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Article

Analysis of the Geomechanical Phenomena That Led to the Appearance of Sinkholes at the Lupeni Mine, Romania, in the Conditions of Thick Coal Seams Mining with Longwall Top Coal Caving

Department of Mining Engineering, Mining Surveying and Constructions, University of Petroșani, 332006 Petroșani, Romania
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Academic Editor: Lucio Di Matteo
Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 6449; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116449
Received: 19 May 2021 / Revised: 31 May 2021 / Accepted: 2 June 2021 / Published: 6 June 2021
(This article belongs to the Section Environmental Sustainability and Applications)
Thick coal seam no. 3, block V, Lupeni mine was mined by longwall top coal caving (LTCC). After the coal mining, the ground surface underwent continuous subsidence, but since 2008, three sinkholes have appeared on the surface with important dimensions, atypical for the geo-mining conditions in this coal basin. This article is a synthesis of the study meant to decipher the geo-mechanical phenomenon that led to the emergence of these sinkholes and highlighting the main factors that contributed to the development of this phenomenon. For this purpose, measurements were made on the terrain deformations using photogrammetric methods and aerial laser scanning, when modeling with 3D finite elements, in elasto-plasticity and with the help of the Knothe–Budrik influence function. The factors that contributed to the occurrence of discontinuous subsidence phenomena are shallow mining depth, the LTCC mining method, and the presence of faults in the vicinity of the mining panels. Additionally, the geo-mechanical phenomena of subsidence terrace development and sinkholes in the mining subsidence troughs at the Lupeni mine were described. View Full-Text
Keywords: coal mining; longwall top coal caving; subsidence; chimney caving; sinkhole; aerial laser scanning; influence function; finite element method coal mining; longwall top coal caving; subsidence; chimney caving; sinkhole; aerial laser scanning; influence function; finite element method
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MDPI and ACS Style

Marian, D.-P.; Onica, I. Analysis of the Geomechanical Phenomena That Led to the Appearance of Sinkholes at the Lupeni Mine, Romania, in the Conditions of Thick Coal Seams Mining with Longwall Top Coal Caving. Sustainability 2021, 13, 6449. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116449

AMA Style

Marian D-P, Onica I. Analysis of the Geomechanical Phenomena That Led to the Appearance of Sinkholes at the Lupeni Mine, Romania, in the Conditions of Thick Coal Seams Mining with Longwall Top Coal Caving. Sustainability. 2021; 13(11):6449. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116449

Chicago/Turabian Style

Marian, Dacian-Paul, and Ilie Onica. 2021. "Analysis of the Geomechanical Phenomena That Led to the Appearance of Sinkholes at the Lupeni Mine, Romania, in the Conditions of Thick Coal Seams Mining with Longwall Top Coal Caving" Sustainability 13, no. 11: 6449. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116449

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