TA 4121 – Underground Stability
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PILLAR DESIGN
UNDERGROUND
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
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INTRODUCTION
Introduction
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
Pillar design is one of the most important issues in the field
of underground mine ground control.
In general, there are three major steps in pillar design:
1. Determination of expected stress on the pillar
throughout its service life.
2. Determination of pillar strength.
3. Determination of Factor of Safety.
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TA 4121 – Underground Stability
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PILLAR STRESS
PILLAR STRESS
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
Pillar stress depends on a number of factors:
the in-situ stress conditions
the mining induced stress changes
the effects of geological features, such as faults and jointing
the shape and orientation of pillars
the spatial relationship between pillars and mine openings
the effects of ground water
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Room-and-Pillar
Mining Method
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
Longwall
Mining Method
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TA 4121 – Underground Stability
Pillar layout for extraction of an inclined orebody
(Brady & Brown, 2005)
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Tributary Area
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
Babcock et al. (1981) state that Bunting (1911) was the
first author to introduce the tributary area method for the
determination of average pillar stress.
Agapito (1972) however stated that the tributary area
theory stemmed from an investigation into stress analysis
utilizing photoelastic techniques
Tributary area theory assumes that a pillar will support its
“share” of the applied load.
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Tributary Area Concept
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
WO = Opening width
WP = Pillar width
LP = Pillar length
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Tributary Area Concept
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
Pillar load (P)
P ( LP WO ) (WP WO ) V
Pillar stress (sP)
( LP WO ) (WP WO ) V
P (flat seam)
( LP WP )
( LP WO ) (WP WO ) V
P (cos sin )
( LP WP )
(inclined seam, dipping q degree)
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Pariseau (1982)
1 K 0 1 K 0 cos2 1 K 0 sin 2
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
H H
P 2 P 2
1 R 1 R
sP = average normal pillar stress
tP = average shear pillar stress
g = unit weight of overburden
H = depth below surface
K0 = ratio of in-situ horizontal to vertical stress
R = extraction ratio
a = dip of seam
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Szwilski (1982)
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
LP S W f 2WP 3S
P H
2WP LP
sP = average pillar stress
g = unit weight of overburden
H = depth below surface
WP = pillar width
LP = pillar length
S = spacing of chain pillar
Wf = width of face
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TA 4121 – Underground Stability
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Szwilski (1982)
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Hedley & Grant (1972)
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
H cos 2 h sin 2
P
1 R
sP = average normal pillar stress
g = unit weight of overburden
H = depth below surface
R = extraction ratio
sh = in situ horizontal stress
a = dip of ore body
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Whittaker & Singh (1979)
9.81 w 2 cot
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
P w W H
2 w W/H < 2(tanf)
1000w 4
P 9.81w wH H 2 tan W/H > 2(tanf)
sP = average normal pillar stress
g = unit weight of overburden
f = angle of shear of roof strata at edge of longwall
extraction measured from the vertical
w = width of barrier pillar
W = width of longwall extraction
H = depth below surface
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Numerical Methods
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
Numerical methods can be used to determine pillar stress
distributions. This approach is used in situations where the
conditions around a mining scenario are sufficiently
complex that tributary area theory cannot be relied upon to
provide adequate results.
Numerical methods can also be used as a design tool.
Failure criteria and strength parameters can be utilised in
various modelling programs and the predicted rock mass
response can be analysed. Failure analysis can take place as
either a post processing routine or by an interactive
method.
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TA 4121 – Underground Stability
05
PILLAR STRENGTH
PILLAR STRENGTH
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
Empirical methods, which rely on experience, combined
with geotechnical terms related to pillar stability, to
develop a strength formula.
Theoretical methods, which are derived mathematically
to describe the expected performance of mine pillars
subject to loading for a given set of input variables.
Heuristic methods, which can generally be considered as
“rule of thumb” techniques for designing pillars that may
disregard many of the valid input parameters related to
pillar strength.
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Pillar Empirical Design Method
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
A number of empirical methods for pillar strength
determination have been developed by various
researchers:
Linear Shape Effect Formula
Power Shape Effect Formula
Size Effect Formula
Hoek & Brown Failure Criterion
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Linear Shape Effect Formula
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
w
Ps K A B
h
Ps = pillar strength
K = strength constant related to pillar material
w = pillar width
h = pillar height
A, B = empirically derived constants, A+B=1.0
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Linear Shape Effect Formula
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
w
Ps K A B
h
Source A B w/h range
Bunting (1911) 0.700 0.300 0.5-1.0
Obert & Duvall (1967) 0.778 0.222 0.5-2.0
Bieniawski (1968) 0.556 0.444 1.0-3.1
van Heerden (1974) 0.704 0.296 1.1-3.4
Bieniawski (1975) 0.64 0.36 1.0-3.1
Sorenson & Pariseau (1978) 0.693 0.307 0.5-2.0
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Linear Shape Effect Formula
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
w
Ps K A B
h
What is K?
Unconfined compressive strength of a cubical pillar
specimen (Obert & Duvall, 1967)
Unconfined compressive strength of a cubical pillar
specimen 30 cm square (Bieniawski, 1975)
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Linear Shape Effect Formula
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
(Hudyma, 1988)
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Power Shape Effect Formula
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
proposed by Zern (1926), Holland (1956), and Hazen & Artler
(1976).
w
Ps K
h
Ps = pillar strength
K = unconfined compressive strength of a 30 cm
cubical pillar specimen
w = pillar width
h = pillar height
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Size Effect Formula
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
wa
Ps K
hb
Ps = pillar strength
K = strength constant related to pillar material
w = pillar width
h = pillar height
a, b = empirically derived constants
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Size Effect Formula
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
wa
Ps K
hb
Source a b
Steart (1954) 0.5 1.0
Holland-Gaddy (1962) 0.5 1.0
Greenwald et al. (1939) 0.5 0.833
Hedley & Grant (1972) 0.5 0.75
Salamon & Munro (1967) 0.46 0.66
Bieniawski (1968) 0.16 0.55
Sheorey et al. (1987)*) 0.5 0.86
*)
slender pillars
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TA 4121 – Underground Stability
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FOS OF PILLAR
FOS of Pillar
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
Ps
FOS
P
Assumptions
The seam is subjected only to vertical pressure, which is
constant over the mined area.
Each pillar supports the column of rock over an area that is
the sum of the cross-sectional area of the pillar plus a
portion of the room area.
The load is uniformly distributed over the cross-sectional
area of the pillar.
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FOS of Pillar
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
Ps
FOS
P
However,
Stress is not evenly distributed over the cross section of an
individual pillar.
Stress on pillars increases with percentage extraction.
Stress distribution in pillars depends upon the ratio of
pillar width to pillar height.
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TA 4121 – Underground Stability
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AN EXAMPLE
Mohan et al. (2001)
h w wO Sp sp
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
Pillar ID Mine (m) (m) w/h Sp/sp Stability
(m) (MPa) (MPa)
1 Bellampalli 3.0 5.4 1.80 6.0 9.64 4.01 2.40 Stable
2 Nimcha 6.0 9.9 1.65 6.0 7.85 3.09 2.54 Stable
3 Morganpit 3.0 8.1 2.70 3.6 11.89 14.08 0.84 Stable
4 Ramnagar 2.7 9.9 3.67 6.6 8.75 5.20 1.68 Stable
5 Lachhipur 5.1 7.2 1.41 3.9 5.43 2.25 2.41 Stable
6 N. Salanpur 5.1 9.0 1.76 6.0 4.01 2.08 1.93 Stable
7 Bankola 4.8 10.1 2.10 2.4 6.92 3.90 1.77 Stable
8 Bankola 3.0 6.3 2.10 4.2 7.79 5.20 1.50 Stable
9 Surakacchar 3.5 16.0 4.57 4.0 10.07 4.14 2.43 Stable
10 Lachhipur 5.1 18.3 3.59 4.2 7.93 1.43 5.55 Stable
11 Sripur 4.8 40.0 8.33 5.0 21.73 8.41 2.58 Stable
12 E. Angarapatra 2.1 6.0 2.86 6.0 6.00 3.00 2.00 Stable
13 Kargali Incline 3.6 9.3 2.58 7.2 8.62 2.34 3.68 Stable
14 Jamaboda 6 and 7 2.0 5.8 2.90 5.5 8.60 7.59 1.13 Stable
15 Topsi 1.8 7.0 3.89 3.9 12.83 5.15 2.49 Stable
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Mohan et al. (2001)
h w wO Sp sp
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
Pillar ID Mine (m) (m) w/h Sp/sp Stability
(m) (MPa) (MPa)
16 Amritnagar 4.5 3.6 0.80 5.7 6.85 5.01 1.37 Failed
17 Amritnagar 6.0 3.6 0.60 5.4 5.93 4.68 1.27 Failed
18 Begonia 3.0 3.9 1.30 6.0 5.07 5.80 0.87 Failed
19 Amlai 5.4 4.5 0.83 4.5 3.49 3.61 0.97 Failed
20 Sendra Bansjora 8.1 4.7 0.57 5.6 2.59 2.77 0.94 Failed
21 W. Chirimiri 3.8 5.4 1.44 6.0 8.15 8.12 1.00 Failed
22 Birsingpur 3.6 7.5 2.08 6.0 8.11 10.45 0.78 Failed
23 Pure Kajora 3.6 5.4 1.50 6.0 6.23 6.02 1.03 Failed
24 Pure Kajora 3.6 5.0 1.38 6.5 6.08 7.43 0.82 Failed
25 Shankarpur 4.8 4.5 0.94 4.5 5.46 4.20 1.30 Failed
26 Ramnagar 1.8 2.9 1.58 3.2 6.43 7.76 0.83 Failed
27 Ramnagar 1.8 3.0 1.67 3.6 6.48 6.17 1.05 Failed
28 Kankanee 6.6 19.8 3.00 4.2 6.98 5.88 1.19 Failed
29 Kankanee 8.4 18.6 2.21 5.4 5.03 5.83 0.86 Failed
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2016 IJRMMS Publications on Pillar
1. An approach to model the strength of coal pillars
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
R. Bertuzzi, K. Douglas, G. Mostyn
2. Stability of a coal pillar for strip mining based on an elastic-
plastic analysis
W. Gao W, M. Ge
3. Back analysis of a pillar monitoring experiment at 2.4 km
depth in the Sudbury Basin, Canada
G. Walton, M. Diederichs, A. Punkkinen, J. Whitmore
4. Numerical investigation of coal pillar failure under
simultaneous static and dynamic loading.
S-L. Wang, S-P Hao, Y. Chen, J-B. Bai, X-Y. Wang, Y. Xu
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2016 IJRMMS Publications on Pillar
5. Rib/snook design in mechanised depillaring of
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
rectangular/square pillars
R. Singh, A. Kumar, A.K. Singh, J. Coggan, S. Ram
6. Average vertical stress on irregular elastic pillars estimated
by a function of the relative extraction ratio
T. Hauquin, O. Deck, Y. Gunzburger
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2015 IJRMMS Publications on Pillar
1. Longwall chock sudden closure incident below coal pillar of
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
adjacent upper mined coal seam under shallow cover in the
Shendong coalfield
J. Ju, J. Xu, W. Zhu
2. Influence of backfill on coal pillar strength and floor
bearing capacity in weak floor conditions in the Illinois
Basin
T. Kostecki, A.J.S. Spearing
3. Stability assessment of stope sequence scenarios in a
diminishing ore pillar
S. Shnorhokian, H.S. Mitri, L. Moreau-Verlaan
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2014 IJRMMS Publications on Pillar
1. Study on the width of the non-elastic zone in inclined coal
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
pillar for strip mining
G. Wei
2. Modelling 3D crack propagation in hard rock pillars using a
synthetic rock mass approach
Y. Zhang, D. Stead
3. Predicting the stability of hard rock pillars using
multinomial logistic regression
R.K. Wattimena
4. Strength reduction on saturation of coal and coal measures
rocks with implications for coal pillar strength
B.A. Poulsen, B. Shen, D.J. Williams, C. Huddlestone-Holmes,
N. Erarslan, J. Qin
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2014 IJRMMS Publications on Pillar
5. Investigation and analysis of the rock burst mechanism
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
induced within fault–pillars
Z. Li, L. Dou, W. Cai, G. Wang, J. He, S. Gong, Y. Ding
6. Field investigation of long-term bearing capacity of strip
coal pillars
S. Chen, W. Guo, H. Zhou, B. Shen, J. Liu
7. An intelligent approach to predict pillar sizing in designing
room and pillar coal mines
E. Ghasemi, M. Ataei, K. Shahriar
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2013 IJRMMS Publications on Pillar
1. Fracturing of an Euler–Bernoulli beam in coal mine pillar
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
extraction
C.P. Please, D.P. Mason, C.M. Khalique, J.M.T. Ngnotchouye,
A.J. Hutchinson, J.N. van der Merwe, H. Yilmaz
2. Web pillar design approach for Highwall Mining extraction
J.L. Porathur, S. Karekal, P. Palroy
3. Subsidence risk assessment of decommissioned bord-and-
pillar collieries
B.A. Poulsen, B. Shen
4. Developing coal pillar stability chart using logistic
regression
R.K. Wattimena, S. Kramadibrata, I.D. Sidi, M.A. Azizi
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2013 IJRMMS Publications on Pillar
5. Determination of the minimum thickness of crown pillar
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
for safe exploitation of a subsea gold mine based on
numerical modelling
X. Li, D. Li, Z. Liu, G. Zhao, W. Wang
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2012 IJRMMS Publications on Pillar
1. Stability of the parting between coal pillar workings in
TA 4121 – Underground Stability
level contiguous seams during depillaring
R. Singh, S.K. Singh, A. Kushwaha, A. Sinha
2. Assessment of roof fall risk during retreat mining in room
and pillar coal mines
E. Ghasemi, M. Ataei, K. Shahriar, F. Sereshki, S.E. Jalali, A.
Ramazanzadeh
3. Measuring pillar width in trona mines using a body wave
based in-seam seismic technique
M. Ge, H. Wang, A. Schissler, R. Ramani
4. A probabilistic extension to the empirical ALPS and ARMPS
systems for coal pillar design
D. Recio-Gordo, R. Jimenez
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