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Optimization of Coal Mining and Fossil Energy

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "H: Geo-Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2023) | Viewed by 7855

Special Issue Editors

State Key Laboratory of Mine Disaster Prevention and Control, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
Interests: mining subsidence science; mine special mining; backfilling mining

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Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Mining Response and Disaster Prevention and Control in Deep Coal Mines, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China
Interests: mine subsidence and rock formation control; reuse of land resources in closed mines; geological hazard potential identification and monitoring and early warning

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Guest Editor
College of Mining Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
Interests: roadway support; residual coal re-mining rock control

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Affected by economic development and population expansion, the world's coal consumption is increasing, leading to increasingly prominent energy problems at this stage and the unreasonable exploitation of fossil energy has caused serious environmental impacts, which has caused the world to continue to pay attention to energy and environmental issues. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize the existing mining technology from all aspects of coal mining technology, thus, minimizing the pollution to the environment.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following: deep coal mining technology; smart mining technology; underground unmanned mining technology; backfilling mining technology.

Dr. Ning Jiang
Dr. Qingbiao Guo
Dr. Yujiang Zhang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • deep coal mining
  • smart mining
  • underground unmanned mining
  • backfilling mining

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 9825 KiB  
Article
Stability Control Technology for Surrounding Rocks in Gob-Side Entry Driving with Small Coal Pillars under Dynamic Pressure
by Shihao Guo, Shanchao Hu, Junhong Huang, Zhihao Gao, Yafei Cheng, Jinming Han and Lei Yang
Energies 2023, 16(23), 7887; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16237887 - 2 Dec 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1280
Abstract
To address the support difficulties caused by the dynamic pressure from the adjacent working face in gob-side entry driving, this study, taking the 8103 working face of the Jinhuagong Coal Mine in Shanxi Province as an example, adopted methods such as theoretical analysis, [...] Read more.
To address the support difficulties caused by the dynamic pressure from the adjacent working face in gob-side entry driving, this study, taking the 8103 working face of the Jinhuagong Coal Mine in Shanxi Province as an example, adopted methods such as theoretical analysis, physical experiments, numerical simulations, and field practices to explore roof-cutting and pressure-relieving techniques to control the surrounding rocks in gob-side entry driving with small coal pillars under dynamic pressure. Fractures of the lateral roof, stresses on the surrounding rock, and deformations with different cutting-roof parameters were analyzed to determine the reasonable parameters for applications. The following results have been obtained. The longer the lateral cantilever length of the roof, the greater the load borne by the surrounding rock. Therefore, the key to reducing the confining pressure in a roadway is reducing the lateral cantilever length of the roof. After roof cutting, the roof of the gob area collapsed more completely. The stress on both sides of the coal pillar and that on the ribs of the solid coal dropped by 7.72 MPa and 4.16 MPa, respectively. The key roof-cutting parameters were analyzed by the UDEC numerical software, and the reasonable roof-cutting angle and height were determined to be 12° and 14 m. A support scheme combining “steel strip + bolt + anchor cable + roof cutting” was proposed. With the scheme applied, the displacement of both sides of the coal pillar was 61 mm shorter than that in the non-test section, and the duration in which the roadway was affected by mining was 11 days shorter. Therefore, the rationality of the selected roof-cutting and support parameters in this study is verified. The proposed scheme can effectively control the stability of surrounding rocks in gob-side entry driving with small coal pillars under dynamic pressure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization of Coal Mining and Fossil Energy)
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18 pages, 8037 KiB  
Article
A Disturbed Voussoir Beam Structure Mechanical Model and Its Application in Feasibility Determination of Upward Mining
by Yujiang Zhang, Yining Wang, Bingyuan Cui, Guorui Feng, Shuai Zhang, Chunwang Zhang and Zhengjun Zhang
Energies 2023, 16(20), 7190; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16207190 - 21 Oct 2023
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 1624
Abstract
China is endowed with a large quantity of residual coal resources that require upward mining. The stability of interburden strata structures and accurate determination are crucial for safe mining. Therefore, we established a mechanical model of disturbed voussoir beam structures of interburden strata [...] Read more.
China is endowed with a large quantity of residual coal resources that require upward mining. The stability of interburden strata structures and accurate determination are crucial for safe mining. Therefore, we established a mechanical model of disturbed voussoir beam structures of interburden strata in upward mining. The model was solved, and stability analysis and instability mechanism analysis were conducted. Based on this model, a new method for determining the feasibility of upward mining was proposed and applied to the upward mining of coal seam No. 7 in Baijiazhuang Coal Mine. A physical simulation experiment and numerical simulation were conducted to validate the method. Through research, it was found that the model had two instability mechanisms: rotation instability and sliding instability. When the disturbance load crossed the critical block of the structures, the model was most likely to experience sliding instability. When the disturbance load acted entirely on the critical block, rotation instability was more likely to occur. The result of the determination, performed using the new method, showed that there was no rotation instability or sliding instability in the interburden strata structures of coal seam No. 7, indicating that the coal seam could be mined upward. This result was consistent with the determinations using the statistical method, “three-zone” method, and balanced surrounding rock method. Physical and numerical simulations revealed that the upward mining of coal seam No. 7 caused the subsidence, rotation, and separation compaction of the interburden strata structures but that the structures remained stable. The results indicate that the proposed model and method have accuracy and applicability, being able to guide the practical feasibility determination of upward mining. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization of Coal Mining and Fossil Energy)
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23 pages, 9664 KiB  
Article
Deformation Mechanism and Control Technology of Surrounding Rock of Three-Soft Coal Roadways under High Horizontal Stress
by Xiaoping Xie, Hongyang Liu, Xinqiu Fang, Junwei Yang, Jiangang Liu, Minfu Liang and Gang Wu
Energies 2023, 16(2), 728; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16020728 - 8 Jan 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1478
Abstract
Support technology faces challenges in view of the large deformation of surrounding rock in three-soft coal roadways under high horizontal stress in Zijin Coal Mine, China. Geostress near the tested working face of the mine was measured and its distribution law was analyzed [...] Read more.
Support technology faces challenges in view of the large deformation of surrounding rock in three-soft coal roadways under high horizontal stress in Zijin Coal Mine, China. Geostress near the tested working face of the mine was measured and its distribution law was analyzed through theoretical analysis, numerical simulation analysis, and field measurement. The original supporting scheme of the three-soft coal roadway on the tested working face was analyzed to discover the deformation and failure mechanism of the surrounding rock of the original supporting roadway and the control measures. An optimized support scheme of H-G (hollow grouting) anchor cables, high strength bolts, W-shaped steel belts, metal meshes, and sprayed concretes was proposed for field applications. Based on the roadway in the tested 3201 working face at Zijin Coal Mine, the technical parameters for optimizing the combined support of the roadway were determined. The following results were be obtained through field measurement. The roadway was kept intact after excavation and the optimized support scheme was adopted in the three-soft coal roadway. No obvious deformation in appearance existed in the roof, floor, and roadway coal sides. Compared with the original support scheme, the stability of the roadways was improved visibly. The displacement of the roadway roof decreased from 100 to 30 mm, and that of the roadway coal walls decreased from more than 100 mm to less than 50 mm. This work verifies the effectiveness of a combined support scheme of H-G anchor cables, high strength bolts, W-shaped steel belts, metal meshes, and sprayed concretes to control deformations of surrounding rock in three-soft coal roadways. The new support scheme has good social and economic benefits and can be used as a reference for other roadway supports under similar conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization of Coal Mining and Fossil Energy)
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22 pages, 60076 KiB  
Article
Study on Characteristics of Overburden Strata Structure above Abandoned Gob of Shallow Seams—A Case Study
by Ning Jiang, Ke Lv, Zhiyou Gao, Huixin Di, Junbiao Ma and Tianyi Pan
Energies 2022, 15(24), 9359; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15249359 - 10 Dec 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 1669
Abstract
To understand the change in overburden structure after coal seam group mining, we investigated the overburden characteristics and bearing capacity of abandoned coal mines in a coal seam group. We provide a theoretical basis for the construction and utilization of a coal mining [...] Read more.
To understand the change in overburden structure after coal seam group mining, we investigated the overburden characteristics and bearing capacity of abandoned coal mines in a coal seam group. We provide a theoretical basis for the construction and utilization of a coal mining subsidence area under a complex geological environment. This paper takes the construction project of Zhongtie Huizhi Square in Zhangqiu District, Jinan City, Shandong Province as the engineering background. According to the occurrence conditions of the study area, theoretical analysis, similar simulation, numerical simulation, and engineering practice verification are used. The overburden structure characteristics of abandoned mines in a shallow-buried coal seam group were studied. The results show that the development height of the water-carrying fractured zone after the mining of the 3#, 4#, and 9# coal seams is 17 m, 19.5 m, and 27.1 m, respectively, which shows that the height of water flow in the fractured zone is proportional to the buried depth of the coal seam after coal seam mining. After the model is set aside for three months, the degree of development of the residual fracture in the goaf is analyzed, and the distribution law of residual porosity in the longwall old goaf of a shallow-buried multiple coal seam is obtained. The development rate of residual fissures on both sides of the goaf is between 20.31% and 42.31%. The residual fracture development rate in the middle is relatively small, being between 8.21% and 18.53%. We comprehensively analyzed the characteristics of overlying strata in the abandoned mine under actual stratum conditions, and compared the empirical calculation results, theoretical research, similar simulation, and numerical simulation results in the specification with the engineering practice to prove the reliability of the research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization of Coal Mining and Fossil Energy)
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