This paper describes recent advances in the development of an integrated inertial guidance system for automation of the longwall coal mining process. Significant advances in longwall automation are being achieved through an industry sponsored project which targets productivity and safety benefits. High performance inertial navigation systems are being successfully employed to accurately measure...

Upward surface movement or uplift has been extensively observed above abandoned and flooded deep coal mines, which used the longwall mining method, i.e., a caving method. Detailed analysis of satellite measurements indicated that process is one more complex phenomena in ground control. The linked to flooding underground infrastructure rock mass. This was confirmed by conducting analytical calcu...

Coal is an important fossil fuel and will also be for the next decades [1]. The only way to achieve the challenges faced by the coal industry is to reduce production costs by improving productivity. Improvement of productivity has become an important goal for today’s coal industry in the race to increase price competitiveness. In recent years, underground mining method is becoming popular becau...

This paper describes successful industrial research and development in the area of underground coal mining equipment automation. A brief background to underground coal mining is given, and the process of longwall mining is detailed. Some of the major limitations and issues impacting on the productivity and safety of the longwall mining process are highlighted, which serve to motivate the automa...

Longwall fully comprehensive mechanized mining is mainly used for the working faces of shallow coal seam with large height, which usually have a suspended roof at face end. The overhang end leads to stress concentration, affects safe face. In this paper, we use 15210 (overhanging area 50~70 m2) Zhangjiamao mine as study background, physical simulation, numerical calculation and theoretical anal...

Assessment of top coal fall potential is great importance for sustainable longwall caving mining. However, available assessment tools/indices the are applicable to roof rock only, and their use (whose geological structures may be different) can inappropriate. This paper presents a new index in mining where controlled by cantilever effect. The developed from an integrated numerical statistical a...

The recovery of top coal in the caving face directly impacts efficiency mining resources. geological conditions and parameters are well known to be significant influences on coal. This study focused 9-301 working face, which is located a thick seam with large dip angle. seam’s angle, direction, mode interval were analyzed using PFC2D simulation. Field trials also carried out. results numerical ...