Motion model and key parameters of overburden strata in longwall filling face

Abstract

When the paste material is filled into the longwall working face of the coal mine, it firstly controls the movement of the overburden strata, thereby limiting the movement of the far field rock layer and reducing the subsidence. With this regard, the paste filling technology of the long-wall mining can address the limitation of “three down, one up” (mining under water body, building and rail, and on karst water body) technology in coal mining, thus improving the extraction rate of coal resource. To control the movement of the overburden strata near the working face, the prerequisite is to clarify the relationship among the parameters, including coal mining thickness, filling body thickness, filling step, filling body strength, etc. On this basis, this paper established an overall mechanical model of the filling body and surrounding rock, and determined the key technical parameters of the overburden movement, i.e., the filling rate, the strength of the filling body, and the filling step. Then, the influence of these parameters on the overburden movement and abutment pressure was analyzed through the numerical simulation method. The results show that at a higher filling rate, the overburden motion can be better controlled; the filling step only had a significant effect on the roof subsidence within the relevant step; as the early strength of the filling body was higher, the overburden subsidence was smaller and the abutment pressure in front of the face was better controlled. The research of overburden motion model and its key parameters have a good guiding significance for paste filling in the longwall face of coal mines.