Deformation and failure of stratified weak roof strata of longwall roadway

A comprehensive underground monitoring was conducted in a coal mine. The purpose of this research was to clarify the deformation and failure behavior of stratified weak roof strata of longwall roadway in adverse ground conditions. The field investigation incorporating a range of geotechnical instrumentation was conducted over a period of time ever since the formation of opening the site was buried into the goaf of a retreating longwall panel. The roof layer deformation and failure characteristics associated with the three stages of heading development, after development and before extraction, as well as after longwall extraction were identified on the basis of field investigation and analytical study, the results clearly demonstrated that how the roof deformation and failure progress were strongly related to these three stages of the mining activities mentioned.