238 / 2023-09-29 19:08:32

Development law and prevention methods of mining-induced ground cracks: A review

mining subsidence, ground cracks, development law, prevention methods, ecological protection

Mining-induced ground cracks in coal mining areas are the root cause of destroying the ecological environment and threatening the safety of people’s lives and property. In order to realize the sustainable development of the mining environment and resource development, it is of great significance to clarify the formation mechanism, type, development law, research methods, and prevention methods of ground cracks. In this paper, the mining-induced ground cracks are classified for different research purposes (mechanical causes, combination modes, morphological characteristics, distribution location, and whether it is connected with the water-conducting fracture zone). Summarized the relevant research methods; the research progress of the development law of different mining-induced ground cracks is systematically reviewed, and the influencing factors are summarized. The particularity of the development law of ground cracks in the aeolian sand area of the western mining area in China is analyzed (double cycle). At the same time, the prevention methods of mining-induced ground cracks are explored, and the schemes of coal seam space-time coordinated mining technology, mining parameter optimization technology, stability improvement technology of the overlying strata structure, mining while repairing technology, and ground crack treatment technology are given. The protection of surface buildings and the ecological environment is considered during coal mining. The results show that the evolution law and formation mechanism of mining-induced ground cracks is affected by various geological and mining factors, showing complexity, diversity, and unity, and the research methods have their limitations. The mining damage reduction technology and ecological restoration technology are not perfect. On this basis, we propose a monitoring and analysis systems for mining-induced ground cracks, which can better realize real-time monitoring, data processing, and later analysis of ground cracks. It is suggested to make further efforts in the seven aspects: the integration of multiple technical means of mining-induced ground cracks, the development of the geotechnical constitutive model, the quantitative description of the evolution process, the formation mechanism of dynamic ground cracks, the construction of mechanical model considering the physical characteristics of soil, the rapid processing of ground crack statistics and the improvement of prevention methods, to better understand the complex behavior of ground cracks in coal mining areas and provide theoretical reference for land ecological restoration.