A Fractal and Numerical Simulation Coupled Study of Fracture Network during Coal Mining Excavation

Abstract

This paper features a numerical study that is carried out by using discontinuous deformation method (DDA) and fractal geometry. The configurations of rock strata calculated by DDA were imported into a code that is written by using VC++ called “Fractal” to calculate the fractal dimension of the rock strata. As illustrated, a long wall mining case in China was presented. The relationship of the fractal dimension, excavation length, stress, and movement of strata were discussed. The evolution of fractal dimension can be considered as an index of instability or failure. The method proposed in this paper can be employed to predict the period weighting in long wall mining engineering.