Influence of Coal Extraction Operation on Shaft Lining Stability in Eastern Chinese Coal Mines

In order to find the relationship between the shaft lining stability and the coal extraction operation, a 3D numerical model of strata layers and shaft lining was established for simulating the influence of coal extraction operation on shaft lining. Certain factors including mining depth, safety pillar width, mining width and mining height were taken as the influence factors in the simulation. The results indicated that the coal extraction could lead to the initiation of the failure in the aquifer and rock layers. As the mining depth increases, the shear strain increment in aquifer becomes small. In this case, the distance between mining panel and aquifer should be larger than 220 m and the safety pillar width should not <70 m. The maximum principal stress in aquifer had a little relation to mining operations. The mining panel width should not exceed 50 m without any support.