Drawing mechanism of fractured top coal in longwall top coal caving

Abstract This work proposed a progressive-sectional failure model (PSFM) based on Particle Flow Code (PFC) to simulate top coal drawing process in longwall top coal caving (LTCC) mining. The progressive-sectional fracturing of top coal was reproduced in simulation. 4 drawing schemes are numerically performed by considering drawing sequences and strategies. The results of simulations were compared in terms of top coal drawn out mass, drawing body, top coal recovery ratio (TCRR), top coal loss, etc. The results show that TCRR in PSFM is closer to average TCRR based on 9 LTCC coal mines measured in-situ. The top coal loss in PSFM is larger than loose granular model (LGM). The top coal boundary (TCB) in PSFM shows a “step” subsidence and is different from that in LGM. The factors to influence initial drawing body (IDB) are comprehensively analysed. A new mathematical model was proposed to specifically characterize IDB in LTCC. The results show that new model is well consistent with simulation results and is much more effective and accurate than former models.