Global Trends in Coal Mine Horizontal Stress Measurements

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gadde M ; Mark C
• Description:
  Knowledge of in situ stresses is fundamental to many studies in earth sciences, and coal mine ground control is no exception. During the past 20 years, it has become clear that horizontal stress is a critical factor affecting roof stability in underground coal mines. The theory of plate tectonics and the World Stress Map (WSM) project has been extremely helpful in explaining the sources and the orientations of the horizontal stresses observed underground. Recently, WSM geophysicists studying deep-seated stresses have developed a model of how stress magnitudes vary with depth in the crust. They have devoted relatively little attention to near-surface stresses, however. This paper explores the relationships between deep-seated and shallow in situ stresses in several of the world's coalfields, using a data base of more than 350 stress measurements from underground coal mines. The analysis indicates that distinct regional trends exist, corresponding roughly to the regional stress fields identified by the WSM. The paper presents equations for estimating stress magnitudes that were developed by treating depth and elastic modulus as independent variables in regression analysis. The magnitude of the horizontal stress increases with depth, at rates that range from 0.8 to 2.0 times the vertical stress, just as the WSM "critically stressed crust" model predicts. Overall, it seems that the stress regimes encountered in underground coal mines are closely linked to those that exist deep in the earth's crust. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Coal Coal Mining Mining Occupational Health Risk Assessment Safety
• Keywords:
  Coal-mining Ground-control Ground-stability Mining-industry Models Risk-analysis Underground-mining
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISBN:
  9780978938338
• Publisher:
  West Virginia University
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Missouri ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 7 ; Pennsylvania ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PRL - Pittsburgh Research Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  319-331
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20034278
• Citation:
  Proceedings of the 27th International Conference on Ground Control in Mining, July 29-31, 2008, Morgantown, West Virginia. Peng SS, Mark C, Finfinger GL, Tadolini SC, Khair AW, Heasley KA, Luo Y, eds. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University, 2008 Jul; :319-331
• Editor(s):
  Peng SS; Mark C; Finfinger GL; Tadolini SC; Khair AW; Heasley KA; Luo Y
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2008
• NORA Priority Area:
  Mining
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of the 27th International Conference on Ground Control in Mining, July 29-31, 2008, Morgantown, West Virginia
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0b0391e0e2069d762408b886e4948adf556c2e4abec062db6522fa29c64ea6e85a4560bc09d0dbaa02ef58a6253e7d388e653207a85e9f3f870ecfbd93881457
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/226990/cdc_226990_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.81 MB ]