Underground Mining Method Eliminating Coal Pillars and Laneway Excavation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional underground coal mining methods require extensive laneway excavation, leading to resource waste, high production costs, frequent accidents, and prolonged shaft construction times, with coal-pillar leaving causing environmental harm and geological hazards.
Innovation Solution
An underground longwall mining method that involves drilling main and auxiliary shafts, forming connection laneways, and using these as open-off cuts for coal mining, eliminating the need for laneway excavation and coal-pillar leaving by cutting haulageways and return airways parallel to the shafts, allowing for efficient coal extraction without pillars.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If conventional laneway excavation and coal-pillar leaving methods are used, then shaft construction and coal extraction can be performed, but resource waste increases and production costs rise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the coal pillar protection concept from conventional mining methods. By using the shaft station and connection laneways as direct access points for coal mining, the method removes the need for separate coal pillar leaving zones, thereby preventing coal resource waste while maintaining mining feasibility through alternative access routes.
Solution Approach 2:
The shaft station and connection laneways serve multiple functions: they provide both shaft construction access and coal extraction access simultaneously. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate dedicated laneways and coal pillar protections, reducing resource waste while maintaining operational feasibility.
2Productivity
If extensive laneway excavation is performed, then coal extraction access is improved, but production cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functions of shaft construction and coal extraction access into a single integrated system. The shaft station and connection laneways are designed to serve both construction and mining operations, eliminating the need for separate extensive laneway excavations and thereby reducing production costs while maintaining extraction efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The shaft station and connection laneways are prepared and positioned in advance during the construction phase to serve as direct access points for future coal extraction. This preliminary action eliminates the need for subsequent extensive laneway excavation, reducing production costs while ensuring efficient coal extraction access.
3Ease of manufacture
If multiple excavation working faces are created, then shaft construction can be completed, but excavation time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the excavation process into coordinated operations at the shaft station and connection laneways, allowing multiple working faces to operate simultaneously in an integrated manner. This segmentation enables parallel progress on different sections of the shaft and connection laneways, reducing total excavation time while ensuring construction completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The shaft station and connection laneway system is designed to enable continuous excavation operations without interruption. By providing multiple access points and coordinated working faces, the method ensures that excavation activity continues without idle time, reducing total excavation time while maintaining construction completeness.
4Reliability
If conventional laneway protection methods are used, then shaft and laneway safety is maintained, but accident frequency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the conventional laneway protection coal pillar system that creates safety hazards. By using the shaft station and connection laneways as direct access points without requiring protective coal pillars, the method eliminates the source of many laneway accidents while maintaining safety through alternative structural protections at the shaft station.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present disclosure discloses a pit designing method without coal-pillar leaving and without laneway excavation, wherein the method includes the steps of: drilling a main shaft (1) and an auxiliary shaft (2) from a ground to a coal bed; exploiting in the coal bed a first connection laneway (31) and a second connection laneway (32), wherein the first connection laneway (31) is in communication with the main shaft (1), and the second connection laneway (32) is in communication with the auxiliary shaft (2); communicating the first connection laneway (31) and the second connection laneway (32), and using a communication part between the first connection laneway (31) and the second connection laneway (32) as a first open-off cut (4); and by using a direction of the first open-off cut (4) further away from the connecting line connecting the main shaft (1) and the auxiliary shaft (2) as a first direction, exploiting by cutting a coal wall in the first direction using a coal mining machine. The pit designing method without coal-pillar leaving and without laneway excavation according to the present disclosure effectively solves the problems in the prior art that coal mining has a large laneway excavation amount, a long time of shaft construction, a high excavation cost and frequent laneway accidents, and the coal-pillar leaving causes a huge waste of the coal resource.