Modeling of time dependent subsidence for coal and ore deposits

Abstract

Coal and ore underground mining generates subsidence and deformation of the land surface. Those deformations may cause damage to buildings and infrastructures. The environmental impact of subsidence will not be accepted in the future by the society in many countries. Especially there, where the mining regions are densely urbanized, the acceptance of the ground deformations decreases every year. The only solution is to limit the subsidence or its impact on the infrastructure. The first is not rentable for the mining industry, the second depends on the precise subsidence prediction and good preventing management involved in the mining areas. The precision of the subsidence prediction depends strictly on the mathematical model of the deformation phenomenon and on the uncertainty of the input data. The subsidence prediction in the geological conditions of the raw materials used to be made on the basis of numerical modeling or the stochastic models. A modified solution of the stochastic model by Knothe will be presented in the paper. The author focuses on the precise description of the deposit shape and on the time dependent displacements of the rock mass. A two parameters’ time function has been introduced in the algorithm.