Coal bursts are typically associated with highly stressed coal.Most bursts occur during retreat mining(longwall mining or pillar recovery) in highly stressed locations like the tailgate corner of the longwall panel.Ot...Coal bursts are typically associated with highly stressed coal.Most bursts occur during retreat mining(longwall mining or pillar recovery) in highly stressed locations like the tailgate corner of the longwall panel.Others are associated with multiple seam interactions.However, a small but significant percentage of coal bursts have occurred during development or in outby locations unaffected by active mining.Most development bursts have been relatively small, but some have been highly destructive.No theory of coal bursts can be complete if it does not account for this type of event.This paper focusses on the development mining coal burst experience in the US, putting it into the context of the entire US coal burst database.The first documented development coal burst occurred almost exactly 100 years ago during slope drivage at the Sunnyside Mine in Utah.Sunnyside subsequently had a long history of bursts, mainly during retreat mining but also during development.Several Colorado mines have also experienced multiple development bursts.Many, but by no means all, of the development bursts in these western US coalfields have been associated with known faults.In the Central Appalachian coalfields, most development bursts have occurred in multiple seam situations.In some of these cases, however, there was no retreat mining in either seam.The paper closes with some lessons from this history, with implications for preventing such events in the future.展开更多
Underground coal mining in the U.S. is conducted in numerous regions where previous workings exist above and/or below an actively mined seam. Miners know that overlying or underlying fully extracted coal areas, also k...Underground coal mining in the U.S. is conducted in numerous regions where previous workings exist above and/or below an actively mined seam. Miners know that overlying or underlying fully extracted coal areas, also known as gob regions, can result in abutment stresses that affect the active mining. If there was no full extraction, and the past mining consists entirely of intact pillars, the stresses on the active seam are usually minimal. However, experience has shown that in some situations there has been sufficient yielding in overlying or underlying pillar systems to cause stress transfer to the adjoining larger pillars or barriers, which in turn, transfer significant stresses onto the workings of the active seam. In other words, the overlying or underlying pillar system behaves as a ‘‘pseudo gob." The presence of a pseudo gob is often unexpected, and the consequences can be severe. This paper presents several case histories, summarized briefly below, that illustrate pseudo gob phenomenon:(1) pillar rib degradation at a West Virginia mine at 335 m depth that contributed to a rib roll fatality,(2) pillar rib deterioration at a Western Kentucky mine at 175 m depth that required pillar size adjustment and installation of supplemental bolting,(3) roof deterioration at an eastern Kentucky mine at 400 m depth that stopped mine advance and required redirecting the section development,(4) coal burst on development at an eastern Kentucky mine at 520 m depth that had no nearby pillar recovery, and(5) coal burst on development at a West Virginia mine at the relatively shallow depth of 335 m that also had no nearby pillar recovery. The paper provides guidance so that when an operation encounters a potential pseudo gob stress interaction the hazard can be mitigated based on an understanding of the mechanism encountered.展开更多
Room-and-pillar mining with pillar recovery has historically been associated with more than 25% of all ground fall fatalities in underground coal mines in the United States.The risk of ground falls during pillar recov...Room-and-pillar mining with pillar recovery has historically been associated with more than 25% of all ground fall fatalities in underground coal mines in the United States.The risk of ground falls during pillar recovery increases in multiple-seam mining conditions.The hazards associated with pillar recovery in multiple-seam mining include roof cutters, roof falls, rib rolls, coal outbursts, and floor heave.When pillar recovery is planned in multiple seams, it is critical to properly design the mining sequence and panel layout to minimize potential seam interaction.This paper addresses geotechnical considerations for concurrent pillar recovery in two coal seams with 21 m of interburden under about 305 m of depth of cover.The study finds that, for interburden thickness of 21 m, the multiple-seam mining influence zone in the lower seam is directly under the barrier pillar within about 30 m from the gob edge of the upper seam.The peak stress in the interburden transfers down at an angle of approximately 20°away from the gob, and the entries and crosscuts in the influence zone are subjected to elevated stress during development and retreat.The study also suggests that, for full pillar recovery in close-distance multiple-seam scenarios,it is optimal to superimpose the gobs in both seams, but it is not necessary to superimpose the pillars.If the entries and/or crosscuts in the lower seam are developed outside the gob line of the upper seam,additional roof and rib support needs to be considered to account for the elevated stress in the multiple-seam influence zone.展开更多
文摘Coal bursts are typically associated with highly stressed coal.Most bursts occur during retreat mining(longwall mining or pillar recovery) in highly stressed locations like the tailgate corner of the longwall panel.Others are associated with multiple seam interactions.However, a small but significant percentage of coal bursts have occurred during development or in outby locations unaffected by active mining.Most development bursts have been relatively small, but some have been highly destructive.No theory of coal bursts can be complete if it does not account for this type of event.This paper focusses on the development mining coal burst experience in the US, putting it into the context of the entire US coal burst database.The first documented development coal burst occurred almost exactly 100 years ago during slope drivage at the Sunnyside Mine in Utah.Sunnyside subsequently had a long history of bursts, mainly during retreat mining but also during development.Several Colorado mines have also experienced multiple development bursts.Many, but by no means all, of the development bursts in these western US coalfields have been associated with known faults.In the Central Appalachian coalfields, most development bursts have occurred in multiple seam situations.In some of these cases, however, there was no retreat mining in either seam.The paper closes with some lessons from this history, with implications for preventing such events in the future.
文摘Underground coal mining in the U.S. is conducted in numerous regions where previous workings exist above and/or below an actively mined seam. Miners know that overlying or underlying fully extracted coal areas, also known as gob regions, can result in abutment stresses that affect the active mining. If there was no full extraction, and the past mining consists entirely of intact pillars, the stresses on the active seam are usually minimal. However, experience has shown that in some situations there has been sufficient yielding in overlying or underlying pillar systems to cause stress transfer to the adjoining larger pillars or barriers, which in turn, transfer significant stresses onto the workings of the active seam. In other words, the overlying or underlying pillar system behaves as a ‘‘pseudo gob." The presence of a pseudo gob is often unexpected, and the consequences can be severe. This paper presents several case histories, summarized briefly below, that illustrate pseudo gob phenomenon:(1) pillar rib degradation at a West Virginia mine at 335 m depth that contributed to a rib roll fatality,(2) pillar rib deterioration at a Western Kentucky mine at 175 m depth that required pillar size adjustment and installation of supplemental bolting,(3) roof deterioration at an eastern Kentucky mine at 400 m depth that stopped mine advance and required redirecting the section development,(4) coal burst on development at an eastern Kentucky mine at 520 m depth that had no nearby pillar recovery, and(5) coal burst on development at a West Virginia mine at the relatively shallow depth of 335 m that also had no nearby pillar recovery. The paper provides guidance so that when an operation encounters a potential pseudo gob stress interaction the hazard can be mitigated based on an understanding of the mechanism encountered.
文摘Room-and-pillar mining with pillar recovery has historically been associated with more than 25% of all ground fall fatalities in underground coal mines in the United States.The risk of ground falls during pillar recovery increases in multiple-seam mining conditions.The hazards associated with pillar recovery in multiple-seam mining include roof cutters, roof falls, rib rolls, coal outbursts, and floor heave.When pillar recovery is planned in multiple seams, it is critical to properly design the mining sequence and panel layout to minimize potential seam interaction.This paper addresses geotechnical considerations for concurrent pillar recovery in two coal seams with 21 m of interburden under about 305 m of depth of cover.The study finds that, for interburden thickness of 21 m, the multiple-seam mining influence zone in the lower seam is directly under the barrier pillar within about 30 m from the gob edge of the upper seam.The peak stress in the interburden transfers down at an angle of approximately 20°away from the gob, and the entries and crosscuts in the influence zone are subjected to elevated stress during development and retreat.The study also suggests that, for full pillar recovery in close-distance multiple-seam scenarios,it is optimal to superimpose the gobs in both seams, but it is not necessary to superimpose the pillars.If the entries and/or crosscuts in the lower seam are developed outside the gob line of the upper seam,additional roof and rib support needs to be considered to account for the elevated stress in the multiple-seam influence zone.
