Influence of Spatial Relationships between Key Strata on the Height of Mining-Induced Fracture Zone: A Case Study of Thick Coal Seam Mining

Peng Li, Xufeng Wang, Wenhao Cao, Dongsheng Zhang, Dongdong Qin and Hongzhi Wang
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Peng Li: School of Mines, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Xufeng Wang: School of Mines, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Wenhao Cao: School of Mines, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Dongsheng Zhang: School of Mines, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Dongdong Qin: School of Mines, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Hongzhi Wang: School of Mines, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: The behavior of the overburden of working face 20104 at the Wangjialing coal mine was investigated using borehole imaging. The measured height of the conductive fracture zone (CFZ) in the overburden, 148 m, is significantly different from the height that is predicted by an empirical formula. The spatial relationships between key strata (KS) required for their fracturing and their influence on the CFZ’s height were analyzed. The results demonstrate that the spatial relationships between adjacent KS are a major factor behind the abnormal increase in the height of CFZ relative to the coal seam. The height of linkage (HoL) between KS was introduced and an equation for calculating this height was proposed. The study found that the fracturing of a KS could induce fracturing of the adjacent KS above it if their height difference was smaller than the HoL between them. Otherwise, the fractures resulting from the lower KS would terminate at the bottom of the higher KS. When the location of a high KS satisfies certain requirement, the spatial linkage between adjacent KS will allow for the conductive fractures arising in a lower KS to propagate through the high KS as well as the strata controlled by it, thus increasing the height of CFZ in overburden.

Keywords: field measurements; thick seam mining; mining-induced fractures; key strata (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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