Coal pillar stooping – partial extraction of coal pillars ensuring panel stability

摘要

FLAC3D was employed to assess pillar and panel stability for a partial stooping operation at a coal mine in South Africa,where the main requirement was that ground surface stability be ensured.The stability of square and rectangular pillars was assessed using a strain criterion linked to laboratory testing,as well as Salamon and Munro’s empirical pillar strength criterion.The relationship obtained from the initial analysis was then applied to predict potential failure of the irregular shaped pillars created during the stooping operation.