Rock mechanics research decreases longwall bump potential at a southern Appalachian coal mine

Journal Article · Wed Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1992 · Mining Engineering (Littleton, Colorado); (United States)

OSTI ID:5599507

Barton, T M; Campoli, A A; Guana, M ^[1]

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1. US Bureau of Mines, Pittsburgh Research Center, Pittsburgh, PA (US)

This paper reports on coal mine bumps, the violent failures of overstressed coal, present a safety hazard to miners when longwall mining which is conducted in deep, bump-prone coal mines. Two different longwall gate entry systems were evaluated in a southern Appalachian coal mine located in the Pocahontas No. 3 coalbed under approximately 610 m of overburden that included a massive sandstone member. Both gate entry systems employed a center abutment pillar flanked by yield pillars. The original design used a 24.4-m square abutment pillar, while the new design employed a 36.6-m {times} 54.9-m abutment pillar. Rock mechanics instrumentation data analysis and in-mine observations indicated that this increase in abutment pillar size significantly decreased bump potential. The new design in worst-case conditions increased effective bearing area 62% with only a 9% increase in gate entry system width, and eliminated face bumps that were experienced with the original gate entry design.

• OSTI ID: 5599507
• Journal Information: Mining Engineering (Littleton, Colorado); (United States), Journal Name: Mining Engineering (Littleton, Colorado); (United States) Vol. 44:4; ISSN MIENA; ISSN 0026-5187
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
012030* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Underground Mining-- (1987-)
COAL DEPOSITS
COAL MINERS
COAL MINES
COAL SEAMS
DESIGN
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
HAZARDS
LONGWALL MINING
MECHANICS
MINERAL RESOURCES
MINERS
MINES
MINING
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY
OPENINGS
PERSONNEL
RESOURCES
ROCK MECHANICS
SAFETY
STRESSES
SUPPORT PILLARS
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
UNDERGROUND MINING