Abstract:
Fracture structures and roof fracture surfaces play a significant controlling role in the development of coal mine geological hazards. This study applies the grid method and pixel coverage method from fractal theory to analyze the fractal characteristics of fracture structures and roof fracture surface rocks in the Huaibei Coalfield, Sulin Mining Area, and Renlou Coal Mine. The results show that the fracture structures in the mining area exhibit good self-similarity. The fractal dimension values of the fracture structures in the Huaibei Coalfield, Sulin Mining Area, and Renlou Coal Mine are 1.6629, 1.6044, and 1.4032, respectively. The fractal dimension values of the fracture structures decrease as the regional geological scope narrows and the scale increases. Within the Renlou Coal Mine area, the fractal dimension values gradually decrease from north to south. In the Sulin Mining Area, the contour lines of the fracture structure fractal dimensions generally trend in near EW and NNE directions, consistent with the principal stress direction of coal-rock fractures in the Renlou Mine where the fractal dimension values are similar. This indicates a certain coupling relationship between the fractal dimension values and coal mine distribution. With increasing depth, the clay content in the roof rocks of the Renlou Coal Mine rises from 60% to 83%, while the fractal dimension values increase from 1.367 to 1.751. This demonstrates that the overall fractal dimension values of the roof rocks increase with higher clay content, revealing the significant influence of mudstone on roof stability and its depth-related pattern.