ABSTRACT
Coal burst is a high safety and production risk in underground coal mines. It involves a sudden release of strain energy stored within the coal or rock mass due to the disturbance of an unstable state of equilibrium. To improve our understanding of coal burst, it is important to quantify the energy transition involved in this dynamic failure process, since energy sources that cause coal burst are highly complex. This paper provides an overview of progress on understanding coal burst mechanisms, particularly in evaluating two of the energy components associated with coal burst, strain energy and gas expansion energy, using analytical and numerical modelling. Energy release, particularly research on cleating and jointing, is also assessed for a clear understanding of the energy transition process. The energy requirements of the ground support system for coal burst control are then discussed. The paper reports our progress on a multi-element coal burst research in Australia mostly funded by ACARP.
