Process of overburden failure in steeply inclined multi-seam mining: insights from physical modelling

Ground surface damage caused by steeply inclined coal seam mining is widely distributed in China, but there is little research on the failure process and movement mechanism of strata induced by steeply inclined multi-seam mining. In this paper, a physical model test is carried out to study the failure process and movement mechanism of overburden in steeply inclined multi-seam stepwise mining. The results show that at the initial stage, the main failure of the rock mass is the small-scale collapse at the initial cut and the roof (stability stage of the rock mass). After the roof is exposed over a certain range, the rock mass in the downhill direction slips into the goaf and gradually destroys the interburdens of the goaf, similar to the displacement effect of dominoes (severe failure stage of the rock mass). When the structure of the goaf fails, the overburden subsides, causing extensive damage to the ground surface. The surface damage directly above the goaf is mainly caused by serious subsidence deformation, while the surface damage in the downhill direction is dominated by cracks.