Study on Space–Time Evolution Law and Mechanism of Instability Failure of Deep High-Stress Overburden Rock

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Based on the Wangjialing coal mine in deep high stress environment as the engineering background, in view of the evolution characteristics of overburden structure and the transfer and evolution mode of load in the process of coal mining, this paper explores the formation characteristics of beam, slab and arch roof structures under deep high stress conditions, and studies the load transfer path. The article is rich in content, reasonable in structure and clear in thinking, which provides theoretical support for the prevention and control of deep high stress mining roof. In general, this is a very good article, but there are the following problems and suggestions for modification:

1.     The abstract of this article needs to be condensed again, highlighting the problems, methods and conclusions.

2.     At the beginning of the article, the corresponding beam, slab and arch structures at different mining stages are directly put forward, but there is no derivation basis. Why is this division.

3.     Is there any other influence factor on the structural evolution model mentioned in the paper, such as rock strength and mining method?

4.     Figure 3-6 The left font is blurred, please adjust the font size and clarity

5.     In line 638 of the article, figure f is used for abbreviation fig f, and the rest is not abbreviated. Please unify the format.

Author Response

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

The presented research was carried out on a very topical topic - the study of the law of destruction and the characteristics of the structural evolution of the overlying rocks of the roof in the process of mining a thick coal seam. Understanding this mechanism will make it possible to create measures to avoid man-made disasters in conditions of a significant mining depth of production. Based on the analysis of scientific works, the authors identified an insufficiently studied area of research and devoted their research to this. The article has a pronounced analytical character. The authors applied mathematical and numerical modeling and performed a large amount of work. The presented study certainly has scientific value. The material of the study, of course, corresponds to the theme of the journal "Applied Sciences".

However, after reading the study in detail, I had a few comments and recommendations, solely to improve the quality of the article.

1. It is appropriate to expand the keywords. For example, add "stress".

2. At the end of the abstract, I would recommend adding 1-2 sentences of the practical significance of the research results.

3. Quoted articles in the text are not placed according to the requirements: “References must be numbered in order of appearance in the text…”

4. I would recommend that the figures be numbered from number 1 onwards, and not according to the section number.

5. It is advisable to leave one line between the figure caption and the text.

6. The theoretical basis (clause 2.1) is well discussed, but these are known in principle. It would be wise to add references to specific literary sources.

7. Line 362 "in the figure:". I recommend inserting the figure number.

8. In Figures 2-9, 2-11, 2-13, the axes are not signed, and the values in the scale are not indicated. I recommend adding this.

9. A group of figures (probably related to 3-5) is interrupted by text. I would recommend bringing all the figures to 3-5, and then providing a textual analysis of the results. Everything looks chaotic. This also applies to the situations below (3-7). Please work on the design of all figures.

10. What do the colors in the pictures above Figures 3-5 mean? Of course, these are layers of rocks. But they need to be deciphered for a better understanding by the reader.

11. Figures 3-7 and 3-10 (stress diagrams) do not indicate the magnitude of the stresses on the scale.

12. After Figure 4-1, briefly summarize the practical value of your research. How will they be useful in mining practice in mining coal seams?

13. Dear authors, I would like to see the obtained quantitative scientific results in the conclusions. There are enough of them in the article. Please add the main findings to the conclusions.

14. The list of references is represented by a weak geography of citations. Authors, please add some literary sources of scientists from other countries.

Perhaps it will be interesting and useful for the authors to consider the paper:

Shavarskyi, I., Falshtynskyi, V., Dychkovskyi, R., Akimov, O., Sala, D., & Buketov, V. (2022). Management of the longwall face advance on the stress-strain state of rock mass. Mining of Mineral Deposits, 16(3), 78–85. https://doi.org/10.33271/mining16.03.078

 

Author Response

请参阅附件。

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

I carefully read the updated version of the paper.

 

The authors did a very good job updating the paper.

I am quite satisfied with the answers of the authors.

The article will be useful and interesting for expanding knowledge about law of destruction and the characteristics of the structural evolution of the overlying rocks of the roof in the process of mining a thick coal seam.

 

I wish the authors good luck in their further scientific research.

Sincerely,

Reviewer