The main objective of this research was to determine the causes of falls of roof in South African collieries. Sixteen major roof falls were investigated in detail and their causes established. This data was supplemented by mapping a large number of roof falls on four collieries in less detail. The total number of recorded roof falls was 182. The data bank simulated the data bank of roof falls that resulted in fatalities in terms of the total number of falls recorded and the thickness distribution of the collapses.
It was found that the causes of the falls differed for different thickness ranges of roof falls. The thin falls, classified as “Skin falls”, which accounted for approximately 70% of all fatalities, were predominantly caused by ineffective joint support and excessive bolt spacings
Reference:
Van der Merwe, JN, et al. 2001. Causes of falls of roof in South African collieries. Safety in Mines Research Advisory Committee, COL 613, August, 2001, pp 1-124
Van der Merwe, J., Van Vuuren, J., Butcher, R., & Canbulat, I. (2001). Causes of falls of roof in South African collieries. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/1471
Van der Merwe, JN, JJ Van Vuuren, R Butcher, and I Canbulat. "Causes of falls of roof in South African collieries." (2001): http://hdl.handle.net/10204/1471
Van der Merwe J, Van Vuuren J, Butcher R, Canbulat I, Causes of falls of roof in South African collieries; 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/1471 .
