Physical Model Experimental Study on the Coalface Overburden Movement Law on the End Slope of an Open-Pit Mine

Due to technology and safety limitations, the amount of coal resources overlying slopes in open pit coal mines is immense. In recent years, this problem has gradually attracted the attention of researchers. How to realize the efficient recovery of the side overburden resources with the premise of ensuring the stability and safety of the slope has become an important topic for the development of opencast mining technology in China. To study the yield failure characteristics of coal pillars and the rock mass migration law of the end slope mining field under the mining condition of the end slope shearer, 2D/3D, integrated, simulation experimental equipment is developed based on similarity theory and efficient region theory. This equipment overcomes the technical problem that the internal failure of the rock mass is invisible and that deformation data are not easily obtained during the simulation of end slope coal mining on an existing experimental platform. Based on the engineering geological conditions of the Ordos mining area in China, a typical engineering geological model of the slope near the horizontal condition is constructed to simulate the process “formation of mining cave group -failure of support coal pillars - instability of slope rock mass”. Based on laser positioning technology and multiangle, oblique photography technology, a panoramic phase 3D laser scanner, high-resolution digital camera and deep space micromonitoring system are comprehensively employed to carry out the whole process tracking monitoring and analysis of the deformation and failure of the supporting coal pillars and slope rock mass. The experiment is verified by numerical simulation. The results show that under the experimental conditions, with an increase in mining cave depth, the vertical stress of the supporting coal pillar increases linearly. At a certain distance before reaching the end of the mining cave, the peak value is reached. At this time, the depth continues to increase, and the stress value decreases sharply. The vertical stress gradually decreases to the original rock stress after a certain distance beyond the end of the mining cave. A certain length of supporting coal pillar from the end of the mining cave will never collapse, which is approximately 2.5~3 times the width of the mining cave. The triggering condition of slope deformation and failure is under the combined action of dynamic and static loads. The actual stress of the supporting coal pillar in the deep part of the geometric centre along the slope of the mining cave group is greater than the ultimate stress, and then large discontinuous deformation of multiple adjacent coal pillars around the central coal pillar is caused by compressive shear failure. The boundary of the final collapse plane range of the roadway group is approximately a closed curve formed by two paraboloids, which are axisymmetric with the No. Ⅳ coal pillar and open opposite. The parabola opening in the shallow part of the slope area is small, and the parabola opening in the deep part of the slope area is large. There is a significant space-time correspondence between the failure of supporting coal pillars and the deformation of the slope surface. According to the failure process of the rock mass structure and the movement and deformation characteristics of the slope surface, the slope after failure can be divided into three areas, and the upper part of the slope is the key area of deformation and instability of the overlying rock mass in the end-slope mining field. The research results provide a theoretical basis for scientific monitoring and stability control of slope deformation coal mining conditions in open-pit mines.