Study on mechanism of overburden rock failure during coal mining with shallow depth and thin bedrock

The paper studies the mechanism of overburden rock failure of Hongshuliang mine of Junger coalfield in Inner Mongolia. With overlying bedrock of shallow depth and thin thickness, after mining the first-extracting coal seam, the instability of overlying rock may result in collapse disaster of sand and water. Then, using plastic softening model and UDEC numerical simulation, deformation and failure laws and mechanism of overburden bedrock are studied during two phases of rock driving and coal mining. Finally, the risk of surface water bodies bursting is evaluated and a reasonable exploitation of programs and prevention measures are put forward, which will provide a valuable reference for exploitation of coal resources in semi-arid areas in China.