Evaluation of Surface Crack Development and Soil Damage Based on UAV Images of Coal Mining Areas

Abstract

Coal mining is necessary for the development of society but at the same time causes ecological damage that must also be repaired based on science. In the arid and semi-arid regions of northwest China, surface cracks are one of the major geo-environmental problems caused by coal mining, and studies are urgently needed to determine how to effectively repair them in a scientific manner. The rapid development of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) remote sensing technology in recent years has resulted in a good source of data for acquiring feature information on surface cracks. Existing studies mainly focus on high-precision crack extraction methods, and there are few studies on the methods for evaluating cracks. However, clarifying the degree of cracks requiring repair and what repair measures are required through scientific and reasonable evaluation methods is necessary to formulate effective crack repair and land reclamation plans. Given these considerations, in this study, the degree of both crack development and soil damage were evaluated based on the crack extraction results of UAV images. Based on the results of indoor experiments and field measurements, the grading criteria for the degree of crack development and soil damage were constructed. Crack density was used as the evaluation index for the degree of crack development (slight: <0.4%, moderate: 0.4–2%, severe: >2%). The distance between soil and cracks was the basis of the evaluation index for the soil damage degree (severe damage area: <0.6 m; slight damage area: 0.6–1.2 m; no obvious damage area: >1.2 m). Through the results from evaluating the degree of both crack development and soil damage in the study area, it was found that the degree of crack development was mainly moderate and located in the northern crack zone of the study area, with the cracks and damaged soil showing a striped pattern in the east-west direction. Combining the evaluation results of crack development and soil damage, the ecological restoration model of “natural restoration + crack filling + water supplementing + vegetation planting” is proposed. We conclude that crack repair should be applied in areas where moderate and severe cracks have developed, whereas soil repair should target the soil within 1.2 m of the cracks in the above area. This study is the first attempt to construct and evaluate the classification criteria of crack development degree and soil damage degree from the perspective of cracks and soil, and the results are of guiding significance for land reclamation in mining areas.