Introduction to the

Subject
 Tentative Teaching Plan
Introduction to the course 01 d
Common ground control problems in coal mines 01 d
Types of failures in Underground openings and their classification 01 d
Detection, Prediction and of prevention 01 d
Ground control problems associated with long wall mining. 01 d
First caving, periodic caving, roof fall due to different mining and geological factors 01 d
Ground control in long wall mining 01 D
Factors affecting panel layout. Immediate roof, main roof and sequence of overburden 01 d
movement in long wall panel
Abutment pressures, Problems associated with long wall mining 01 d
Design of face support props 02 dd
 Tentative Teaching Plan
Classification of powered supports, their performance and design guidelines, advantages and 02 d
disadvantages, applicability of powered supports. d 13
Design of the cycle of face advance 01 d
Design of rib pillar 02 d d
Design of gallery supports. 01 d
Design of wooden gallery sets. (Design of Cap and post) 02 dd
Design of rigid arches. 02 dd
Design of articulated arches 02dd
Design of yield arches. 01 d
Stowing and its Importance. 01d
Application of stowing. Design of hydraulic stowing 02dd
Concrete supports and it’s Importance. 01 d
Constituents of concrete. Engineering characteristics of concrete 01d
 Tentative Teaching Plan
Application of concrete members in mines. Design of concrete. 01 d30
Slump test for fresh concrete. Crushing test of concrete cubes/cylinders 01 d
Ground control in multiple seam mining. 01 d
Types of interactions in multiple seam mining and their controlling parameters. 01 d
Design guidelines and optimum mining plans in multiple seam mining. 01 d
Bumps & Surface subsidence 02
Rock Bolting 01
Types of rock bolts and their application to various mining conditions. 02
Design of rock bolts. 02
Monitoring performance of roof bolts. 01
Course Learning Outcomes:
After completing the "Strata Control" course, each student will be able to:

Taxonomy Linking to
CLO No. Description
Level PLOs
Assess the rock mass behavior above longwall
operations and prediction of surface subsidence due to
CLO-1 underground mining activities C4 PLO-2

Design of support system in underground mines

2. Strata Control in Mineral Engineering. By Z.T. Bieniawski.

3. Rock Mechanics for Underground Mining By B.H.G. Brady and E.T. Brown.

4. Practical Handbook for Underground Rock Mechanics By T.R. Stacey.

o Strata control is the science (some would suggest art) of utilizing various
techniques to prevent or control failure of the strata around mine openings at least
for the period where access is required.
 • Characteristics of Coal Measure Roof Strata
• Cover - The overburden of any deposit.
•Overburden – Layers of soil and rock covering a coal seam.
after the coal is taken from the seam.
•Lithology - The character of a rock described in terms of its
arrangement of its component parts; all those visible features
is the basis of correlation in coal mines and commonly is
• Bed - A stratum of coal or other sedimentary deposit.
• Roof overhead surface of a coal
working place. Same as "back" or
“top”.
 • Characteristics of Coal Measure Roof Strata
• Fissure - An extensive crack, break, or fracture in the rocks.
•Fracture - A general term to include any kind of discontinuity in a body of rock if
produced by mechanical failure, whether by shear stress or tensile stress.
Fractures include faults, shears, joints, and planes of fracture cleavage.
• Joint
• A discontinuity in the rock strata where there is no sign of relative movement.
•A divisional plane or surface that divides a rock and along which there has been
no visible movement parallel to the plane or surface.
• Cleat
•The vertical and Parallel cleavage planes or partings crossing the bedding. The
main set of joints along which the coal breaks more easily than in any other
direction.
•Face cleat - The principal cleavage plane or joint at right angles to the
stratification of the coal seam.
 • Characteristics of Coal Measure Roof Strata
• Immediate Roof
•The roof strata that is immediately above the coal seam. This is the
strata requires support for the mine openings to remain competent.
•Primary roof - The main roof above the immediate top. Its thickness
may vary from a few to several thousand feet.
•Secondary roof - The roof strata immediately above the coalbed,
requiring support during the excavating of coal.
•Competent rock - Rock which, because of its physical and geological
characteristics, is capable of sustaining openings without any structural
support except pillars and walls left during mining (stalls, light props, and
roof bolts are not considered structural support).
• Characteristics of Coal Measure Roof Strata
• Butt cleat - A short, poorly defined vertical cleavage plane in a coal
seam, usually at right angles to the long face cleat.
• Slickenside - A smooth, striated, polished surface produced on rock by
friction.
• Slip - A fault. A smooth joint or crack where the strata have moved
oneach other.
• Fault - A slip-surface between two portions of the earth's surface that
have moved relative to each other. A fault is a failure surface and is
evidence of severe earth stresses.
• Fault zone - A fault, instead of being a single clean fracture, may be a
zone hundreds or thousands of feet wide. The fault zone consists of
numerous interlacing small faults or a confused zone of gouge, breccia,
or mylonite.