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Numerical Study on Effect of Longwall Mining on Stability of Main Roadway under Weak Ground Conditions in Indonesia



Author(s)

Phanthoudeth Pongpanya^1,2, Takashi Sasaoka¹, Hideki Shimada¹, Akihiro Hamanaka¹ and Sugeng Wahyudi¹

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DOI:10.17265/2328-2193/2017.03.001

1. Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka-shi, 819-0395, Japan
2. Department of Mining Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Laos, Lao-Thai Friendship Road, Vientiane 3166, Lao PDR

The purpose of this research is to study the effect of longwall mining on the stability of main roadway in the underground coal mine. The PT GDM (Gerbang Daya Mandiri) underground coal mine in Indonesia, where the rocks are weak, was selected as a representative study site. To accomplish the objective of the research, the finite difference code software FLAC3D was used as a tool for the numerical simulations. The longwall mining of several panel and barrier pillar widths at various depths was simulated and discussed. Based on the simulation results, it indicates that the effect of coal panel extraction on the main roadway stability depends on the width of panel and barrier pillar. The greatest effect occurs when the large panel width and the small barrier pillar width are applied, whereas the smallest effect happens when the narrow panel width and the large barrier pillar width are adopted. In this paper, therefore, to maintain the stability of the main roadway with the aim of maximizing the coal recovery, the appropriate size of panel and barrier pillar width is proposed for each mining depth for this underground coal mine.

FLAC3D, longwall mining, numerical simulation, weak ground conditions, roadway stability.