A Novel Damage Model for Strata Layers and Coal Mass

Abstract

Coal burst occurrences are affected by a range of mining and geological factors. Excessive slipping between the strata layers may release a considerable amount of strain energy, which can be destructive. A competent strata is also more vulnerable to riveting a large amount of strain energy. If the stored energy in the rigid roof reaches a certain level, it will be released suddenly which can create a serious dynamic reaction leading to coal burst incidents. In this paper, a new damage model based on the modified thermomechanical continuum constitutive model in coal mass and the contact layers between the rock and coal mass is proposed. The original continuum constitutive model was initially developed for the cemented granular materials. The application of the modified continuum constitutive model is the key aspect to understand the momentum energy between the coal–rock interactions. The transformed energy between the coal mass and different strata layers will be analytically demonstrated as a function of the rock/joint quality interaction conditions. The failure and post failure in the coal mass and coal–rock joint interaction will be classified by the coal mass crushing, coal–rock interaction damage and fragment reorganisation. The outcomes of this paper will help to forecast the possibility of the coal burst occurrence based on the interaction between the coal mass and the strata layers in a coal mine.