Interaction Mechanism of the Upper and Lower Main Roofs with Different Properties in Close Coal Seams: A Case Study

Abstract

Close-distance coal seams are widely distributed in China, and the mining of overlying coal seams leads to floor damage. To grasp the properties and the fracture spans of the damaged main roof in the underlying coal seam, combining the calculation of the floor damage depth with rock damage theory and the formulas for calculating the first and periodic weighting intervals of the damaged main roof and the instability conditions of the damaged key blocks are obtained. Three interaction stability mechanics models are proposed for key blocks with different properties of the upper and lower main roof, and the instability conditions of the lower damaged key blocks are obtained when the fracture lines overlap. When combined with a specific example, the field monitoring verified the calculation results. The research results are as follows: (1) The first and periodic weighting intervals, horizontal thrust between blocks, and critical load of instability of the damaged main roof are significantly reduced. Still, there are differences in its reduction under different loads, rotation angles, and lumpiness. (2) When the fracture lines of the upper and lower main roofs overlap, the stability of the damaged key blocks is the lowest. There are three linkage stability regions in the critical load curves of the two key blocks. (3) In this case, the damage equivalent of the main roof is 0.397, which belongs to the local damage type. Its first and periodic weighting intervals are 40 m and 16 m, which is 22% and 24% less than when there is no damage. (4) A supporting load of 0.489 MPa is required to maintain the stability of the upper key block, and the lower damaged key block is prone to rotary and sliding instability during the first and periodic weighting, respectively. Thus, the supports need to bear a total of 0.988 MPa and 0.761 MPa to maintain the stability of the two key blocks simultaneously. The ground pressure data monitored on-site is in accord with the calculation results.