METHOD OF ROOF CONTROL IN AN UNDERGROUND MINE

摘要

Stresses in an underground mine are determined by analyzing mechanical properties of mine site stratum (Figure 1, numerals 2, 4, 6 and 8) including orthotropic properties of at least one of Young's modules and Poisson's ratio. The mechanical properties of the mine site are combined with a physical layout of the mine that includes one or more of an entry and a pillar arrangement formed in a stratum of material being mined (Figure 1, numeral 10). The physical layout may also include an array of roof bolts in a roof of the mine. A finite element analysis (FEA) (Figure 2) is performed on the combined mechanical properties and physical layout to obtain a stress analysis of the mine site. The stress analysis is analyzed to determine if the layout of the mine is sufficient to provide a desired degree of support while maximizing the removal of material being mined. If the desired degree of support is not provided, the physical layout and/or the array of roof bolts is adjusted and subsequent FEA performed until the desired degree of support is provided.