GIS-Based Computational Method for Simulating the Components of 3D Dynamic Ground Subsidence during the Process of Undermining

Most research has focused on using the subsidence prediction method to calculate final movement at the center line above mining operations and assess the surface structural damage without taking into account the dynamic extraction process. Nevertheless, the occurrence of subsidence caused by underground mining has three-dimensional (3D) time-dependent components of movement in which each of these components has a different effect on the types of structures subject to subsidence. In this paper, a new computational method is proposed to calculate 3D dynamic subsidence during the process of undermining by combining the stochastic theory, the Knothe model, and the Geographic Information System (GIS). A case of 3D dynamic modeling was simulated for a rapid undermining scenario to demonstrate the effect of different advancing mining faces on the development of traveling strain. In addition, an application of the GIS-based method to actual field conditions in coal-mining subsidence in China is presented in this paper. Because GIS functions are implemented greatly in the prediction model, the 3D dynamic movement during undermining can be simulated effectively and efficiently. (c) 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.