Coal pillar deformation monitoring using terrestrial laser scanner technology in room and pillar panel - A case study from the Ostrava-Karvina Coal Field

Application of the terrestrial laser scanner technology to measure strata displacements in underground excavations is becoming increasingly popular due to broad spectrum of measured data, its ease of use and data quality it produces. Mine environment presents many challenging problems that limit application of the laser scanner technology in unfavorable conditions including the explosion risk atmosphere, dust, humidity and instability of mine excavations. This technology has been currently used to monitor the coal mine roadway and pillar stability in the firstly developed room and pillar panel trial in the Czech part of Upper Silesian Coal Basin (Czech Republic). The purpose is to monitor the long term coal pillar deformations that develop over time. A comprehensive picture of the ongoing strata deformation has been obtained from the repetitive laser scanning results. The strong roof strata subject to minimum deformation has provided the stable reference for scanning purpose which is very important in evaluation process. The difference between each scan was then used to detect changes in strata displacements.