Investigation of overburden failure in the roof and floor of the 14321 working face in Gubei coal mine

In the process of coal mine safety production in China, the failure of roof and floor strata can lead to various coal mine safety accidents, resulting in significant economic losses and casualties in the coal industry. How to avoid and prevent coal mine safety accidents, and studying the failure characteristics of roof and floor strata using relevant testing technologies and methods, has become an important prerequisite for coal mine safety production. Understanding the failure patterns of roof and floor strata is of great significance for safe mining operations. During this field measurement, two boreholes were arranged in the roof of the 14321 upper working face, and two boreholes were arranged in the floor of the 14321 upper working face. Electrical prospecting indicated that, as the working face gradually advanced, the physical properties of the roof and floor strata changed significantly from the background values to those influenced by mining activities. It was determined that the development height of the water-conducting fracture zone in the 14321 upper working face was 41.4 meters, the height of the caving zone was 13.6 meters, and the depth of floor failure was 17.5 meters. These findings can provide technical guidance for better research on the failure patterns and characteristics of roof and floor strata during coal seam mining.