• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.657-673
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• 2017

Preventing water seepage and inrush into mines where close multiple-seam longwall mining is practiced is a challenging issue in the coal-rich Ordos region, China. To better protect surface (or ground) water and safely extract coal from seams beneath an aquifer, it is necessary to determine the height of the mining-induced fractured zone in the overburden strata. In situ investigations were carried out in panels 20107 (seam No. $2-2^{upper}$) and 20307 (seam No. $2-2^{middle}$) in the Gaojialiang colliery, Shendong Coalfield, China. Longwall mining-induced strata movement and overburden failure were monitored in boreholes using digital panoramic imaging and a deep hole multi-position extensometer. Our results indicate that after mining of the 20107 working face, the overburden of the failure zone can be divided into seven rock groups. The first group lies above the immediate roof (12.9 m above the top of the coal seam), and falls into the gob after the mining. The strata of the second group to the fifth group form the fractured zone (12.9-102.04 m above the coal seam) and the continuous deformation zone extends from the fifth group to the ground surface. After mining Panel 20307, a gap forms between the fifth rock group and the continuous deformation zone, widening rapidly. Then, the lower portion of the continuous deformation zone cracks and collapses into the fractured zone, extending the height of the failure zone to 87.1 m. Based on field data, a statistical formula for predicting the maximum height of overburden failure induced by close multiple seam mining is presented.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.177-185
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• 2018

The subsidence mechanism of ground surface is a complex phenomenon when multiple seam coal mining operations are carried out. Particularly, the coal mining beneath karstic formations causes a very special form of subsidence. The subsidence causes elasto-plastic deformation of the karstic layers and the collapse of cavities leads to dolinization and/or sinkhole formation. In this study, a sinkhole with a depth of 90 m and a width of 25 m formed in Gelik district within the coal-basin of Zonguldak (NW, Turkey) induced by multiple seam coal mining operations in the past has been presented as a case-history together with two-dimensional numerical simulations and InSAR monitoring. The computational results proved that the sinkhole was formed as a result of severe yielding in the close vicinity of the faults in contact with karstic formation due to multiple seam longwall mining at different levels.