Rockburst is often the major cause of fatalities on mines and also is a worldwide problem that is not expected to decrease. The burst potential of sedimentary rock of coal measures is the inherent attributes and necessary condition to induce a rockburst. There are many factors that can influence the burst potential of rocks, but as its nature feature, the rock composition & texture are the intrinsic factor to control its burst potential. Based on the micro quantitative determination of rock thin sections and macro mechanics test of rocks, strength characters and deformation -fracture process of rocks are discussed under loading, which is to establish the relationship between the composition & texture and macro mechanical property of rocks. The mechanism of energy accumulation and dissipation of rocks during loading is analyzed to establish the qualitative and quantitative relations between the composition & texture and the burst potential of rocks of sedimentary rock of coal measures base on strain energy.
A rockburst is generally defined as a sudden rock failure characterized by the breaking up and expulsion of rock from its surroundings, accompanied by a violent release of energy [1,2]. Highly stressed rock disintegrates suddenly in a violent, dynamic manner. Fragments of fractured rock acquire velocities of more than 10m/sec, sufficient to cause injury and even death to miners, damage to equipment and openings, and substantial disruption and economic loss to mining operations [3]. As the mining depth increasing, the hazards of rockbursts in collieries become more and more badly, which has been one of the restrained factors on the deep mining of coalmines and a challenge to engineers and researchers [4]. It is shown in many laboratory experiments and productive practices that rocks have the ability to break suddenly and release a vast amount dynamic energy instantaneously, and the failure behavior of rocks depends on their natural inherent material feature that is so-called the burst potential. There are many factors that can influence the burst potential of rock, among which are the rock fabric (such as mineral component, detritus content, grain size, rock texture, cement content, cementation type and so on), the formation conditions, bedding environments, ground stresses, surrounding rock properties, temperature and moisture. The rock fabric is the inherent attribute of rock and is the intrinsic factor to determine rock burst potential. Based on the micro examination of coal measure rock characteristics, the qualitative and quantitative relationships between the rock fabric and its burst potential are established in this paper.
