Propagation patterns of microseismic waves in rock strata during mining: an experimental study

Microseismic monitoring has been widely used in mines for monitoring and predicting dynamic disasters such as rockbursts and waterbursts. However, to develop high-precision microseismic monitoring systems, the propagation patterns of microseismic waves under complex geological conditions must be elucidated. To achieve this aim, a simulation model of a typical coalmine was designed using similar materials according to the similarity theory to simulate the mining process. Geophones were embedded into the model to detect the propagation of elastic waves from microseisms. The results show that in an unmined solid rock mass, the wave velocity in shallow rock strata is mainly affected by geologically weak planes, whereas in deep strata it is affected mainly by the density of the rock mass. During propagation, the amplitude first decreases and then increases rapidly with increasing propagation distance from the coal layer. After mining, our results indicate that the goaf causes significant attenuation of the wave velocity. After the goaf was backfilled, the velocity attenuation is reduced to some extent but not eliminated. The results of this study can be used as guidelines for designing and applying microseismic monitoring systems in mines.