Determination of Coal Pillar Width and Support Parameters in Deep Coal Mines-A Case Study

With the depletion of shallow mineral resources, many large mines have turned to deep mining. The mine pressures associated with deep mining activities induce severe damage and deformation in the surrounding rock. The stability of coal pillars in the mining area is an important factor in maintaining roadway stability, so reasonable retainment of coal pillars is a primary issue in safety production. In this article, the stresses on coal pillars and roadways under different coal pillar widths are analyzed with ABAQUS software (Dassault Systemes, Velizy-Villacoublay, France). The result is a reasonable coal pillar width of the first mined face in the Kongzhuang mine, which was determined to be approximately 5 to 7 meters. This width ensures that the coal pillar will not be crushed or fractured and avoids both spontaneous combustion of the coal and waste of resources. The roadway's support parameters are determined by empirical calculation and then verified by numerical simulations and field tests. The reasonability of the arrangement of bolts and cables are verified in the same fashion.