Frontiers | Study on the evolution of fractures in overlying strata during repeated mining of coal seams at extremely close distances

In particular, the secondary development of overlying strata fractures can easily lead to the upper goaf, resulting in gas and water gathered in the goaf entering the working face of the lower coal seam through the overlying strata fractures, threatening the safety of coal mine production. Security risks may arise. To further understand the caving and evolution law of overlying strata during repeated mining in extremely close distance coal seam down mining, 9# coal and 10# coal in the Nanyaotou Coal Industry were used as the engineering background. The caving characteristics and fracture evolution law of overlying strata during single and repeated mining were analyzed through similar material simulation tests. Based on fractal geometry theory, the relationship between the advancing distance of the working face and the fractal dimension of the overlying strata fracture is established to reflect the changing trend of fracture development. The calculation formula is derived from the tensile rate of rock strata to predict the development height of water-conducting fractures. The results show that the overlying strata failure structure is mainly a “hinged structure” and a “step structure,” which respectively promotes and inhibits the development of overlying strata fractures. Repeated mining causes mining-induced fractures in the lower coal seam to pass through the goaf of the upper coal seam and develop more vigorously in the upper coal seam, and the fractal dimension can effectively reflect the development of overlying strata fractures. The height of the water-conducting fracture zone increases in four stages: incubation, gradual increase, further gradual increase, and stability, eventually stopping development under the influence of the key layer (thick mudstone) bearing the load above. The development height of water-conducting fractures predicted by on-site water injection measurement is similar to that predicted by simulation experiments and theoretical calculations, verifying the feasibility of predicting the development height of water-conducting fractures through simulation tests and theoretical analysis. This study provides a reference for coal seam mining under similar conditions.