Salamon, M.D.G., Pillar failure in deep coal seams: Numerical Simulation.

ISRM 2003–Technology roadmap for rock mechanics, South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 2003.

Pillar Failure in Deep Coal Seams: Numerical Simulation

La Rupture des Piliers dans les mines souterraines de
charbon: Une Simulation Numérique
Bruchverhalten von Pfeilern in tiefen Kohlenflözen:
Numerische Simulation
M.D.G. Salamon, S. Badr, R. Mendoza, M.U. Ozbay
Colorado School of Mines
Golden - CO - 80401 - USA

ABSTRACT: The use of coal pillars at depth is fraught with problems due roof control difficulties
and the possible occurrence of coal or pillar bumps. In the USA the largest and most important
application of pillars at depth is in longwalling, where chain pillars are the customary supports of
the multiple entry developments. At first, the chain pillars were designed using conventional
approaches, where the principle is that the strength of the pillar should exceed the load imposed on
it. Such approach to design led to larger and larger pillars at great depths, but instead of
eliminating, it tended to aggravate the roof control problems. Eventually the idea was born that
small sized yielding pillars, which have proved to be successful elsewhere, might provide the
answer to this pressing problem as well.
The aim of this paper is to study the modes of pillar failure at great depths, using two solution
methods. The first of these comprises some elementary solutions obtained with the aid of a
simplified conceptualization of the rock mass. This model consists of a strain-softening coal seam
sandwiched between two stratified masses. The second approach utilizes FLAC3D, which is a
commercially available three-dimensional numerical modeling software package. To gain a better
insight, both the strain-softening and ideally plastic Mohr-Coulomb constitutive laws embodied in
FLAC3D were exploited.
As expected, the width to height ratio of the pillar has proved to be the primary factor that
determined the behavior of the pillars. Narrow pillars fail in a stable manner without the
occurrence of instabilities. Intermediate w/h ratio pillars under the appropriate loading conditions,
may fail suddenly and may even collapse totally. Squat pillars do show the potential for sudden,
coal bump like side failure, but because the remaining large width of the inner core, the ruble
around the pillar provides sufficient confinement so as to reestablish stability. Finally, the study
revealed that the traditional Mohr-Coulomb law does not provide a useful insight into the failure
of coal pillars.

RESUME: L’utilisation des piliers de charbon dans les mines souterraines de grande profondeur
occasionne des problèmes due aux difficultés de control de plafond et possibles fracture ou
explosions au niveau des piliers. Aux Etats-Unies d’Amérique, l’utilisation des piliers dans les
mines souterraines de charbon comme moyen de support est considèrees comme étant la plus
grande et la plus importantes des méthodes utilisée dans le ‘’ longwalling method’’ ou une série
des piliers sont disposé de manière à supporter les multiple entrées d’exploitation de charbon. En
premier lieu, cette série des piliers étaient construit de manière conventionnelle avec un principe
basé sur le fait que le poids exerce sur les piliers doit être inférieur a la force que ces piliers exerce
sur le plafond. Ce principe a conduit a ce que le volume des piliers augmente au fur et à mesure
que la profondeur au de la mine augmente. Malheureusement, au lieu de résoudre le problème de
support, ce principe n’a fait qu’aggraver le problème de contrôle de plafond. Eventuellement une
idée s’est dégagé allant du fait que les piliers endommagés de taille moyenne qui se sont avérés
être efficaces ailleurs, pourraient fournir un indice à ce particulier problème.
Le but de cette recherche est celui d’étudier les différent types de ruptures qu’un pilier peut
occasionner lorsqu’il est utilisé a grande profondeur, tout en utilisant deux possible méthodes. La
première d’entre elle comprend quelques solutions élémentaires obtenues avec l’aide d’une
méthode simplifié et conceptuelle de la masse de la roche. Ce modèle consiste à prendre en
sandwich la bande de minerais de charbon entre deux masses stratigraphiques sans pour autant
endommager le plafond. La seconde méthode nécessite l’utilisation du ‘’ FLAC3D’’, qui est un
logiciel commercialisé disposant d’un modèle numérique en 3 dimensions. Dans le but d’obtenir
1
 un meilleur résultat, les lois de ‘’Strain-softening’’et idéalement celle constitutive de Mohr-
Coulomb compris dans le logiciel ‘’FLAC3D’’ont été utilise.

Comme prévu, la proportion entre la largeur et la hauteur des piliers a démontré être un facteur
majeur qui détermine le comportement essentiel de la manière dont les piliers réagissent. Les
piliers de taille étroite se fracturent de manière stable sans pour autant occasionner d’autres
instabilités. Par ailleurs, un pilier de proportion moyenne (entre la largeur et la hauteur) sous des
conditions appropriée de poids ou de masse peut occasionne des ruptures soudaine ou encore
s’effondrer totalement. Les piliers qui sont petit et épais représentent un potentiel danger pour une
soudaine explosion au alentour du pilier de charbon. Toutefois due au fait que la plus grande partie
de la largeur du pilier demeure intact, les roubles de charbon autour du pilier procurent assez de
confinement à tel point qu’ils rétablissent une stabilité.
Finalement, l’étude a révèlee que la traditionnelle loi de ‘’Mohr-Coulomb’’ ne fourni pas assez
d’information qui mène a la rupture des piliers de charbon.

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: Die Anwendung von Kohlenpfeilern in großen Teufen ist behaftet mit
Problemen aufgrund Schwierigkeiten bei der Beherrschung der Firste und Gebirgs- und
Flözschlägen. In den USA werden Pfeiler hauptsächlich im Strebbau angewandt und dienen in
Reihen zur Sicherung der mehrfachen Eingänge von Abbaustrecken. Ursprünglich wurden solche
Pfeilerreihen mit konventionellen Methoden dimensioniert, wobei die Festigkeit eines Pfeilers
größer sein sollte als die Last auf dem Pfeiler. Dies führte zu immer größeren Pfeilerausmaßen mit
zunehmender Teufe und die Schwierigkeiten bei der Standsicherheit der Firste nahmen eher zu als
ab. So wurde die Idee geboren, dass klein dimensionierte Bruchpfeiler, die sich schon in anderen
Bereichen bewährt hatten eine Lösung zu diesem dringenden Problem darstellen könnten.
Diese Arbeit hat zum Ziel das Bruchverhalten von Pfeilern in großen Teufen unter Awendung von
zwei Lösungsansätzen zu untersuchen. Der erste Ansatz beinhaltet einige grundlegend Lösungen,
die mit einem vereinfachten Modell des Gebirgsverbandes erlangt wurden. Dieses Modell besteht
aus einem Kohlenflöz mit mechanischer Entfestigung, der zwischen zwei geschichteten Körpern
eingespannt ist. Im zweiten Ansatz wird das frei erhältliche Computerprogramm Flac3D zur
numerischen Simulation genutzt. Zum besseren Verständniss wurden sowohl die Modelle mit
mechanischer Entfestigung, als Mohr Coulombs ideal plastisches Fesigkeitsmodell, die in Flac3D
enthalten sind, untersucht.
Wie erwartet hat sich herausgestellt, dass das Verhältnis von Pfeilerbreite zu Pfeilerhöhe den
größten Einfluss auf das Verhalten der Pfeiler hat. Schmale Pfeiler brechen in einer stabilen Weise
ohne das Auftreten von Instabilitäten. Pfeiler mit einem mittleren Breiten/ Höhen Verhältniss
können unter den entsprechenden Belastungszuständen plötzlich versagen und sogar ganz
zussammenbrechen. Breite Pfeiler haben ein Potenzial für plötliche, flözschlagartige Seitenbrüche,
doch aufgrund der großen Restbreite des Kerns bietet das Geröll um den Pfeiler herum genügend
Einschluß um die Standsicherheit wieder herzustellen. Letztlich wurde festgestellt, dass das Gesetz
von Mohr- Coulomb keine nützlichen Hinweise zu dem Bruchverhalten von Kohlenpfeilern bietet.

idea was born that in relatively deep seams yielding pillars

Introduction
The obvious application of coal pillars at depth is related to
longwall mining. In many instances the economic success
of underground mining of coal in the United States hinges
on the application of the longwall method. The longwalls
in the country usually retreat and they are developed using
some multi-entry system. The rows of pillars separating the
entries in this system, the chain pillars, play an essential
role in the operation. The correct design of these pillars is a
key factor to the safety of longwall extraction.
Initially conventional design of pillars was employed by the
operators. This approach to design has proved to be
reasonably effective in relatively shallow depths, but it has
led to pillars of increasingly larger width to height ratios as
the depth of mining increased. Experience has shown that
this approach is often ineffective if the depth of the seams
exceeds about 400 m. Such deep seams are frequently
encountered in the western United States; consequently,
several trials have been conducted in this region by mine
operators to find a solution to this problem. Eventually the
2 ISRM 2003 – TECHNOLOGY ROADMAP FOR ROCK MECHANICS
might prove to be more successful. Several field
experiments appear to substantiate this supposition. As
yielding pillars are of relatively low width to height ratio,
clearly there is a sharp discord between these two
approaches to chain pillar design. To resolve this conflict
and to ensure that yield pillars do not create inherently
dangerous conditions, it is necessary to investigate and
eventually to understand the mechanisms involved in the
loading and failure of coal pillars. Previous incidents have
demonstrated that pillar failures can be gradual or sudden
and even violent. The aim of this paper is to throw some
light on the design of chain pillars with special reference to
their stability.
Basic Principles
It is obvious to experienced miners that the sudden or
violent events represent the most serious hazard, because
they occur unexpectedly, without warning. Clearly, the
investigation of the behavior of yielding pillars would not
be complete without an examination of the modes of their
failure.
It was discovered in the mid 1960’s (Cook 1965:389; Deist
1965:502) that rocks can sustain load even when they are
deformed beyond the strain corresponding to their
maximum resistance, or strength. The stress-strain curve of
rocks has two branches: (a) the ascending branch where the
rock’s resistance increases with increasing straining and (b)
the descending or strain-softening branch, where the
resistance diminishes with increasing strain. Further
studies have revealed (Starfield and Fairhurst 1968:78;
Salamon 1970:613) that the mode of the rock failure
strongly depends on the stiffness of the loading mechanism
and the slope of the descending branch of the rock’s stress-
strain curve. This slope, or the rate of a rock’s strain-
softening, is a measure of the substance’s brittleness. If the
loading system is stiff relative to the rock’s rate of strain-
softening, the failure of the rock will be gradual or stable.
Conversely, if the loading system is soft relative to the
softening of the rock, the failure will be violent or unstable.
Thus, rocks in their descending or strain softening branch
are only conditionally stable. Since the discovery of these
basic principles some progress has been made, but the
understanding of the phenomenon is far from perfect. A
significant fraction of the available progresses are related to
the global stability of pillar workings enunciated by
Starfield and Fairhurst (1968:78) and Salamon (1970:613).
These analyses are global in a sense that individual pillars
are treated as single units without regard to the distribution
of stress and strain in them. This approach provides an
explanation of catastrophic collapses involving many,
sometimes even hundreds of pillars, but cannot clarify the
mechanisms involved in localized failures, such as the
bumping of coal from the side of a pillar or roadway.
Thus, if progress is to be made in rational yield pillar
design, it is necessary to evolve methods of analysing the
behaviour of yielding pillars, up to the moment of
instability, taking into account the detailed distribution of
stress and strain in and around them.
This is a formidable task, since only dynamic analysis that
accounts for inertia forces can tackle satisfactorily the
stable and unstable behavior of structures. In the case of
complex structures, which can be depicted adequately only
in three dimensions and involve longwall(s), chain pillars
and entries, dynamic analysis is not practical at present,
hence a less than perfect substitute method needs to be
found and applied.
Two methods will be presented to illustrate how a non-
dynamic approach can be used to gain insight into the
problem. First, using a simplified model, a few two
dimensional example problems are tackled. This model
consists of an upper mass (or roof) and a lower mass (or
floor) which are both stratified and elastic. Between the
two masses a coal seam is sandwiched, which exhibits
elastic and strain softening properties. The behaviour of the
seam follows the strain softening concepts proposed by
Deist (1965). This construction of the model was proposed
by Salamon (1991:9 and 1992:94). The other approach
involves extensive numerical studies using FLAC3D (Itasca
2002). This approach allows the treatment of realistic
geometries. Both strain-softening and Mohr-Coulomb
constitutive laws are explored.
Elementary Studies in Two Dimensions
The simplified model has the property that the stress and
displacement components (vertical, horizontal and shear
stresses, the roof to floor convergence and the horizontal
displacement) induced by partial extraction of the coal can
be defined in the seam in terms of a system of ordinary
differential equations. In the case of elastic and Deist’s
strain softening behaviors, since both of these are
essentially linear, this system of equations can be solved
analytically, so the stress and displacement components can
be expressed in terms of analytical formulae. This feature
permits the strict analysis of the solutions and the detection
of unusual or unexpected features arising in them. Since
the method of solution is not dynamic, the instabilities
manifest themselves as singularities in the quasi-static
solutions. Due to space limitations the analytical solutions
are not presented here, but they can be found in an earlier
publication (Salamon 1992: 94).
Empirical field trials have suggested that narrow chain
pillars (width/height < 4) tend to be associated with
relatively low stresses and their deformation is gradual and
free of sudden changes. As the width to height ratio is
increased, the behavior changes and, due to the higher load
bearing capacity of the squat pillars, the magnitude of
stresses increase and instabilities start to emerge.
Four solutions obtained with the aid of the simple model
are discussed. The first three cases involve a longwall
development with two entries, which are separated by a
long strip pillar. The simplicity of this geometry is a
consequence of the 2D solution. In all cases the physical
properties and geometrical parameters (the numerical
values of these variables are summarized in the Appendix)
are identical, with one exception. The pillar width, W, is
different in the three cases (W = 6 m, W = 10 m and W =
20 m). Since the seam thickness is taken to be 2 m, these
widths give the following width to height ratios: 3, 5 and
10. The seam is assumed to be at a depth of 700 m, which
by coal mining standards is deep level extraction. At this
depth the virgin vertical stress is 17.5 MPa. No attempt is
made in these elementary solutions to simulate the effects
of the extraction of the longwall panels. The pillars are
loaded by simply widening the entries. While this approach
does not faithfully reproduce the mining geometry, it does
offer the opportunity of analysing the behavior of pillars of
various widths to height ratios under differing loads.
The fourth elementary solution involves a single panel
which corresponds to one of the entries in a longwall
development. The ribsides delimiting the span of the panel
can be viewed as a pillar of infinite width, so in this sense
this geometry can be regarded as the limiting case of the
development with two entries when the width/height ratio
of the chain pillar is increased without bounds.
Narrow pillar: width to height ratio is 3. The model
reveals that in the specified circumstances the strength of
this pillar is 19.25 MPa. This value is only slightly higher
than the virgin stress, so it can be expected that the pillar
edges will start to yield immediately as the entries are
developed. This means that the pillar initially will have an
3
elastic core, which is surrounded by yielding coal. In 3.8
Figure 1 the depth of yielding is illustrated as a function of
3.6
the width of the entries (i.e., loading). It is noteworthy that

Depth of yielding into pillar sides (m)

narrow, 5 m wide entries already create yield zones that are 3.4
Max. yielding depth
2.29 m in width. If the width of the entries is increased to
6.45 m, a change of only 1.45 m, the two yield zones meet 3.2
at the center of the pillar, so the coal throughout the full
3
width of the pillar will be in the descending branch of its
stress-strain curve. At this moment the load bearing 2.8
capacity of the pillar is reduced to 14.7 MPa. A further
widening of the entries will induce additional deformation 2.6 Max. entry
width
and additional loss in the load bearing capacity of this
2.4
relatively narrow pillar. Thus, this narrow pillar deforms
gradually and does not exhibit any sign of sudden or violent 2.2
deformation. Also, the stresses imposed on the roof and
floor by the resistance of the pillar are modest. These are 2
important and favorable features of narrow pillars. The 7 8 9 10 11 12
main disadvantage of these support elements is their Width of entry (m)
relatively low load bearing capacity after yielding. This
feature suggests that narrow yield pillars should be Figure 2. Depth of yielding versus entry width for a w/h = 5
restricted to developments involving one row of chain pillar.
pillars with the associated two entries.
Intermediate pillar width: width to height ratio is 5. The dary between the yielding and still elastic coal inside the
strength of this pillar is 28.6 MPa, which is reached when pillar becomes unstable and consequently, the yielded pillar
yielding penetrates into the sides of the pillar to a depth of edges are likely to disintegrate. Due to the instability this
2.95 m. This level of loading is achieved when the width of process is likely to be sudden and results in an event that
the entries is 10.6 m. Further widening of the entries may be described as a ‘coal bump’. The disintegration of
induces a growth in the depth of yielding with concomitant the edge of the pillar results in a loss of pillar core
reduction of the load bearing capacity of the pillar. In confinement. This, in turn, is likely to initiate rapid inward
Figure 2 the depth of yield as a function of the width of the progression coal failure. The rubble produced by the
entries is depicted. The relationship reveals an accelerating process of disintegration rests on the floor and through
yield penetration and shows an unexpected feature. At an friction attempts to provide confinement to the remaining
entry width of 11.2 m the rate of yield penetration runs part of the pillar. The final fate of the pillar depends on the
away, that is, the slope of the curve in Figure 2 becomes width of the elastic core at the time when the instability
vertical; the solution has a singularity. This is an entirely occurs. If the core is of sufficient width the pillar will
new attribute of pillar behavior. stabilize. If, however, the core width is insufficient, the
No similar behavior was observed in the case of the narrow whole pillar will collapse. In the present example the width
pillar. In practical terms this result indicates that the boun- of the core is 10 - 2×3.45 = 3.10 m, which appears
insufficient to allow the stabilization of the pillar, so it is
3.2 likely that the pillar will collapse. Interestingly, this
analysis reveals that the widening of the pillar leads to an
unexpected result. The squatter pillars provide higher
Depth of yielding into pillar sides (m)

3
resistance to ground movement which in certain
circumstances, especially if the roof and/or floor are
2.8 intensely laminated, could induce a serious deterioration in
the strata conditions. Furthermore, under certain
2.6 circumstances, the edge of a squatter pillar may fail
suddenly in a manner that seems to resemble a coal bump.
With intermediate width pillars, such sudden pillar edge
2.4
failure may in turn causes the collapse of the whole pillar.
Squat pillar: width to height ratio is 10. The strength of
2.2 this pillar, according to the model employed here, is 33.6
MPa and this strength is attained when the pillar sides have
2 yielded to a depth of 3.67 m. The behavior of this pillar is
5 5.25 5.5 5.75 6 6.25 6.5 similar to that of the previous one, because, as the entries
Entry width (m) are widened and the depth of yield increases, eventually
here again a situation is reached when the boundary inside
Figure 1. Depth of yielding versus entry width for a w/h = 3 the pillar between the elastic and yielded part of the seam
pillar. becomes unstable. This situation is illustrated in Figure 3.

4 ISRM 2003 – TECHNOLOGY ROADMAP FOR ROCK MECHANICS

 4.2 4.4

4 4 Max. yielding depth

Max. yielding depth
Depth of yielding into pillar sides (m)

3.8 3.6

Depth of yielding in ribsides (m)

3.6 3.2
3.4 2.8
3.2
2.4
3
2
Max. entry
2.8
width 1.6
Max. panel
2.6
1.2 width
2.4
0.8
2.2
0.4
2
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 0
0 5 10 15 20 25
Width of entry(m)
Span of panel (m)

Figure 3. Depth of yielding versus entry width for a w/h =

10 pillar. Figure 4. Depth of yielding versus panel width for the
ribside (infinite w/h ratio pillar).
The critical depth of yield in this instance is 3.87 m and the
corresponding load bearing capacity of the pillar is 33.46 instance is 23.4 m, which is only 14.5% greater than the
MPa. This loading is achieved at an entry width of 20.05 critical entry width in the development supported by the
m. Note that the instances of maximum load bearing and squat pillar that has a width to height ratio of ten.
instability are very close to each other. It is noteworthy that If the critical span of a single entry is known it is possible
the tributary load with this geometry is 35.04 MPa. to estimate, at least in principle, the strength of squat
There is likely to be a significant difference between the pillars. However, because the so obtained estimate is an
behavior of the intermediate and the squat pillars. In the upper bound, this method is of little practical significance.
latter case the width of the elastic central core at the
moment of instability is 20 - 2×3.87 = 12.26 m, which Numerical Studies with FLAC3D
appears to be sufficient large to ensure that the rubble at the While the simplified model of the previous section does
edges can stabilize the pillar. So in the case of large width provide an insight into the possible behavior of yielding
to height ratios coal bump type of pillar edge failure may chain pillars, it is unlikely to provide results that can
occur, but the pillars themselves are unlikely to collapse. withstand comparisons with the behavior of the prototype
Conditions around a single panel. After the consideration in the field. Thus, to get closer to a quantitative method of
of wide pillars, it seems reasonable to suppose that the design, it is necessary to employ a sophisticated stress
edges of such a pillar must behave similarly to the ribsides analysis package to perform the necessary numerical
of a single panel that has a span comparable to the width of studies. For the present case, FLAC3D was chosen as the
the entries in the longwall development. Clearly these numerical code because of its flexibility in employing a
ribsides can be viewed conceptually as pillars of infinite variety of constitutive laws and failure criteria, and also due
width. Next, this notion is tested using the model to pillars being three-dimensional structures.
employed up to now. Assuming that all parameters remain To keep the analysis relatively simple, it was assumed that
unchanged, the conditions around a single panel of span S non-linear behavior is restricted to the coal bed. It was
are examined. decided to compare results obtained using two models as
Postulate that the panel is first developed with a narrow alternatives to describe the post failure behavior of the coal.
span and then gradually widened in a manner similar to the The alternatives used were the Mohr-Coulomb and strain-
widening of the entries in the previous examples. First, the softening models. Both of these are readily available in
rearrangement of stresses and strains around the panel FLAC3D.
accompanies readily the increasing span. Notably the depth Results relating to pillars in the central region of an
of the yield zones into the ribsides increases smoothly as extensive room and pillar workings are reported on in this
seen in Figure 4. This illustration depicts a curve that is paper. As the central region is postulated to be remote from
comparable to the curves already seen in Figures 2 and 3. the boundaries of extraction, here each pillar is subjected to
Observe that there is a critical span, Sc, at which the yield identical loading conditions. Both strain-softening and
penetration curve has a singularity and this span is the Mohr-Coulomb type models have been investigated. In the
upper bound of the panel width that can be supported by the present paper there is opportunity to discuss only a small
ribsides without collapse. part of the obtained results. As in the previous section, the
This collapse is associated with instability so it could focus remains on the modes of pillar failure. Incorporation
manifest itself as a coal bump. The critical span in this of results into full longwall mine layouts is given elsewhere
(Badr 2003).

5
In this example, a 3D domain was used to simulate pillars
of square cross-section with width/height ratios of one to
eight. There are several planes of symmetry in the problem
Figure 5. Three of these were taken advantage of when
constructing the model. Two of these are obvious and a
third is not so obvious. The obvious symmetries occur at
the two perpendicular axes of the imprint of the pillar on
the floor. The third plane of symmetry is the horizontal
median plane of the pillar. Strictly speaking this is not a
symmetry plane, because the presence of stress free ground
surface but, because of the large depth, this discrepancy is
negligible. In the presence of these planes it is sufficient to
model only one eighth of the pillar. The interaction of the
modelled pillar with the surrounding room and pillar
system can be simulated through the specification of
appropriate boundary conditions. The aim of the exercise is
to determine the behaviour of the pillar both before and
after the point when its maximum resistance, that is its
strength, is overcome. Consequently the pillar must be
loaded by displacement, that is, by the uniform lowering of
the mid plane of the pillar. The room width at 6.5 m and
the height of the pillar, which was taken to be 1 m,
remained fixed throughout the runs and the various widths
to height ratios were achieved by changing the widths of
the pillars.
Loading
Entry 3.25 m
0.5 m
Coal
Cross-cut
5m
Figure 5. The room and pillar model.
Strain-Softening behavior
The load-deformation curves of pillars with varying
width/height ratios are plotted in (Figure 6). Here the mean
stress values are plotted as the function of the mean value
of pillar compression. The curves are depicted for integer
values of the width/height ratio from one to eight. This
family of curves reveals quite strong trends. All curves
show, as expected, the ascending and the descending
branches. The peak values that separate the branches
represent the pillar strengths. The strength increases
markedly with increasing width to height ratio. The strain
softening or the descending branches deform smoothly up
to about width/height ratio of three. All descending
.
6 ISRM 2003 – TECHNOLOGY ROADMAP FOR ROCK MECHANICS
Figure 6. Average pillar stress-deformation relationship
using strain softening criterion.
curves corresponding to ratios four and higher show a
pronounced drop in resistance, which is followed by
oscillations.
This behavior appears to suggest that these pillars show
instability similar to that exhibited by the intermediate
width and squat pillars examined in the previous section.
Unfortunately it is not possible to be absolutely certain
whether the same phenomenon is being observed. The
difficulty arises from the numerical nature of the solution.
While it can be expected that at the moment of instability
FLAC3D would not converge to a stable solution, however,
the possibility that a stable solution is found at some point
beyond the occurrence of a local instability cannot be
excluded.
To get a better appreciation of the behavior of these pillars
a closer examination was performed next. The stress-
deformation relations of zones along the diagonal of the
pillar were examined for different width to height ratios. In
Figures 7 and 8 the behaviors of the zones are shown for
width to height ratios of two and six, respectively. The first
of these illustrations (Figure 7) indicates that the
deformation of all zones in the narrow pillar (w/h=2) is
smooth; the curves corresponding to all zones are smooth
and well behaved. Thus, the behavior of this pillar is
similar to that observed when analyzing the narrow pillar in
the previous section employing the simplified model.
However, the curves depicting the deformation of some
diagonal zones are no longer smooth in the wider pillar
(w/h=6) (Figure 8). Over zones numbered between 10 and
15 (see Figure 9) for zone numbering sudden drop in
resistance occurs. The curves relating to the other zones
remain regular and smooth. The suddenness of the stress
drops in the easily recognizable region suggests the
presence of an underlying instability; although
unfortunately this supposition cannot be confirmed with
certainty.
 30
29
28
27
1 26
0.9 Numerals refer 25
to distance 24
23
from pillar rib in 22
Zone vertical stress (MPa x 10)

21
meters. 20
19
18
0.7 17
16
15
14
13
12
11
0.5 10
9
8
Sloughed zones 7
6
Stress-drop zones 5
0.3 Elastic zones 4
3
1 Zone number 2
0.1 1

Elastic core size changes with w/h ≅ 0.5m ≅ 1m

Zone vertical deformation (m x 10-2)

Figure 9. Behavior of zones mapped at one quarter of w/h =
5 pillar using strain softening criterion.
Figure 7. Behavior of zones across the diagonal for w/h = 2
pillar.
so striking that it is reasonable to postulate that instabilities
occur in both models.
Numerals refer to
distance from pillar Mohr-Coulomb representation of pillars
Zone vertical stress (MPa x 102)

rib in meters.
1.1
1 1.3
1.2
Zone vertical deformation (m x 10-2)
Figure 8. Behavior of zones across the diagonal for w/h = 6
pillar.
The repetition of calculations for a series of width/height
ratios reveals a repeatable pattern. Pillars of width to height
ratios 5, 6, 7, and 8 all show similar stress drops over the
same zones (Figure 9).
Geometrically this means that the region of stress drop is
essentially in a fixed position relative to an edge or a corner
of the pillar. For the sake of comparison, recall now the
depths of yield penetration from Section 3. The critical
depths of yield penetration are 3.45 m, 3.87 m and 3.89 m
for three-meters height pillars of 5, 10 and infinite width to
height ratios (note that the pillar height in Figure 9 is one
meter). While these values are not identical, they are
undoubtedly close to each other and largely independent of
the pillar’s width to height ratio. Thus, it can be said that
the instability in the simplified model also occurs in a
location that, for practical purposes, remains unaltered by
pillar geometry. Hence, the similarity between FLAC3D
results and the behavior observed in the simplified model is
For the sake of comparison, the same problems have been
recalculated by assuming that the failure of the coal is
controlled by the traditional Mohr-Coulomb criterion. A
comparison of Figures 6 and 10 reveals that the
fundamental differences which are known to exist between
the strain-softening and Mohr-Coulomb approaches
manifest themselves in the behavior of pillars as well. A
1.4
load deformation curve of a pillar obtained by employing
the strain-softening model defines a unique value for the
strength of the pillar. This strength is given by the pillar’s
peak resistance, which is the value that separates the
ascending and descending parts of the resistance curve. In
contrast, the load deformation curves obtained using the
Mohr-Coulomb model does not exhibit peak values,
because the curves do not have descending branches.
Furthermore, the load-deformation curves in Figure 10 are
all well behaved; no sign of any type of singularity can be
detected. This behavior is consistent with the properties of
the ideally plastic Mohr-Coulomb model. It would appear
therefore, that the approach to modelling which is based on
the Mohr-Coulomb concept has little or no value when the
goal of the investigation is the clarification of pillar failure.
Also, this approach cannot be of any utility if the goal is to
investigate the prospect of coal bumps.
Conclusion
In summary, a coal seam sandwiched between stratified and
elastic roof and floor masses, reveals that three different
chain pillar behaviors can be distinguished in longwall
development. The single most important factor that
influences behavior is the width to height ratio.
At low width to height ratios the pillar deformation is
controlled, the yielding zones progress towards the center

7

. at deep longwall mines. Ph .D. Thesis in preparation.
Figure 10. Average pillar stress-deformation relationship
using Mohr-Coulomb failure crieterion.
of the pillar smoothly and a pillar that is yielding
throughout its width can be created readily. If the depth of
mining is great, this fully yielding state can be reached
during the development of the entries. Hence, these narrow
units are ideal choices as yield pillars. Their only
shortcoming is that their load bearing capacity is low, so
they should be considered only in development involving
two entries. Essentially the same picture emerges, at least
qualitatively, regardless whether the results of the
simplified or FLAC3D modelling are examined.
Pillars with intermediate width to height ratios have a
number of weaknesses. Firstly, it would appear that these
pillars cannot be brought into a fully yielding state, because
their failure process becomes unstable at a certain depth of
yield penetration. This critical moment is associated with a
stage of loading which may be attained in the course of
development of the entries or only later when the load
transferred from a longwall panel becomes sufficiently
high. This instability may induce a coal bump like event
and even a total collapse of the pillar, with the concomitant
hazards of such eventualities. Ideally pillars with
intermediate width to height ratios should be employed in
situations where the depth of yield can be kept below the
critical value. This suggests that their utilization should be
restricted to coal seams under relatively shallow cover.
While squat pillars are unlikely to suffer total collapse,
they are not immune to sudden failure of their sides. For
this reason and also, because they adversely influence coal
recovery, they are not ideal as chain pillars in deep longwall
mining.
The discussion avoided the quantification of the terms
‘narrow’, ‘intermediate’ and ‘squat’. This is a deliberate
omission, which unfortunately is unavoidable at this stage
of development. It can be stated, however, observations in
the field do support the conclusions, at least in a qualitative
sense.
8 ISRM 2003 – TECHNOLOGY ROADMAP FOR ROCK MECHANICS
Acknowledgment
This publication was supported by Cooperative Agreement
number U60/CCU816929-02 from the Department of
Health and Human Services, the Center for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC). Its contents are solely the
responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily
represent the official views of the Department of Health and
Human Services, CDC. Support provided by Department
of Health and Human Services, CDC, is greatly
acknowledged. The work presented is part of the Health
and Safety research activities currently carried out at
Western Mining Resource Center (WMRC) at the Colorado
School of Mines.
References
Badr, S. A. (2003): Numerical Analysis of coal yield pillars
Department of Mining Engineering, Colorado School of
Mines, Golden, Colorado.
Cook N.G.W. (1965): The failure of rock. Int. J. Rock
Mech. Min. Sci. Vol. 2, pp. 389-403.
Deist F.H. (1965): A nonlinear continuum approach to the
problem of fractured zones and rockbursts. Jl. S. Afr. Inst.
Min. Metall. Vol. 65, pp. 502-522.
FLAC3D (2002): Itasca Inc. Minnesota, USA.
Salamon M.D.G. (1970): Stability, instability and design of
pillar workings. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Vol. 7, pp.
613-631.
Salamon M.D.G. (1991): Deformation of stratified rock
masses: A laminated model. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci.
Vol. 91, pp. 9-25.
Salamon M.D.G. (1992): Strength and stability of coal
pillars. Proceedings of the Workshop on Coal Pillar
Mechanics and Design. Santa Fe, 1992. US Bureau of
Mines, Information Circular/1992, IC 9315, pp. 94-121.
Starfield A.M. and Fairhurst C. (1968): How high-speed
computers can advance design of practical mine pillar
systems. Engineering/Mining Journal. Vol. 169, pp. 78-84.
Appendix
Summary of the data used for calculations in the two
dimensional studies, are as follows:
Modulus of the rock mass (E): 20 GPa; Modulus of the coal
seam (Es): 3 GPa; Poison ratio of coal seam (νs): 0.2;
Specific weight of the rocks (γ): 25 kPa/m; Horizontal to
vertical virgin stress ratio (k): 0.7; Working height: 2 m;
depth below surface: 700 m; Internal angle of friction (ρ):
30o; Uniaxial compressive strength (σc): 5 MPa;
Coefficient of friction (between seam and roof/floor) (µ):
tan (20o); Normalized measure of strain softening (δ): 0.05.
The negative slope is given by:
− 2δE s
E neg = = −239 MPa
(1 − 2ν s + sin 30)(1 + ν s )(1 − δ)