Abstract
Understanding the behaviour of underground workings is essential for the success of any mining method. The longwall mining method is one of the predominant underground methods to extract coal. Since 1978, in India, 22 underground coal mines of different collieries have been implemented the mechanized longwall method. SCCL is one of that colliery has mixed working experiences with longwall method in their mines. The longwall faces in GDK-10A, JK-5, and VK-7 of SCCL had produced good results, but the faces in GDK-7, GDK-9, GDK-11A, and PVK-5 had suffered due to the geological disturbances and unavailability of real-time information about the strata behaviour. By addressing the previous experiences of longwall workings, Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has implemented a high capacity (1 × 1152T) powered support system in Adriyala Longwall Project (ALP) at a depth of 375m. In this study, extensive field monitoring with different strata monitoring instruments was conducted in ALP to analyze the gate roads convergence, stress variation on longwall and chain pillars at different stages of extraction (i.e., 8m, 25m, 35m, and 45m) and the pressure variation on the powered support systems. It was observed from the results that the convergence in the gate roads was increasing with the advance of the longwall face and the area of exposure. The pressure of the legs on the dip side was less than the pressure of the legs on the rise side, which implies a stable roof condition over the longwall face. To better understand the behaviour of ALP workings, a numerical modelling study with FLAC 7.0 has been conducted with actual physio-mechanical properties. The computed numerical modelling results have been remarkably well in consistent with the field monitoring results. The stability of chain pillars has been estimated at every stage of extraction by the Factor of Safety (FoS) criterion and it was found that the pillars could be ensured stability in longwall workings.
Climate Change Impacts on the Stability of Small Tidal Inlets: A Numerical Modelling Study Using the Realistic Analogue Approach
