DEVELOPMENT OF ROOF BOLTING TECHNOLOGY FOR APPLICATION IN GAS- AND WATER-BEARING ROCKS

Abstract

Roof bolting is traditionally used only to ensure the stability of mine workings and it is not considered as a means of influencing filtration processes in the host rocks. The purpose of this work is to substantiate the use of roof bolting as a technological method to reduce gas emission and water inflows into mine workings. To achieve this goal the mathematical model of coupled processes of deformation of layered coal-rock mass around the mine working with roof bolting and fluids filtration in the disturbed area has been developed. It was shown that roof bolting restrains unloading of the boundary rocks from rock pressure and keeps them in triaxially compressed stress state. The permeability value decreases by the value of its technological component. The influence of roof bolting on the processes of methane and water filtration into the mine working was investigated. Methane filtration rate in the bolted area of the mine roof is equal to zero; consequently, methane from undermined gas emission sources does not participate in the filtration process. In different areas of the intersection of tectonic disturbance, water inflow into the mine working with roof bolting is 3-8 times less than in the working with frames. Therefore, the use of roof bolting allows not only to keep the mine working in a stable state, but also to significantly reduce fluids inflows. Roof bolting can be 44 considered as the second line of defense to be applied in the presence of gas- and water-bearing rocks.