Numerical study of stability and connectivity of vertical goaf drainage holes

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Authors

Khanal, Manoj
Poulsen, Brett
Adhikary, Deepak
Balusu, Rao
Wilkins, Andy
Belle, Bharath K.

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Springer

Abstract

During underground longwall coal extraction, overburden strata deformation may result in vertical goaf drainage holes, which are drilled in advance of mining for tail gate gas management, to fail. The performance of these vertical goaf drainage holes is controlled by mine design parameters and local geomechanical properties. This paper investigates the use of advanced 3D finite element modelling and 2D discrete element modelling simulation techniques to understand the fundamentals of vertical goaf drainage hole failure mechanism due to strata shear at a currently operating gassy Australian mine site. Finite element modelling is used to investigate the location of high shear in the overburden strata at the vertical goaf gas drainage hole region during longwall mining and the discrete element modelling is used to examine connectivity from the goaf region to the goaf-gas drainage system.

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Keywords

Goaf drainage, Goaf hole shearing, Longwall mining, Vertical holes

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Citation

Khanal, M., Poulsen, B., Adhikary, D. et al. Numerical Study of Stability and Connectivity of Vertical Goaf Drainage Holes. Geotechnical and Geological Engineering 39, 2669–2679 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-020-01650-6.