Research Findings on the Application of the Arch Structure Model in Coal Mining, a Review

Studying the movement law and failure mechanism of overburden is important to underground safety production, aquifer protection, surface subsidence and ecological protection. A commonly used model, the arch structure model, for studying overburden movement is systematically reviewed in this paper. First, the arch structure in the mining field is divided into an unconsolidated layer arch, beam arch (hinged arch), and overburden arch according to arching medium. On this basis, the research progress and existing problems of these three arch structure models are discussed according to the research means, including theoretical modeling, numerical simulation, similar simulation, and field measurements. The application of the arch structure model focuses on the prediction and prevention of mining pressure and surface subsidence, and there are relatively few means to actively regulate overburden arch. Thus, three control methods of the arch structure in underground coal mining are proposed: the preset arch structure method before coal mining, process control arch methods during coal mining, and end reinforcement control arch methods after coal mining. Finally, the main research focus on the arch structure model in the future is discussed.