Empirical-analytical method for evaluating the pressure distribution in the hard coal seams

At present, numerical modelling of distributions of many rock mass characteristics plays more and more important role in many geomechanical questions. In the issues related to seismic and rockburst hazards, the analyses of distributions of stress component values in the rock strata are performed, similarly as those of deformation parameters of the strata. To do this, commercial computer programs are used which function on the basis of the finite element-, separate element-, finite difference-, boundary element methods, or individually designed computer programs. They enable to obtain information, unattainable with other methods, being of importance for further concluding on those hazards. The programs based on applying those methods have contributed to important progress and development of science in the domain of analyzing and predicting the hazards. To this end, the commercial computer programs are used that are based on the methods of: finite elements, separate elements, finite differences, boundary elements, etc., or on individually developed computer programs. They enable to obtain information, unavailable using other methods, being of vital importance for further concluding on these hazards. The programs based on these methods have contributed to essential progress and development of science in the field of analysing and predicting the hazards. Apart from their obvious advantages, they have many drawbacks that hinder their practical, routine application. To allow making these type of analyses, without the necessity of constructing complicated models and knowing the detailed geomechanical parameters of rocks, together with laborious computation using a high-rank computer hardware, an analytical-empirical method has been developed at Central Mining Institute, Poland, to make prediction (modelling) of the distribution of pressure values (vertical component of stress) in SIGMAZ coal seams. It is based on geophysical measurements, generalized for the conditions of the Upper Silesia Coal Basin, of disturbing effect of the mining edge and tectonic faults on the state of stress. The paper presents methodological and programming assumptions of the method. The scope of its application has been discussed, and results of demonstration analyses for Polish hard coal mines presented. There have been also given the advantages of the method in relation to classical numerical methods.