Investigation of the Rock Destruction Influence in the Increased Rock Pressure Zones on the Stability of Preparatory Mine Workings

The issue of determining the size of pillars of various types and purposes is very important, as it is closely related to the issues of completeness of excavation of mineral reserves, as well as ensuring the stability of protected workings.

The purpose of this work is to study the behavior of the massif in the zones of increased mining pressure, to evaluate its stress-strain state for justification of the optimal parameters of pillars, which is a very urgent scientific task in the conditions of the converged formations of the Western Donbass.

To analyze the stress-strain state of the rock massif area in the area of preparatory excavations, falling into the zones of increased mining pressure, the volumetric problem was solved using the finite element method. The problem was solved using Cosmos Works software. In order to determine the size of the pillar satisfying the requirements of completeness of excavation and safety of preparatory workings, this parameter was varied from 25m to 40m with an interval of 2m.

The work contains the results of monitoring the condition of mine workings as the longwall is approaching up to its stoppage. On the basis of modeling of the stress-strain state of the massif with linkage of the actual state of the drifts according to the monitoring results, the optimum parameters of the pillar are determined, which in the considered conditions are 37 meters.