Refinement Study on the Water-Inrush Risk of Close-Distance Thin Coal Seam Mining with Pressure in the Lower Coal Seam

• Published in: Mine water and the environment Vol. 42; no. 4; pp. 670 - 686
• Main Authors: Xue, Yu, Zhu, Shuyun, Qiu, Heming
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.12.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aquifers; Coal; Coal mines; Coal mining; Distance; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Ecotoxicology; Engineering; Engineering geology; Fault lines; Fault zones; Flooring; Geological faults; Geology; Groundwater; Hydrogeology; Hydrostatic pressure; Industrial Pollution Prevention; Limestone; Mineral Resources; Mines; Mining engineering; Multilayers; Numerical models; Ordovician; Permeability; Pressure; Research methodology; Safety factors; Simulation; Technical Article; Tectonics; Water; Water inrush; Water pressure; Water Quality/Water Pollution; Work face; Numerical simulation; Safety factor; Fault; Close-distance lower coal seam; Analogical analysis; Water-inrush coefficient
• ISSN: 1025-9112; 1616-1068
• DOI: 10.1007/s10230-023-00965-z

This study focused on the water-inrush risks associated with close-distance mining of thin coal seams under with pressure, using a single working face of the Yangcun coal mine as its focal point. After analyzing the tectonic characteristics and fault distribution of the mine’s floor strata, the primary water-inrush risks of the floor associated with mining were from the combined no. 13–14 aquifer group and the confined Ordovician limestone aquifer. An engineering geological numerical model was established to analyze the effects of mining stress and floor water pressure on the thin no. 16 up and no. 17 coal seams. We determined the failure depth feature information of the floor components, with and without faults, as well as the height of the confined water in the fault zone. Finally, we combined the field-measured permeability resistance data of the 10605F5 fault and floors with different structures to systematically assess the water-inrush risks. We used both the safety factor method and the water-inrush coefficient method to evaluate these risks for both floor conditions in the working face. The results indicated that there was no water-inrush risk associated with the 10,703 working face floor, even with mining pressure. The study ideas and methods provide a valuable guide for assessing floor water-inrush risks in multi-layer coal seams with similar geological and mining conditions.