Longwall Mining Stability in Take-Off Phase

Extension of Excavation Damaged Zone Due to Longwall Working Effect

In advance longwall mining, the safety of mine network, production rate, and consequently, economic conditions of a mine are dependent on the stability conditions of gate roadways. The gate roadway stability is a function of two important factors: 1) characteristics of the excavation damaged zone (EDZ) above the gate roadway and 2) loading effect due to the caving zone (CZ) above the longwall w...

Long-term stability analysis of goaf area in longwall mining using minimum potential energy theory

Estimation of the height of caved and fractured zones above a longwall panel along with the stability conditions of the goaf area are very crucial to determine the abutment stresses, ground subsidence, and face support as well as designing the surrounding gates and intervening pillars. In this work, the height of caving-fracturing zone above the mined panel is considered as the height of destre...

Development Patterns of Fractured Water-Conducting Zones in Longwall Mining of Thick Coal Seams— A Case Study on Safe Mining Under the Zhuozhang River

The key to the safe mining of thick coal seams under rivers is understanding the development patterns of fractured water-conducting zones (FWCZ) when various mining methods are used. To solve this problem, we employed numerical simulation to investigate FWCZ when slice mining and longwall caving mining are performed. When slice mining was carried out, the maximum height of the FWCZ in the highe...

Inertial Navigation: Enabling Technology for Longwall Mining Automation

This paper describes recent advances in the development of an integrated inertial guidance system for automation of the longwall coal mining process. Significant advances in longwall automation are being achieved through an industry sponsored project which targets productivity and safety benefits. High performance inertial navigation systems are being successfully employed to accurately measure...

Topographic influence on stability for gas wells penetrating longwall mining areas