Numerical investigation of coal pillar damage mechanisms for various width-to-height ratios

Abstract Pillar stability has garnered significant attention owing to the effects of pillars on coal resource recovery rate, coal pillar stability, and coal bump risk. This study examined the roadway stability control principles of conventional and yield coal pillars. The conventional coal pillars w...

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Main Authors: Xuanhui Wang, Ze Xia, Qiangling Yao, Xuehua Li, Qiang Xu, Liu Zhu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-01-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-85554-6
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author Xuanhui Wang
Ze Xia
Qiangling Yao
Xuehua Li
Qiang Xu
Liu Zhu
author_facet Xuanhui Wang
Ze Xia
Qiangling Yao
Xuehua Li
Qiang Xu
Liu Zhu
author_sort Xuanhui Wang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Pillar stability has garnered significant attention owing to the effects of pillars on coal resource recovery rate, coal pillar stability, and coal bump risk. This study examined the roadway stability control principles of conventional and yield coal pillars. The conventional coal pillars were designed as load-bearing structures with a high load-bearing capacity to carry most of the abutment load, while yield coal pillars were designed as buffer structures for transferring rapidly increasing abutment loads to adjacent solid coal ribs by progressive deformation. In order to analyze the features of dynamical evolution of vertical stress distribution and failure zone during loading, a meticulously validated roof–coal–floor composite mathematical model was established.The energy evolution for coal pillars under diverse w/h ratios was analyzed, and the failure energy ratio and elastic strain energy release rate were introduced to evaluate the failure severity. Furthermore, the behavior and damage mechanism differences between conventional and yield coal pillars were investigated: conventional pillars are designed as strong structures that bear most of the load while the yield pillars are designed to buffer and transfer sudden loads to nearby solid coal ribs by gradually deforming. Finally, two case studies of conventional coal pillars in the Zhulinshan coal mine and the yield coal pillars in the Tashan coal mine were reported.
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spelling doaj-art-bb41d562bd274f1f9c4f7ff4b92920cc2025-01-26T12:24:24ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-01-0115112010.1038/s41598-025-85554-6Numerical investigation of coal pillar damage mechanisms for various width-to-height ratiosXuanhui Wang0Ze Xia1Qiangling Yao2Xuehua Li3Qiang Xu4Liu Zhu5School of Mines, China University of Mining and TechnologySchool of Mines, China University of Mining and TechnologySchool of Mines, China University of Mining and TechnologySchool of Mines, China University of Mining and TechnologySchool of Mines, China University of Mining and TechnologySchool of Mines, China University of Mining and TechnologyAbstract Pillar stability has garnered significant attention owing to the effects of pillars on coal resource recovery rate, coal pillar stability, and coal bump risk. This study examined the roadway stability control principles of conventional and yield coal pillars. The conventional coal pillars were designed as load-bearing structures with a high load-bearing capacity to carry most of the abutment load, while yield coal pillars were designed as buffer structures for transferring rapidly increasing abutment loads to adjacent solid coal ribs by progressive deformation. In order to analyze the features of dynamical evolution of vertical stress distribution and failure zone during loading, a meticulously validated roof–coal–floor composite mathematical model was established.The energy evolution for coal pillars under diverse w/h ratios was analyzed, and the failure energy ratio and elastic strain energy release rate were introduced to evaluate the failure severity. Furthermore, the behavior and damage mechanism differences between conventional and yield coal pillars were investigated: conventional pillars are designed as strong structures that bear most of the load while the yield pillars are designed to buffer and transfer sudden loads to nearby solid coal ribs by gradually deforming. Finally, two case studies of conventional coal pillars in the Zhulinshan coal mine and the yield coal pillars in the Tashan coal mine were reported.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-85554-6Coal pillarWidth-to-height ratioRoof–coal–floor composite structureEnergy evolution
spellingShingle Xuanhui Wang
Ze Xia
Qiangling Yao
Xuehua Li
Qiang Xu
Liu Zhu
Numerical investigation of coal pillar damage mechanisms for various width-to-height ratios
Scientific Reports
Coal pillar
Width-to-height ratio
Roof–coal–floor composite structure
Energy evolution
title Numerical investigation of coal pillar damage mechanisms for various width-to-height ratios
title_full Numerical investigation of coal pillar damage mechanisms for various width-to-height ratios
title_fullStr Numerical investigation of coal pillar damage mechanisms for various width-to-height ratios
title_full_unstemmed Numerical investigation of coal pillar damage mechanisms for various width-to-height ratios
title_short Numerical investigation of coal pillar damage mechanisms for various width-to-height ratios
title_sort numerical investigation of coal pillar damage mechanisms for various width to height ratios
topic Coal pillar
Width-to-height ratio
Roof–coal–floor composite structure
Energy evolution
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-85554-6
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