STRESS DISTRIBUTIONS AND ROCK FAILURE AROUND COAL-MINE ROADWAYS

A series of three-dimensional stress analyses of a rectangular roadway was conducted using the boundary integral equation method (BIEM). The intention of the analyses was to determine the stress distributions in the vicinity of a rectangular mine face when the roadway intersects the in situ stress field at different angles. Consideration was given to the effects of these stress distributions on the initiation of rock failure. The results show that, in stress fields with dominant lateral stress components, the driveage direction has a major effect upon the type and geometry of failure potential in the rock surrounding the excavation.