The performance of primary roof bolts in room and pillar mines and the modeling of their performance

Transactions of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration , 2012, Vol. 332, No. 1, pp. 470-476

Spearing, A.J.S.; Kostecki, T.R.; Gadde, M.; Hyett, A.

 Ground control research for underground coal mining has progressed significantly over the past several decades. With this progression, and the ability to analyze and model underground conditions, underground working conditions have significantly improved. In order to progress further, the behavior of roof support must be known and be adequately modeled, such that models can be used for support design under different geological and mining conditions. This paper discusses the results from a research project funded by the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and undertaken by Southern Illinois University Carbondale and Peabody Energy. The research involved installation of active and passive instrumented bolts in mines, recording relevant in situ data and then attempting to model the behavior of the bolts as mining progressed. Such calibrated models could aid in design of roof supports under different geological and mining layouts and thus, hopefully, further improve rock related safety.