Seismic activity in rock mass during mining operations in Vorkutaugol’s Komsomolskaya Mine

Seismic monitoring provides information on the geomechanical behavior of coal and host rocks in the course of mining, including: location and dimensions of stress concentration zones to be subjected for the local monitoring later on; prediction of geodynamic events after reaching critical values of seismic parameters. The seismic activity data provided by the operating monitoring system in Vorkutaugol’s Komsomolskaya Mine are analyzed, namely: total number of seismic events per recording interval N; average and total values of seismic energy; integrated criterion F including the seismic event energy/background energy ratio; criterion B of rock mass capability to accumulate the elastic energy. The periods and ranges of variation in the seismic activity parameters are determined. The hypocenters of seismic events appear uniformly within the limits of extraction panels, which is reflective of continuous deformation and re-distribution of confining pressure in coal and in host rocks as longwall is advanced; the N and F plots show the periodic variations with an interval of 1–2 months, connected with the stages of main roof caving; the value of B is comparatively stable which implies the uniformity of physical and mechanical properties of coal and host rocks and the absence of the local stress concentration zones; the most informative parameters of the geomechanical behavior is the integrated criterion F which characterizes the disintegration intensity and energy in rock mass. During development drivage in the influence zone of a tectonic fault, the local jump in the seismic activity is recorded. The energy spectra and the ranges of the seismic parameters in nonhazardous rock mass are determined.

Razumov E. E., Rukavishnikov G. D., Mulev S. N., Prostov S. M. Seismic activity in rock mass during mining operations in Vorkutaugol’s Komsomolskaya Mine. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2022;(1):104-114. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2022_1_0_104.

E.E. Razumov^1,2, Assistant, Researcher, e-mail: razumov@vnimi.ru, ORCID iD0000-0002-3696-8553,
G.D. Rukavishnikov², Head of Geodynamic Monitoring Center, e-mail: geodmiruk@gmail.com, ORCID iD 0000-0001-8228-2870,
S.N. Mulev², Director of Science, e-mail: smuleva@yandex.ru,
S.M. Prostov¹, Dr. Sci. (Eng.), Professor, e-mail: psm.kem@mail.ru, ORCID iD 0000-0003-0780-2690,
¹ T. Gorbachev Kuzbass State Technical University, 650000, Kemerovo, Russia,
² Research Institute of Mining Geomechanics & Mine Surveying (VNIMI), 199106, Saint-Petersburg, Russia.

E.E. Razumov, e-mail: razumov@vnimi.ru.

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