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Mining-Induced Rock Strata Damage and Mine Disaster Control

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Civil Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2025) | Viewed by 2076

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology-Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Interests: engineering

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Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Coastal and Offshore Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Interests: mining-induced pressure and control

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Guest Editor
College of Energy and Mining Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
Interests: mining-induced pressure and control

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Coal mining will lead to overlying strata failure and movement. Generally, the overlying rock strata will form three zones from bottom to top: a caved zone, a fractured zone, and a continuous subsidence zone. When the fractured zone is connected with the aquifer, the groundwater will flow into the mined-out area, causing the groundwater level to decline and ecological damage within a certain range. Traditionally, mine water is pumped to the surface and discharged, resulting in surface environmental pollution and wastage of water resources. Especially in the mining areas of western China, the contradiction between large-scale coal mining and water shortage has become more prominent. The damage to groundwater resources and surface ecology caused by coal mining is the main problem faced by coal development, which is closely related to overburden damage, failure, movement, and its control. The key strata theory lays a theoretical foundation for the overlying rock strata movement and its control due to coal mining.

Additionally, coal mining can cause a redistribution of stress fields, which can produce stress concentrations in localized areas. There are great differences in the occurrence conditions of coal seams in different mining areas in China. In some mining areas, there are thick or extra-thick coal seams, and multiple thick and hard key strata in overburdened areas. The breaking of overlying key rock strata will result in dynamic load effects within a large range, which may induce disasters in coal mines, such as rock burst, large deformation of the surrounding rock, and roof caving. In this Special Issue, we focus on the latest and most challenging research topics in the area of mining-induced rock strata damage, failure, movement, and control. We invite researchers to contribute to this Special Issue with original research articles and review articles on the mechanisms and control of disasters related to rock strata failure and movement.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. New theories and findings on mining-induced rock strata failure;
  2. Evolution of the stress, fracture, and displacement fields during coal mining;
  3. Dynamic disasters caused by rock strata breakage and movement;
  4. Foundation rock mechanics of rock strata failure caused by coal mining;
  5. Control theories and technologies related to overburdened movement and ecology in mining areas;
  6. Control theories and technologies related to the roadways surrounding rock under complex stress fields;
  7. Efficient energy-absorbing and anti-impact support materials and structures.

Dr. Yunjiang Sun
Prof. Dr. Gen Li
Prof. Dr. Guangchao Zhang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • coal mining
  • rock strata failure and movement
  • mine disasters related to rock strata failure and movement
  • control theory and technology of overburden movement
  • complex stress field
  • key strata theory

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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28 pages, 16583 KB  
Article
Investigation of Overburden Fracture Evolution and Feasibility of Upward Mining in Shallow-Buried Coal Seams
by Baoming Fang, Fuhai Wang, Fan Wang, Haibo Liu, Xuming Guo and Wen Wang
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(24), 13028; https://doi.org/10.3390/app152413028 - 10 Dec 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 522
Abstract
Taking Yujialiang Coal Mine as the engineering background, aiming at the actual demand of 5-2 coal seam mining and 4-4 coal seam upward mining, the temporal evolution and spatial distribution characteristics of overburden failure height after 5-2 coal seam mining are systematically investigated [...] Read more.
Taking Yujialiang Coal Mine as the engineering background, aiming at the actual demand of 5-2 coal seam mining and 4-4 coal seam upward mining, the temporal evolution and spatial distribution characteristics of overburden failure height after 5-2 coal seam mining are systematically investigated by using multi-source field detection technology such as ground drilling, logging, and borehole peeping, combined with a numerical simulation method. The field detection results show that after the 5-2 coal seam is mined, the development height of the water-conducting fracture zone (WCFZ) is 116.25–129.92 m, and the height of the caving zone is 9.32–21.56 m. The 4-4 coal seam is located within the fracture zone, 15.99–22.88 m above the caving zone. The strength of the 4-4 coal seam and its surrounding rock affected by mining is reduced, with a more significant decrease in the middle of the goaf. The numerical simulation further reveals the law of overburden movement and deformation. After the 5-2 coal seam mining, the maximum subsidence of the 4-4 coal seam floor reaches 4.57 m, and there is stress concentration above the remaining coal pillars. The maximum vertical stress after mining all three working faces (52,204, 52,205, 52,206) is 4.10 MPa, and the stress environment above the goaf is better. The results show that the average distance between the 4-4 coal seam and 5-2 coal seam is about 39.45 m, and the upward mining is feasible, but the stability of the rock strata in the fracture zone should be paid more attention to. Based on the movement law of overlying strata and the characteristics of stress distribution, it is suggested that the mining gateway of the 4-4 coal seam should be arranged in the middle of the remaining coal pillar of the 5-2 coal seam or the corresponding area in the middle of the goaf so as to ensure the stability of the roadway surrounding the rock during mining. The research results provide a reliable theoretical basis and technical support for the upward mining design of the 4-4 coal seam in Yujialiang Coal Mine and have important reference value for the upward mining projects of coal mines under similar conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mining-Induced Rock Strata Damage and Mine Disaster Control)
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15 pages, 4797 KB  
Article
Overburden Damage in High-Intensity Mining: Effects of Lithology and Formation Structure
by Teng Teng, Zhuhe Xu and Yuxuan Wang
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(19), 10518; https://doi.org/10.3390/app151910518 - 28 Sep 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 878
Abstract
This study addresses pivotal scientific questions regarding the evolution of overburden strata during high-intensity mining in the Shendong coal mining area. Through a comprehensive research methodology combining physical similarity tests and numerical simulations, we systematically quantified the influence of key stratum thickness, key [...] Read more.
This study addresses pivotal scientific questions regarding the evolution of overburden strata during high-intensity mining in the Shendong coal mining area. Through a comprehensive research methodology combining physical similarity tests and numerical simulations, we systematically quantified the influence of key stratum thickness, key stratum location, and mining thickness on overburden damage and fracture propagation dynamics. The results reveal that: (1) The fractal dimension of the fracture network in the damaged overburden ranges from 1.2 to 1.5; a reduction in the thickness of the key layer results in the most severe overburden damage, whereas a decrease in mining height leads to the least damage. (2) A reduction in key stratum thickness accelerates structural failure initiation, expanding rock subsidence area (16.7% increase) while constraining fracture zone vertical development (8.3% reduction). (3) Raising the key stratum position demonstrates dual suppression effects, decreasing both subsidence magnitude (22.4%) and spatial extent (18.6%) of overburden movement. (4) Conversely, a decrease in mining thickness induces the amplified subsidence responses (20% increase), accompanied by enhanced fracture zone vertical propagation. This study provides an important reference for the systematic investigation and comparison of the impacts and prevention strategies associated with high-intensity mining in the Shendong mining area. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mining-Induced Rock Strata Damage and Mine Disaster Control)
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Other

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17 pages, 4346 KB  
Study Protocol
Research and Application of Damage Zoning Characteristics and Damage Reduction Techniques in High-Intensity Mining Strata of the Shendong Mining Area
by Yongqiang Zhao, Xiaolong Wang, Jie Fang, Jianqi Ma, Mengyuan Li, Xinjie Liu and Jiangping Yan
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(3), 1315; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16031315 - 28 Jan 2026
Viewed by 235
Abstract
With the increase in mining intensity and scale, the damage to groundwater resources and surface ecology caused by coal mining has become the main problem facing coal development. Coal mining can cause a redistribution of stress field and stress concentration in local areas [...] Read more.
With the increase in mining intensity and scale, the damage to groundwater resources and surface ecology caused by coal mining has become the main problem facing coal development. Coal mining can cause a redistribution of stress field and stress concentration in local areas of overlying rock, resulting in varying degrees of movement and damage to the overlying rock. Quantitative analysis of the degree of migration and damage in different areas of overlying rock and zoning control is crucial for achieving loss reduction and green mining. In this paper, the overburden damage is divided into regions according to the different causes of formation, regional characteristics of severity, and other factors, and the specific calculation method is given. UDEC7.0 numerical simulation software is used to simulate the overlying rock damage, and the best mining parameters are provided through the area changes in different zones. The research conclusions are as follows: according to the different damage states of overburden rock, the damage of overburden rock can be divided into four parts: I, caving fracture zone, II, fracture development zone, III, sliding failure zone, and IV, slight failure zone. In the four zones, the damage in zones II and IV is relatively light. During the mining process, attention should be given to controlling the development of Zone I to prevent it from abnormally enlarging; for Zone II, hydraulic fracturing can be used when there is a thick, hard key layer that poses a water inrush risk; for Zone III, the focus should be on preventing surface step fractures caused by it. For example, when a thick, hard key layer is present in Zone II, hydraulic fracturing can be applied to avoid large area hanging roofs and severe rock pressure. When the mining height is low, it mainly affects the proportion of regions I and III. With the increase in mining height, the main affected region becomes the II region. The larger the mining height is, the larger the proportion of the II region. With the increase in propulsion speed, the impact range on the surface increases, but the area with severe damage is relatively reduced. With the increase in mining width, the proportion of relatively seriously damaged areas increased. On-site measurements have shown that when the speeds of 120,401 and 22,207 working faces are slow, the rock layer pressure shows a dense state, the overburden fracture is more fully developed, and the area proportion of I and II zones is increased, which reflects the phenomenon of dense surface fracture development on the surface. When the advancing speed is large, the area proportions of zones III and IV increase, and the damage scope decreases. The on-site testing verified the conclusions drawn from theoretical analysis and numerical simulation, which can guide other mines under similar conditions to achieve safe and green production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mining-Induced Rock Strata Damage and Mine Disaster Control)
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