China Safety Science Journal ›› 2023, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (9): 122-128.doi: 10.16265/j.cnki.issn1003-3033.2023.09.0454

• Safety engineering technology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Study on instability criterion of rib pillars in open-pit during highwall mining

LI Guanghe1,2(), HU Zihuan1, WANG Dong1, WANG Laigui2, ZHOU Zhiwei3, DING Chunjian3   

  1. 1 College of Mining, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin Liaoning 123000, China
    2 School of Mechanics and Engineering, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin Liaoning 123000, China
    3 Guoneng Baori Hiller Energy Co., Ltd., Hulunbuir Inner Mongolia 021008, China
  • Received:2023-04-30 Revised:2023-06-28 Online:2023-09-28 Published:2024-03-28

Abstract:

To investigate the instability criteria of the rib pillar, determine the reasonable setting of the rib pillar during highwall mining in an open-pit coal mine and realize the optimal design of parameters for both the open-pit highwall and the rib pillar, a mechanical model of roof-rib pillar was constructed using Winkler elastic foundation theory. Theoretical formulas of vertical displacement of the roof and the vertical stress of the rib pillar during highwall mining were derived and validated through numerical simulation. Considering safety requirements for rid pillars, combined with Wilson's ultimate strength theory of the coal pillar, the instability criteria of rid pillars in open-pit mining was established. The study explored the impact of slope and pillar shape parameters on the safety of the rib pillar theoretically. The results show that the safety factor of the rib pillar exhibits a negative exponential correlation with mining depth, end-slope angle and end-slope height. Conversely, it shows a linear positive correlation with the total width of the coal pillar, and the theoretical curves of the vertical displacement of the roof and the vertical stress of the rib pillar exhibit a saddle-shaped distribution. Theoretical calculations are in good agreement with numerical simulation results, thereby verifying the rationality and accuracy of the theoretical calculations.

Key words: open-pit mine, highwall mining, rid pillar, instability criterion, elastic foundation