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Mining Publication: The Forgotten Denominator: Pillar Loading
Keywords: Modeling Pillar design Pillars
This page is archived for historical purposes and is no longer being maintained or updated. Contact NIOSH Mining if you need an accessible version.
Original creation date: August 2000
Authors: KA Heasley
Conference Paper - August 2000
Download PDF Document (0.58 MB)
NIOSHTIC2 Number: 20023676
Pacific Rocks 2000 - Proc Fourth North American Rock Mechanics Symposium, 2000, J. Girard, M. Liebman, C. Breeds, T. Doe, eds., Rotterdam, Netherlands: Balkema, 2000 Aug; :457-464
In the last few decades, a considerable amount of effort was directed at accurately determining the coal/pillar strength to use for safety designing coal mines. The outcome of this early work was the well known Obert-Duvall, Holland-Gaddy, Bieniawski, and Salamon-Munro equations for coal pillar strength. All of these equations were developed for, and were calibrated with, pillars in a large room-and-pillar area such that the loading could be determined using the "tributary-area" theory. In order to account for the abutment loads associated with full-extraction mining, the empirical methods have typically adopted a simple conceptualization of the abutment load through the use of an "abutment angle." Short of a complete numerical or analytical analysis of the coal seam and surrounding strata, very little work has been directed toward refining the empirical analysis of pillar loading. It appears that the vast majority of the research has been directed at determining the pillar strength, the numerator of the safety factor equation, when the denominator of the safety factor equation, the pillar loading, plays an equally important role in pillar design. This paper will address the deficit of pillar loading research by exploring the accuracy of the empirical abutment load calculations using insight provided by an elastic overburden model, a laminated overburden model and field observations. Ultimately, it is determined that a constant abutment angle probably over-predicts the abutment load as the mining depth increases.
Image of publication The Forgotten Denominator: Pillar LoadingConference Paper - August 2000
Download PDF Document (0.58 MB)
NIOSHTIC2 Number: 20023676
Pacific Rocks 2000 - Proc Fourth North American Rock Mechanics Symposium, 2000, J. Girard, M. Liebman, C. Breeds, T. Doe, eds., Rotterdam, Netherlands: Balkema, 2000 Aug; :457-464
See Also
Analysis of Pillar Design Practices and Techniques for U.S. Limestone Mines
Assessment of Stable and Failed Pillars in Underground Limestone Mines
Building Capacity and Enhancing Ground Control Safety through Improvement and Extension of the LaModel Program
The Effects of Roof and Floor Interface Slip on Coal Pillar Behavior
Empirical Guidelines for Longwall Ground Control Design
Pillar Design and Strategies for Retreat Mining
Pillar Design Issues for Underground Stone Mines
Reducing the Risk of Ground Falls During Pillar Recovery
Rib Stability: Practical Considerations to Optimize Rib Design
The Unpredictable Life Cycle of a Coal Pillar
Page last reviewed: September 21, 2012
Page last updated: September 21, 2012
Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Mining Program
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