INVESTIGATING INTO COAL MINE PILLAR DESIGN

PRACTICES –AN INDIAIAN PERSPECTIVE

Nirajkumar Nawghade
Student, Dept. of Mining Engineering, Rajiv Gandhi College of Engineering Research and Technology Chandrapur
[email protected]

Abstract
Mining is an art of extracting valuable mineral resources or other geological materials from the earth crust,
usually from an ore body, vein or coal seam with minimum unit cost within acceptable social, legal, and
regulatory constraints. Underground Mine Pillar is the structural element and form an integral part of a mine on
which the stability of the mine depends. A pillar support is intended to control rock mass displacement right
through the zone of influence of mining, while mining activities proceeds. If pillars are made too small
increasing the extraction percentage, it would affect the stability of the mine and vice-versa. An economic design
of a support system implies that ore/coal committed to pillar support be minimum, while fulfilling the vital
requirements of assuring the global stability of the mine structure. This paper critically reviews the different
practices of pillar design followed around the world in general and evaluates the existing practices of an Indian
mine in particular.

Keywords- Mine Pillars, Pillar Stress, Pillar Strength, Safety Factor, Tributary Area

1. INTRODUCTION
Exploration and exploitation of coal has been a major activity of any nation since ages. Mining sector has
always been a driving force in our country‟s development. Despite the increase in relative importance of opencast
and longwall mining methods, bord and pillar mining is likely to remain an important method of coal extraction for
many years to come more so as the opencast mines go deeper and deeper. Compared with the other methods of coal
extraction, it offers the advantages of great operational flexibility, relative freedom in the sequence of seam
extraction, insensitivity to local and regional geological disturbances, maintenance of the integrity of the roof strata
and surface, and, finally, low capital intensity. The last-mentioned point is particularly important in an environment
of expansion.

The crucial aspect of bord and pillar mining is the design of pillars. The design of pillars not only affects
the support of the overburden but also determines the percentage of extraction and lives of the persons working
underneath. The shape and size effect of the pillar also plays an important role. Various geotechnical factors like
depth of mining, inclination of seam, insitu properties of coal, height of working and gallery width are taken into
consideration while designing of a pillar.

The load/stress on the pillar in India is generally calculated using Tributary Area Method and Pillar
Strength are determined through various Empirical Approaches. The ratio of strength of pillar to the stress on the
pillar gives the safety factor (F.O.S). In this paper few geotechnical factors of a nearby underground coal mine has
been determined in the laboratory. Different approaches of pillar design have been compared. Variation of safety
factors with width to height ratio of pillar, extraction percentage and depth of cover has been determined and
conclusion has been made.
2. MINE PILLARS

2.1 Type of Pillars in Mining

Function of Pillars in Coal Mines in coal mining, as in any other underground mining operation, two
different categories of pillars are encountered:
a. Support pillars and
b. Protective pillars.
The differences between the two categories of pillars are often not clearly visible, and there are indeed a number
of instances when pillars fulfill both requirements. However, there are a number of significant differences in the
design of the two types of pillars.

Mine Pillar

Slenderness
Function Shape
(W/H)

Pillars In Pillars In
Slander* Square
Coal Mines Hard Rock Mines

Protective Sill Intermediate** Rectangular

Rib/
Crown Squat*** Rib
Barrier

Developement Protective Irreagular

Production Post Diamond

Chain Yield

* W/H < 3, ** 3<W/H < 6, *** W/H >6

Figure 1. Flowchart Showing Different Types of Mine Pillars

2.2 Support Pillars

Support pillars can be divided into two classes: pillars that provide local support, and pillars that provide
regional support. However, pillars often provide both local and regional support. A good example of this is a
conventional bord-and-pillar mining layout that has been designed at a high safety factor. Local-support pillars have
often only temporary use and are extracted once they have fulfilled their purpose. The concept of yielding support
pillars falls into this category and requires further elaboration. Barrier and wide inter-panel pillars are typical
examples of pillars that provide regional support.

2.3 Protective Pillars

In the course of mining, it often becomes essential to protect underground and surface structures from the
effects of mining. One of the practical means of achieving this is to leave portions of the coal seam unmined to form
protective pillars. The design criteria for these pillars depend largely on the nature of the structure that needs to be
protected. In the case of surface structures, the design criterion is based on the magnitude of the surface movements
and strains that can be tolerated by the structure. In the case of underground structures such as bunkers, pump
stations, service excavations, etc., it is usually the magnitude of the stresses that determines the size of protective
pillars
3. STATUTORY GUIDELINE FROM COAL MINE REGULATION 1957
In India, the dimensions of pillars and the width and height of galleries are regulated by Govt of India i.e.
DGMS vide its Regulation 99 of Coal Mines Regulation 1957 (Table 2.1 & 2.2). The width of galleries should not
exceed 4.8 m and the height of the galleries should not exceed 3 m. For width of galleries ranging from 3 m to 4.8
m, the dimensions of pillars for various depths of working are given below:

Table 1: Gallery width with respect to pillar distance (centre to centre)

It may be seen that the pillar size increases with the increase in depth as well as with the galleries. As the
depth of the working increases the strata pressure increases, the rate of increase being 0.2306 kg/ /unit meter
depth in Indian coalfields. Logically, therefore, to support the increased strata pressure, the size of the pillars must
be increased with depth. With the increased in width of gallery, the percentage extraction is increased which in turn
results in greater strata pressure per unit area of solid pillar. To counteract that, the size of the pillars again requires
to be increased with the increase in the width of the galleries. Percentage extraction in development at different
depths is tabulated below:

Table 2: Percentage of extraction with respect to gallery width

4. PILLAR DESIGN METHODOLOGY

4.1 Basic Principle of Pillar Design

Pillar design and its stability is one of the most complicated and extensive mining problems related to rock
mechanics and ground control subjects. Designing of Mine Pillars have been investigated for a long time, to date
only a limited understanding of the subject has been gained. Prior to this, the dimensions of a pillar were largely
determined by experience based on trial and error, intuition, or established rules of thumb; any research available
tended to be isolated and sporadic.

The difficulties in designing arise from the conflicting requirement that, on the one hand, the size of the
coal pillars should be as small as possible to minimize the losses of coal reserves, while, on the other hand, the
pillars should remain stable. The design problem is complicated further by the complex loading conditions of coal
pillars both locally and regionally, and the natural variations in the properties of the coal seams and surrounding
rock strata.

Pillar loading is of three types:

a. Preliminary loading or loading immediately following excavation of opening;

b. Subsequent loading or the abutment (Front, sides and back abutments) and
c. Progressive failure theory for post-mining loadings.

The “classic” methods consisted of three steps:

a. Estimating the pillar load using tributary area theory;
b. Estimating the pillar strength using a pillar strength formula, and;
c. Calculating the pillar "safety factor"(SF).

4.2 Pillar Stress Determination

The determination of the actual stresses acting on a pillar is difficult. As mentioned previously, the
pillar stress depends on a number of factors which include: The in-situ stress conditions, the mining induced stress
changes, the effects of geological features, such as faults and jointing, the shape and orientation of pillars, the spatial
relationship between pillars and mine openings, the effects of ground water.
Only one methods of calculating pillars stress are described here i.e. Tributary Area Method.

4.2.1 Estimating the Pillar Load using Tributary Area Theory

Tributary area theory assumes that a pillar will support its "share" of the applied load. According to this
concept, a pillar takes the weight of overlying rock up to a distance of half the opening width surrounding it. The
theory assumes that each pillar carries a proportionate share of the full overburden load. The two big issues were the
“size effect” and the “shape effect.” Tributary area theory is applicable to situations where similarly sized pillars are
developed in a large regular array and is not particularly applicable to: Irregular and dipping deposits, In-consistent
or irregular mining patterns, Complex triaxial stress fields.

Figure 1:- Geometry for tributary area analysis of pillars in uniaxial loading. (after Brady and Brown, 1985)
 Tributary area theory has been used with the greatest success in horizontally bedded deposits which are
uniforms and cover a large area, such as horizontally bedded coal deposits or room-and-pillar mines. The below
equations estimating average axial pillar stress for Square/rectangular pillars and inclined pillars respectively.

In the figure 1, „c‟ and „b‟ are widths of the opening and pillar respectively, while „a‟ is the length of the
pillar. For square pillars, a= c.
The Average axial Pillar Stress ( ) (MPa) is given by

In case of inclined seams the formula for stress on the pillar is

Where,
θ = angle of inclination and m = Poisson‟s ratio

Tributary area theory has also been referred to as the extraction ratio formula. The stress on the pillar can
be approximated based on the ratio of the amount of extraction around an array of pillars. Tributary area theory can
be written, in this case.

Where, R is the Extraction Ratio

Figure 2 Variation of pillar stress concentration factor with area extraction ratio.

The principal observation from the plot is the high incremental change in pillar stress level, for small
change in extraction ratio, when operating at high extraction ratio. For example, a change in r from 0.90 to 0.91
changes the pillar stress concentration factor from 10.00 to 11.11. The above discussion indicates that the factors
influencing pillar load are:
a. Depth – the deeper the mining, the higher the load,
b. Pillar width – the smaller the pillar, the higher the load,
c. Bord width – the wider the bord, the higher the load, and
d. Extraction ratio- The higher the extraction, the higher the pillar load.

4.3 Pillar Strength Determination

For pillar strength determination four approaches have been discussed in brief here are as follows:

4.3.1 Obert & Duvall (1967)

Obert & Duvall (1967) reported data from a series of compressive strength tests performed by Obert et al.
(1946) on specimen coal pillars of varying shapes (width/height ratios). They determined that given below equation
could be used to estimate coal pillar strength. They suggest that the strength term "K" that should be used in this
formula is the strength of a specimen of pillar material with a width/height ratio of one. This formula does not
include a term to account for the size effect on strength
( )

Where, S is the Strength of the Pillar (MPa), is unconfined compressive strength specimen forming rock (MPa),
is the Width of Pillar in meters and h is the height of Working in meters.

4.3.2 Bieniawski (1975)

Bieniawski (1975) concluded, based on tests of large scale coal specimens, that the strength of coal pillars
could be described by Equation 5. This formula was a result of per mining in-situ tests on large scale coal
specimens over a period of eight years. A total of 66 in-situ tests were performed on samples that varied in side
length from 0.6 to 20 metres and had width/height ratios varying from 05 to 3.4 Bieniawski (1968) originally
proposed that empirical constants of 0.556 and 0.444, given below equation could be used to describe pillar
strength.

( )
Where, S is the Strength of the Pillar (MPa), is unconfined compressive strength specimen forming rock
(MPa), is the Width of Pillar in meters and h is the height of Working in meters.

4.3.3 Salamon & Munro (1967)

Salamon & Munro (1967) conducted an investigation into the strength of square pillars in South African coal
mines. An observation represented a mine or portion of a mine, where mining dimensions were essentially constant
and pillars were square in cross-section. The database consisted of 125 case histories, of which 98 cases were
classified as "stable" and 27 cases were classified as "collapsed". Pillar loads were calculated using tributary area
theory. Statistical analysis on this data yielded the empirical strength constants presented in Table 3 for the "Size
Effect Formula"
It can be said without hesitation that the design procedures that were proposed by Salamon in 1967 and that
have been generally adopted by the coal-mining industry are by far the most advanced of all known design methods.

lb/

MPa
Where,
S is Strength of Pillar is expressed in psi and MPa and Pillar dimensions are in ft. and m in English and SI
units respectively

The benefit of this work is that the data used to determine the strength relationship was obtained from
actual mine pillar case histories as reported by mine operators. It should be noted that Salamon & Munro (1967)
used one coal strength constant "K" for all of the pillar case histories in the database. This value was determined
statistically from all of the case histories in the database without reference to the actual intact coal strength at each
mining operation.

Group Stable Collapsed

Number Cases 98 27
Depth (feet) 65-720 70-630
Pillar Height (feet) 4-16 5-18
Pillar Width (feet) 9-70 11-52
Extraction Ratio 37-89 45-91
Pillar Width/Height ratio 1.2-8.8 0.9-3.6
Table 3: Salamon & Munro (1967) database summary for compiled case histories

4.3.4 Central Mining Research Institute (CMRI) Formula (Dr. Sheorey et al. (1987))

Sheorey et al. (1987) investigated stable and failed pillars for coal mines in India and proposed an empirical
strength formula as presented in below equation. The database is comprised of 23 failed and 20 Stable pillar
observations. The also proposed a second strength formula for slender pillars (pillar width/ height ratio less than 4)
as presented in below equation.
Pillar stresses for the majority of the pillar case histories used to derive these formulae were calculated
using tributary area theory. Numerical modeling was used to calculate pillar stresses for the remaining pillar case
histories.

+* +( )

For Slender Pillars

√

Where, S is Pillar strength (in MPa), σc is uniaxial compressive strength, UCS (in MPa), h is working height or
seam height (in m), H is Depth of cover (in m), w is Pillar width (in m)

4.4 Safety Factor Determination

The function of pillars in mining is to maintain the stability of adjacent strata for the design life of the pillars.
Equation is the primary, although simplistic, from of the pillar strength equation. The premise that when
pillar stress exceeds pillar strength, a pillar fails, forms the basis of all strength formula. The factor of safety can
subsequently be used to compensate for errors in estimation of the input parameters used within the
strength formula. This requires that strength and stress estimates be determined with the associated variability in
each.

4.5 Assumptions
The above approach of pillar design incorporates the following assumptions:

a. The seam is subjected only to vertical pressure, which is constant over the mined area. However, stress
transfer occurs where stiff abutments exist in underground workings. Thus this vertical pressure may be
relieved partially.
b. Each pillar supports the column of rock over an area that is the sum of the cross-sectional area of the pillar
plus a portion of the room area, the latter being equally shared by all neighboring pillars. However, this is
certainly not valid if the area of development is small since the pillars in the centre of the excavation are
under more stress than the pillars close to the sides. It is usually only accepted as valid if the mined-out area
is greater than the depth below surface.
c. It is assumed that the load is uniformly distributed over the cross-sectional area of the pillar. However,
research has shown that: The stress is not evenly distributed over the cross section of an individual pillar,
the maximum stress occurring at the corners formed by the intersection of three orthogonal planes, that is,
two sidewalls of the pillar and the roof or the floor. The stress on pillars increases with percentage
extraction. The stress distribution in pillars depends upon the ratio of pillar width to pillar height.

5. CASE STUDIES AND FIELD DATA ANALYSIS

Data is collected from Underground mines of Durgapur Rayatwari Colliery Mine No. 4, of Chandrapur
Area, and Ballarpur Colliery ¾ Pits, Ballarpur Area, of Western Coalfields Limited. Generalized data such as
Thickness of seam , Direction of Seam, Working height , Gradient , Depth cover, Pillar dimension, Shape of Pillars,
Gallery width, Slenderness Ratio, Geological Disturbances, Extraction Ratio, Overburden specific gravity etc. which
we crucial for studying pillar design for existing pillar later on samples were collected from different seams to
calculate compressive strength of the coal to interpret results.
The parameters of the mines are known and the Pillar Stress is calculated using Tributary area method and
using CMRI and Salamon Munro approach Pillar Strength is calculated for particular mines and comparison is been
made and conclusions are derived.

CMRI Salamon Munro

Pillar
Pillar Avg. pillar Safety Pillar strength Safety
Depth (m) W/H Ratio strength
width (m) stress (MPa) factor (MPa) factor
(MPa)
24 15.8 5.266 1.000 6.240 6.24 12.41 12.41

40 15.8 5.266 1.667 6.513 3.91 12.41 7.45

60 17.8 5.933 2.474 7.680 3.10 13.11 5.30

80 20.8 6.933 3.120 9.395 3.01 14.08 4.51

100 25.8 8.600 3.651 12.20 3.34 15.55 4.26

120 30.8 10.267 4.184 15.27 3.65 16.87 4.03
Table 4- Safety factors obtained using Salamon Munro and CMRI formula for Durgapur Rayatwari Colliery Mine
No. 4, Chandrapur Area, Western Coalfields Limited.

14
12
Safety Factor

10
8
6 Salamon Munro
4
2 CMRI
0
0 50 100 150
Depth in Meters

Fig 3 Graph Shown safety factor with respect to Salamon-Munro vs. CMRI for Durgapur Rayatwari Colliery Mine
No. 4, Chandrapur Area

CMRI Salamon Munro

Depth Pillar width Avg. pillar
Pillar strength Safety Pillar strength Safety
W/h Ratio stress
(m) (m) (MPa) factor (MPa) factor
(MPa)
100 26 8.66 3.71 12.77 3.44 15.56 4.19
125 26 8.66 4.64 13.54 2.91 15.56 3.35
150 26 8.66 5.57 14.31 2.56 15.56 2.79
175 30 9.33 6.37 17.34 2.72 16.10 2.52
200 30 9.33 7.28 18.24 2.50 16.10 2.21
240 30 10.0 8.57 19.68 2.29 16.62 1.94
 Table 5- Safety factors obtained using Salamon Munro and CMRI formula for Ballarpur Colliery ¾ Pits, Ballarpur
Area, of Western Coalfields Limited.

5
4

Safety Factor
3
2 CMRI
1 Salamon Munro
0
0 100 200 300
Depth in Meters

Fig 4 Graph Shown safety factor with respect to Salamon-Munro vs. CMRI for Ballarpur Colliery ¾ Pits, Ballarpur
Area, of Western Coalfields Limited.
Table 4 and 5 shows the data revealed and a graph (Figure 3 and 4) is plotted for comparing safety factor for both.
The working width and height was taken from 4.2 m to 4.5 m and 3 m respectively.

Depth Pillar width Safety Factors

(m) (m) CMRI Salamon Munro
24 15.8 6.24 12.41
40 15.8 3.91 7.45
60 17.8 3.10 5.30
80 20.8 3.01 4.51
100 25.8 3.34 4.26
120 30.8 3.65 4.03
Average Safety Factor 3.88 6.33

Table 6- Average Safety factors for Durgapur Rayatwari Colliery Mine No. 4, Chandrapur Area, Western Coalfields
Limited.

Depth Pillar width Safety Factor

(m) (m)
CMRI Salamon Munro

100 26 3.44 4.19

125 26 2.91 3.35

150 26 2.56 2.79

175 28 2.72 2.52

200 28 2.50 2.21

240 30 2.29 1.94

Average Safety Factor 2.73 2.83

Table 5- Average Safety factors Ballarpur Colliery ¾ Pits, Ballarpur Area, of Western Coalfields Limited.
6. CONCLUSION
As this was not a detailed study carried by us regarding revealing pillar design practices for neighbouring
mines and finding out the status of the existing /standing pillar of mines the following point can be concluded.

a. Mine pillar for all mines are designed accordingly keeping in mind CMR 1957 Reg No. 99.
b. Safety factor for Shallow depth Mine Pillar according to CMRI Approach is around 3 to 7 and by Salamon
Munro approach is far more which ranges from 4 to 13.
c. Safety factor for deepest workings Mine Pillar according to CMRI Approach is around 2.90 to 3.50 and by
Salamon Munro approach is far more which ranges from 1.90 to 4.03.
d. Looking at the average Safety factor for all mines is lies at 3.30 by CMRI approach and 4.58 by Salamon
Munro approach.

As this was not a detailed study carried by us regarding revealing pillar design practices for neighbouring
mines we can suggest that the mine pillars are over safe. There may be certain reason stated below.

a. Some mines lie below the habitats, villages or railways lines

b. Some pillars have to stay for a longer period and even for whole life of the mine.
c. Some are protective pillar which are specially designed for protecting surface structures etc.

Designing of pillar by keeping in views the Safety factor around 2 by CMRI approach would have possibly
resulted in better extraction percentage for the mines during development stage of mines and also resulting in higher
OMS. A detail investigation might preferably be done by competent authority and a better conclusion can be drawn
regarding these issues after inspecting the current physical health of pillars and also considering the impact of creep
characteristics of the pillar in question.

REFERENCES
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[2] Mark, C., 1981-2006, “The evolution if intelligent coal pillar design”,pp.: 2-4.
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Chapter 12, pp.367-386
[6] Singh T. N, “Thick Seam Mining” Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd.” Chapter 7, pp. 243-296.
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