Study of Strata and Support Behaviour of a Longwall Mine

Abstract

Longwall mining technology is an established technology world over for extraction of coal from deeper horizons and is only alternative for safer bulk production. This present study investigates into the longwall mining mechanism under the following aspects such as: The Longwall mining operation in a mechanized underground mine system that depends upon many decisions influenced by the geo-technical parameters which are often interspersed with inherent strata configurations. The present study has been aimed to examine thoroughly Longwall mining operational systems in Indian geo-mining conditions such as: *Study on the strata behavior in comparision to the roof and floor convergence at main and tail gate. *Simulation of field conditions in the model. *Numerical Modeling interpretation of strata behavior and their validation. For the purpose of conducting this study 3D panel GDK 10A Incline mine in Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) in RG III Area of Ramagundam was selected and the respective strata behavior studies were conducted. The seam width is around 6.6m and 3.3m is extracted from the floor leaving a 2.2 coal layer in the roof at a depth of around 237m from surface.The simulation of the geo-technical conditions and support mechanisms of the mine was done and Numerical Modelling was carried out by using the most sophisticated software – FLAC by Itasca & Co. Nearly 50 models were run to calibrate the model to the field conditions. The data collected from the mines and the results of the models were tallied so that the models can replicate the geo technical conditions of the mine to utmost accuracy.