An integrated method to calculate the spatial distribution of overburden strata failure in longwall mines by coupling GIS and FLAC3D

The spatial distribution of overburden strata failure is of significant importance to affect the safety of underground mining. Because the traditional methods cannot be applied in all coal mines due to geological conditions or mining structures, a method of coupling FLAC3D with GIS was presented to calculate the spatial distribution of overburden strata failure in longwall coal mines. After building the spatio-temporal database from the calculation results of FLAC3D, the height of the mining-induced fractured zone in the overburden strata can be calculated by using the given height function. The results of case study show that the height of the fractured zone reached the maximum value at the face advance equal to about the panel width. The outcome of the work presented will be helpful in practice to improve safety in the production.