Large-scale longwall mining of shallow coal seams may cause mining-induced fractures that can project completely through to the surface. This could lead to a series of mine safety and environmental issues, further deteriorating the already fragile ecological environment in the Western mining areas in China. Therefore, an accurate and effective understanding of the spatiotemporal evolution law of mining-induced fractures in overlying strata and its relationship to upper aquifers is critical. In this paper, the application of the geophysical-chemical properties of radon in mining engineering is explored as a potential solution to the shortcomings of existing surveying methods. A radioactive measurement method is proposed for the detection of the development of mining-induced fractures from overlying strata to the surface in the Baoshan Coal Mine (BCM). The on-site test indicated that the first weighting step is approximately 60 m, the average periodic weighting step is approximately 20 m, and the influence coverage of the advanced abutment pressure is approximately 30 m. The presented method could be used as an indirect technical support to increase the safety of coal mining by acting as a simple, fast, and reliable method of detecting mining-induced fractures in overlying strata.

The borehole television approach is an effective way of detecting mining-induced fractures in overburden strata as it can visualize fractures to facilitate a quantitative analysis of size, quantity, length, and other features. In this article, the borehole television approach is applied on panel 20105 of the Wangjialing Coal Mine in China to investigate the overburden movement and spatiotemporal evolution law of mining-induced fractures from the coal seam to ground surface. The results revealed that the overburden strata experienced the phases of roof caving, generation of fracture, bed separation, dislocations, fracture propagation, surface subsidence, and closing of fractures. The process can be divided into the initiation stage, the active stage, and the degradation stage along the mining direction. For exploited working faces, the caved zone height is 2.9–4.11 times the mining height, and the height of the fractured zone is 19.35–22.19 times the mining height. The height range of the three parts in the fractured zone is 24–26, 40–45, and 30–35 m. Significant fractures were observed in the bending zone. Step subsidence and cracks, which indicate severe damages, were observed on the ground surface above the goaf.

With the increasing proportion of close-distance coal seam mining in China, the problem of strong mining pressure during the mining of close-distance coal seams is becoming more and more severe. This article focuses on the complex stress environment and severe mining pressure encountered in the mining of thick coal seams under the multi-coal-seam goaf of Zhunnan Coal Mine. By using research methods, such as similar material simulation, theoretical analysis, and numerical simulation, it studies in depth the instability characteristics of the overlying rock structure of the W1701 working face, the inducing factors and mechanisms of strong mining pressure during the mining process, and control measures. The results show that the roof structure of the W1701 working face can be divided into “high-level key layer (hard rock)–giant thick soft and weak rock group–low-level key layer (hard rock)”, and the law of mining pressure manifestation presents a small cycle formed by the instability of “masonry beam” structure and a main large cycle formed by the periodic penetration and step-down of the giant thick soft and weak rock group, with the load on the support during the large cycle up to 5.4 times the rated working resistance. In addition, this article proposes the strategy of using layered mining to control the manifestation of strong mining pressure under the “hard sandwiched soft” overlying rock condition of the Zhunnan Coal Mine, optimizes the thickness of the layered mining of the thick coal seam, and finally, determines the upper layer thickness of 2.8 m and the lower layer thickness of 4 m, inducing the giant thick soft and weak rock formation to undergo incremental damage and releasing the fracture energy incrementally, effectively controlling the manifestation threat of strong mining pressure in the mining of thick coal seams under the close-distance coal seam goaf. As the proportion of close-range coal seam mining increases in China, the problem of strong mining pressure during the mining of close-range coal seams becomes more severe. This article focuses on the complex stress environment and severe mining pressure in the mining of thick coal seams under multiple mined-out areas in the Zhunnan coal mine. Similar material simulation, theoretical analysis, and numerical simulation methods were used to conduct in-depth research on the unstable characteristics of the overlying rock structure of the W1701 working face, the causes and mechanisms of strong mining pressure during the mining process, and control measures. The results show that the roof structure of the W1701 working face can be divided into “high-level key layer (hard rock)–thick soft weak rock group–low-level key layer (hard rock).” The law of mining pressure manifestation presents small cycles of instability formed by “block beams” and main cycles of pressure formed by vertically cracked periodic penetration and step sinking of the thick soft weak rock group. Moreover, during the main cycle of pressure, the load-bearing capacity of the support is up to 5.4 times the rated working resistance. Furthermore, it is proposed to use hierarchical mining to control the manifestation of strong mining pressure in the “hard-inlaid soft” overlying rock condition of the Zhunnan coal mine and optimize the thickness of layered mining of thick coal seams. Ultimately, the upper layer thickness was determined as 2.8 m; the lower layer thickness was determined as 4 m, and the layered mining induced the thick soft weak rock group to undergo gradual damage and energy release, effectively controlling the threat of severe mining pressure during the mining of thick coal seams under the close-range coal seam mining.

This study systematically investigates the overburden movement and strata behavior at a fully-mechanized top coal caving (FMTCC) face in a thick coal seam in a loess-covered gullied region by field measurement and theoretical analysis. A comparative analysis was performed to examine how the attitude of surface gullies and the structure of overburden affect face support resistance. The characteristics and evolution mechanism of strata behavior during FMTCC under gully slopes in a loess-covered gullied region were discovered through a mechanical analysis of the roof structure and a comparison to the mining of a typical shallow seam under gully slopes. The study found that as the FMTCC face advanced, the strata behavior initiated in the middle part of the face and then continued to both ends, and its intensity was higher in the middle part than in the upper and lower parts. During mining under gullies, the increases in support resistance were generally less than 5% (except for the maximum increases of 7–9%), indicating that the occurrence of gullies on the surface had little influence on the strata behavior at the FMTCC face. Due to the increased burial depth and the number of key strata, the roof at the FMTCC face under gullies formed a stable load-bearing structure called a voussoir beam, which was the key difference from the strata behavior characteristics in the shallow mine under gullies.

The behavior of the overburden of working face 20104 at the Wangjialing coal mine was investigated using borehole imaging. The measured height of the conductive fracture zone (CFZ) in the overburden, 148 m, is significantly different from the height that is predicted by an empirical formula. The spatial relationships between key strata (KS) required for their fracturing and their influence on the CFZ’s height were analyzed. The results demonstrate that the spatial relationships between adjacent KS are a major factor behind the abnormal increase in the height of CFZ relative to the coal seam. The height of linkage (HoL) between KS was introduced and an equation for calculating this height was proposed. The study found that the fracturing of a KS could induce fracturing of the adjacent KS above it if their height difference was smaller than the HoL between them. Otherwise, the fractures resulting from the lower KS would terminate at the bottom of the higher KS. When the location of a high KS satisfies certain requirement, the spatial linkage between adjacent KS will allow for the conductive fractures arising in a lower KS to propagate through the high KS as well as the strata controlled by it, thus increasing the height of CFZ in overburden.

Aiming at the land subsidence problem caused by multiple coal seam mining in the Ehuobulake Coal Mine, this paper, considering the geological conditions of the first and fifth layers of coal, adopts the method of combining FLAC3D numerical simulation and SBAS-InSAR technology to analyze the dynamic evolution law of land subsidence amount and range under multiple coal seam repeated mining conditions. The reliability of the technology is verified by the field GPS monitoring data. The results show that, under the mining condition of multiple coal seams in the Ehuobulake Coal Mine, the land subsidence presents obvious asymmetry, and the size and range of the land subsidence in the mining area further increase due to the mining of lower layer coal. FLAC3D simulation results show that the maximum land subsidence is −211.8 mm. The results of SBAS-InSAR monitoring show that the maximum land subsidence is −225 mm, and the land subsidence obtained by the two methods has a high degree of fitting. The method of combining FLAC3D and InSAR technology can accurately and reliably monitor and analyze the land subsidence under the repeated mining of multiple coal seams in the mining area. It can provide effective guidance for the stability analysis of mined-out areas and the prediction of the influence of repeated mining on ground deformation.