A Disturbed Voussoir Beam Structure Mechanical Model and Its Application in Feasibility Determination of Upward Mining

Yujiang Zhang, Yining Wang, Bingyuan Cui, Guorui Feng (), Shuai Zhang (), Chunwang Zhang and Zhengjun Zhang
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Yujiang Zhang: College of Mining Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
Yining Wang: College of Mining Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
Bingyuan Cui: College of Mining Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
Guorui Feng: College of Mining Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
Shuai Zhang: College of Mining Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
Chunwang Zhang: College of Mining Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
Zhengjun Zhang: Yangcheng County Yangtai Group Industrial Co., Ltd., Jincheng 048100, China

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 20, 1-18

Abstract: China is endowed with a large quantity of residual coal resources that require upward mining. The stability of interburden strata structures and accurate determination are crucial for safe mining. Therefore, we established a mechanical model of disturbed voussoir beam structures of interburden strata in upward mining. The model was solved, and stability analysis and instability mechanism analysis were conducted. Based on this model, a new method for determining the feasibility of upward mining was proposed and applied to the upward mining of coal seam No. 7 in Baijiazhuang Coal Mine. A physical simulation experiment and numerical simulation were conducted to validate the method. Through research, it was found that the model had two instability mechanisms: rotation instability and sliding instability. When the disturbance load crossed the critical block of the structures, the model was most likely to experience sliding instability. When the disturbance load acted entirely on the critical block, rotation instability was more likely to occur. The result of the determination, performed using the new method, showed that there was no rotation instability or sliding instability in the interburden strata structures of coal seam No. 7, indicating that the coal seam could be mined upward. This result was consistent with the determinations using the statistical method, “three-zone” method, and balanced surrounding rock method. Physical and numerical simulations revealed that the upward mining of coal seam No. 7 caused the subsidence, rotation, and separation compaction of the interburden strata structures but that the structures remained stable. The results indicate that the proposed model and method have accuracy and applicability, being able to guide the practical feasibility determination of upward mining.

Keywords: upward mining; rock strata structures; stability analysis; mining feasibility determination; simulation study (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: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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