Control of the Internal and External Staggered Distance of Coal Mining Face to the Water-Conducting Fissures in the Overlying Strata of the Near Coal

Abstract

In Northwest China, rainfall is low, water resources are scarce, and the ecological environment is fragile. For shallow-buried and close-spaced coal seams with a thickness of upper coal bed >60∼70 m, the water-conducting fissures of the overlying rock will not penetrate the water-isolating layer after the upper coal seam is mined; the internal and external gap angles of the water-conducting fissures are not generated from the water-isolating layer. We set out to explore the critical internal and external dislocations for the second significant development of water-conducting fissures in the overlying rock after coal mining under control. A calculation model for the critical internal and external staggered distances of coal mining face in shallow-buried and close-spaced coal seams is established, the calculation formula is given, and the calculation formula for the critical seam mining ratio under the condition of internal staggered mining mode is given. Numerical simulation performed by UDEC methods: taking the overburden strata in the shallow-buried and close-spaced coal seam mining area of Shigetai Coal Mine as a prototype, it was verified that the critical internal and external offsets of the coal mining face in shallow-buried and close-spaced coal seams have a significant effect on the overlying water flow cracks in the mining of the lower coal seam. For the feasibility of developmental control, according to the engineering geological conditions of Shigetai, through the calculation method of external staggered distance, it is concluded that the distance of the open cut of the lower coal face and the upper coal face is only 21∼27 m, which is much smaller than the water barrier. It does not produce the critical distance of the water-conducting cracks. Therefore, in the process of mining the lower coal seam, the water-proof layer will produce water-conducting cracks, lose its water-proof performance, and cause water loss. This is also the cause of the water inrush accident in Shigetai Coal Mine.