Design of primary ground support during roadway development using empirical databases

There have been many design practices utilised within the coal mining industry to arrive at the minimum densities of primary ground support required during roadway development. This paper demonstrates the practical use of empirical databases, and focuses on the main drivers for ground support as demonstrated in conceptual models. Golder Associates’ empirical databases used for ground support include a primary roof support database and a primary rib support database. Both are based on successful ground support designs installed in mines in Australia, the US, the UK, South Africa, New Zealand, and Europe. The term “successful” refers to those designs that were used on a repeated basis for the purpose of roadway development. The primary roof support database indicates that the major factors influencing successful roof support designs are roof competency, expressed as the coal mine roof rating (CMRR), and in situ stress. In regard to the primary rib support database, it is evident from the current database that the primary factors affecting the capacity of rib support required for a successful design are roadway height and depth of cover. These databases have been used to help determine the minimum primary ground support designs required at many mine sites in Australasia, Europe, and the US. This paper will demonstrate the effectiveness and practicality of these databases at two selected mines in Australia and the US. In order to improve the primary rib support database, this paper will also propose a new rib deformation rating based on the addition of site specific coal strength data for the Australian mines. The proposed rating attempts to capture the main variables that define the behaviour of a buckling column.