there are more micro-seismic events during the re-mining of the remaining coal. The B4-1 residual coals have a total of 945 incidents of re-seismic micro-seismic events, which is 292 more than the W1145 working face. After the B2 coal seam mining disturbance, the energy of some rock layers above the B4-1 coal seam is released, so that the micro-seismic energy caused by re-mining of the remaining coal seam is small. Through microseismic monitoring, it can be concluded that the accumulated energy in the process of upward re-mining of remaining coal seam is less than that in the process of downward mining of W1145 working face. Upward recovery is more likely to cause damage in the disturbed loose rock formation. Therefore, the frequency of micro-seismic events during the upward recovery is higher, and the partial energy release of the rock after the disturbance is caused, so that the source energy generated in the unit length of the upward recovery is smaller than the initial one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The no-pillar mining method is widely used in coal mining engineering because of its superiority in resolving mine pressure hazards and protecting natural resources. In view of the geological conditions of stable strata in a coal mine of the Shandong Coal Zone, a novel segmented roadside plugging-filling mining method is proposed by introducing the filling coefficient into roadside filling. The operation process is designed with a new grouting filling forming device. Based on the relationship between the theoretical deflection of a cantilever beam and geometric settlement and parallel settlement models, strength formulas applicable to the segmented roadside plugging-filling (SRPF) method at different migration stages are obtained, and the deformation formulas of a roadway toward a rock slab are solved by an elastic equivalent model. Further, the determination procedure of the filling mode under the mining method is clarified. The SRPF method was implemented on a test stope, and the test results indicated that the theoretical deformation produced by the SRPF method was small and can meet the mining requirements. Through on-site test monitoring, the deformation of surrounding rock was 0–160 mm and the filling body under the SRPF method could maintain its own strength and the stability of the surrounding rock. In addition, entire successful mining been completed in the working stope, which further proves the applicability of this method. The backfilling cost of the gob-side filling was reduced by approximately 50%, and the backfilling efficiency was improved in the mine. The description of the novel mining method may provide theoretical and practical guidance for coal mining in similar geological conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retained gob-side entry (RGE) is a significant improvement for fully-mechanized longwall mining. The environment of surrounding rock directly affects its stability. Roadside backfilling body (RBB), a man-made structure in RGE plays the most important role in successful application of the technology. In the field, however, the vertical deformation of RBB is large during the panel extraction, which leads to malfunction of the RGE. In order to solve the problem, roof pre-split is employed. According to geological conditions as well as the physical modeling of roof behavior and deformation of surrounding rock, the support resistance of RBB is calculated. The environment of surrounding rock, vertical stress and vertical deformation of the RBB in the RGE with different roof pre-split angles are analyzed using FLAC3D software. With the increase of roof pre-split angle, the vertical stresses both in the coal wall and RBB are minimum, and the vertical deformation of RBB also decreases from 110.51 mm to 6.1 mm. Therefore, based on the results of numerical modeling and field observation, roof pre-split angle of 90° is more beneficial to the maintenance of the RGE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]