Fracture Evolution Mechanisms and Roof Failure Assessment in Shallow-Buried Soft Coal Seams Under Fully Mechanized Caving Mining

To address the challenges in the collaborative control of strong mine pressure and surface damage during fully mechanized shallow soft coal seam top-coal caving mining, this study takes the 22,031 working face of Xindeng (Zhengzhou, China) Coal Mine as the research background. By combining analytica...

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Main Authors: Yongkang Yang, Xiaolin Fan, Guoyou Hu, Shuai Li, Konghao Zhu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Applied Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/11/6036
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author Yongkang Yang
Xiaolin Fan
Guoyou Hu
Shuai Li
Konghao Zhu
author_facet Yongkang Yang
Xiaolin Fan
Guoyou Hu
Shuai Li
Konghao Zhu
author_sort Yongkang Yang
collection DOAJ
description To address the challenges in the collaborative control of strong mine pressure and surface damage during fully mechanized shallow soft coal seam top-coal caving mining, this study takes the 22,031 working face of Xindeng (Zhengzhou, China) Coal Mine as the research background. By combining analytical modeling and discrete-element granular flow simulation, this research elucidates how overburden fractures evolve and how the ground surface responds throughout the mining of shallow, soft coal seams. This research shows that the mechanical model analysis based on plate theory indicates that the first fracture of the immediate roof occurs 0.5 m from the goaf side of the mined-out area. Numerical simulations demonstrate that when the working face advances 80 m, the mining-induced influence extends to the surface. The displacement field of the overburden undergoes a dynamic temporal evolution law following the sequence of “rectangle–trapezoid” → “hyperbola-like” → “trapezoid”. During the advancement of the working face, the fracture pattern of the overburden evolves from “rectangle–trapezoid” to “trapezoid”, and the affected range on the surface transforms from an “inverted trapezoid” to a “trapezoid”. This study ultimately clarifies the dynamic law of collaborative deformation between the overburden and the surface, providing a theoretical basis for the safe mining of shallow coal seams, the prevention of roof accidents, and the optimization of mining technology.
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spelling doaj-art-254fa5e26d0c481b9d50373fd51135452025-08-20T02:33:06ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-05-011511603610.3390/app15116036Fracture Evolution Mechanisms and Roof Failure Assessment in Shallow-Buried Soft Coal Seams Under Fully Mechanized Caving MiningYongkang Yang0Xiaolin Fan1Guoyou Hu2Shuai Li3Konghao Zhu4Key Laboratory of In-Situ Modified Mining, Ministry of Education, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, ChinaKey Laboratory of In-Situ Modified Mining, Ministry of Education, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, ChinaKey Laboratory of In-Situ Modified Mining, Ministry of Education, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, ChinaKey Laboratory of In-Situ Modified Mining, Ministry of Education, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, ChinaKey Laboratory of In-Situ Modified Mining, Ministry of Education, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, ChinaTo address the challenges in the collaborative control of strong mine pressure and surface damage during fully mechanized shallow soft coal seam top-coal caving mining, this study takes the 22,031 working face of Xindeng (Zhengzhou, China) Coal Mine as the research background. By combining analytical modeling and discrete-element granular flow simulation, this research elucidates how overburden fractures evolve and how the ground surface responds throughout the mining of shallow, soft coal seams. This research shows that the mechanical model analysis based on plate theory indicates that the first fracture of the immediate roof occurs 0.5 m from the goaf side of the mined-out area. Numerical simulations demonstrate that when the working face advances 80 m, the mining-induced influence extends to the surface. The displacement field of the overburden undergoes a dynamic temporal evolution law following the sequence of “rectangle–trapezoid” → “hyperbola-like” → “trapezoid”. During the advancement of the working face, the fracture pattern of the overburden evolves from “rectangle–trapezoid” to “trapezoid”, and the affected range on the surface transforms from an “inverted trapezoid” to a “trapezoid”. This study ultimately clarifies the dynamic law of collaborative deformation between the overburden and the surface, providing a theoretical basis for the safe mining of shallow coal seams, the prevention of roof accidents, and the optimization of mining technology.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/11/6036shallow coal seamweak coal seamoverburden rock migrationoverburden rock fracture evolutionroof fracture
spellingShingle Yongkang Yang
Xiaolin Fan
Guoyou Hu
Shuai Li
Konghao Zhu
Fracture Evolution Mechanisms and Roof Failure Assessment in Shallow-Buried Soft Coal Seams Under Fully Mechanized Caving Mining
Applied Sciences
shallow coal seam
weak coal seam
overburden rock migration
overburden rock fracture evolution
roof fracture
title Fracture Evolution Mechanisms and Roof Failure Assessment in Shallow-Buried Soft Coal Seams Under Fully Mechanized Caving Mining
title_full Fracture Evolution Mechanisms and Roof Failure Assessment in Shallow-Buried Soft Coal Seams Under Fully Mechanized Caving Mining
title_fullStr Fracture Evolution Mechanisms and Roof Failure Assessment in Shallow-Buried Soft Coal Seams Under Fully Mechanized Caving Mining
title_full_unstemmed Fracture Evolution Mechanisms and Roof Failure Assessment in Shallow-Buried Soft Coal Seams Under Fully Mechanized Caving Mining
title_short Fracture Evolution Mechanisms and Roof Failure Assessment in Shallow-Buried Soft Coal Seams Under Fully Mechanized Caving Mining
title_sort fracture evolution mechanisms and roof failure assessment in shallow buried soft coal seams under fully mechanized caving mining
topic shallow coal seam
weak coal seam
overburden rock migration
overburden rock fracture evolution
roof fracture
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/11/6036
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AT shuaili fractureevolutionmechanismsandrooffailureassessmentinshallowburiedsoftcoalseamsunderfullymechanizedcavingmining
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