Overburden Failure and "Three-Zone" Development Patterns at the 13050 Working Face in Yunding Coal Mine
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54097/7p7m9j38Keywords:
Overburden Failure, Water-conducting Fracture Zone, Caved Zone, Numerical SimulationAbstract
Taking the 13050 working face of Yunding Coal Mine as the engineering background, and addressing the practical issue that this working face, although not yet extracted, is subjected to disturbance from adjacent mining panels, with the overlying strata facing the risk of fracture and instability, this study systematically investigates the development characteristics and evolution patterns of the caved zone and water-conducting fracture zone in the mining-induced overburden through a combined approach of numerical simulation and field measurement. A two-dimensional model with a strike length of 800 m and a height of 400 m was established using the 3DEC discrete element numerical simulation software to simulate the stepwise excavation process of the working face, reproducing the complete evolutionary sequence of overburden failure from immediate roof caving and bed separation propagation to final stabilization. The simulation results indicate that the ultimate height of the caved zone ranges from approximately 13.7 to 15.8 m, while the height of the water-conducting fracture zone ranges from approximately 35.3 to 38.1 m. To verify the reliability of the simulation results, boreholes were arranged outside the stopping line of the tailgate, and borehole televiewer technology was employed to scan the fracture conditions of the rock mass. The vertical boundaries of the caved and fractured zones identified through field measurements align closely with the numerical simulation outputs. The study demonstrates that the conclusions derived from numerical simulation and field measurement mutually corroborate each other, proving that the numerical model can accurately characterize the spatial morphology of the overburden "three zones" under mining disturbance. The research findings provide a reliable geological basis for roof management, waterproof coal pillar design, and water hazard prevention during the subsequent safe extraction of this working face, and also offer reference for mining operations in similar geological conditions.
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