Fault Slip Mechanisms in Coal Mining Environments
Summary
Fault slip in coal mining arises when pre-existing fractures within the overburden or coal seam reactivate under changing stress fields induced by excavation. The redistribution of mining-induced stresses around roadways and longwall panels can reduce normal stress on fault planes while elevating shear stress, promoting slip. Direction of advance relative to hanging wall or footwall, fault geometry, and in situ stress anisotropy all influence the locus and mode of slip. Microseismic monitoring has revealed precursory events that cluster in zones of reduced confinement, signalling potential dynamic fault-slip bursts. Physical and numerical models elucidate how factors such as fault dip, throw and proximity to the working face control activation thresholds. Slip may manifest as gradual creep or sudden stick–slip, the latter posing a high risk of rockburst and roadway collapse. Contemporary research integrates real-time sensing, geomechanical modelling and empirical criteria to predict slip onset and guide support and destressing measures. Such advances have global significance for enhancing the safety and productivity of underground coal operations and for mitigating induced seismic risk in tectonically complex deposits.
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Fault Slip Mechanisms in Coal Mining Environments publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in fault slip mechanisms in coal mining environments across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Fault slip: Movement along a pre-existing fracture surface in response to stress changes.
Shear stress: Tangential component of force acting parallel to a fault plane.
Normal stress: Perpendicular component of force compressing or unclamping a fault plane.
Fault activation: Process by which a dormant fault is brought to slip under altered stress conditions.
Stick–slip: Sudden release of accumulated elastic energy when frictional resistance on a fault plane is overcome.
Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion: A linear relationship defining shear failure as a function of normal stress and material strength parameters.
References
- Main factors that control roadway damage when a steeply dipping coal seam crosses a fault. Geomatics Natural Hazards and Risk (2024).
- Mining Stress Distribution and Fault-Slip Behavior: A Case Study of Fault-Influenced Longwall Coal Mining. Energies (2019).
- A review of unloading-induced fault instability. Underground Space (2021).
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