Experimental investigation on stress distribution and migration of the overburden during the mining process in deep coal seam mining

Abstract Coal mining has a significant impact on the movement of the overburden, leading to potential safety hazards in the working face. In this paper, a similarity simulation experiment was conducted to investigate the migration of overburden during the mining process of a specific working face in the Liuzhuang Coal Mine located in southern China. Sand and gravel were used to simulate the geological environment of each rock stratum. The deformation of the stratum was monitored using strain gauges, the fracture and displacement changes of the overburden stratum were recorded using cameras, and the characteristics of roof collapse was monitored using infrared thermal imager. The experimental model fully simulated the situation of the working face, and the actual working face size was obtained by enlarging the model by 100 times. The experiment found that during the initial stage of mining, there was no significant subsidence of the roof. In the course of the advancement of the working face, the primary roof intermittently fractured behind the working face, with subsequent propagation of upper cracks in an upward direction. The overburden rock layer above the goaf experienced continuous compaction, leading to the gradual closure of the separation layer. Simultaneously, new cracks constantly emerged in front of the working face, resulting in the progressive stabilization of the height of the crack zone. The stress measurements at each point exhibit a pattern of initial increased, followed by decrease, and ultimately stabilization. By considering the stress variation law of the overburden rock, the stress changes in key layers of the bedrock during mining could be categorized into four zones: the stress stable zone, stress increasing zone, stress reducing zone, and compaction stable zone. During the initial phase of coal seam mining, the presence of rock layers provided support, resulting in minimal subsidence of the overburden rock. However, as the mining operation progressed, the disturbance force and collapse of the overburden rock leaded to further downward subsidence. When the working face reached the stop line, the collapsed overburden rock gradually consolidates, resulting in a deceleration of energy release and the formation of a pressure relief zone. Consequently, the overburden rock above the working face underwent a slight additional subsidence, reaching its maximum level. A short cantilever rock beam structure was formed in the experiment. This study will provide valuable reference for future coal mining and serve as a vital theoretical basis for roof control in deep coal seam mining.