Fuzzy evaluation method for the identification of subsidence susceptibility in an underground mine (case study in Tabas coal mine of Iran)

Subsidence plays a significant role on safety of the mine surface constructions above the underground faces, extraction efficiency, and environment. The prediction of ground surface movements is an important challenge in mining sciences. Subsidence can occur as a result of removing rock in an underground mine. The surface constructions safety to resist subsidence in underground mining depends on mine topography, location, and type of them. The aim of this paper is to investigate the subsidence possibility in an underground mine by establishing the fuzzy membership function. The used subsidence estimation method was based on fuzzy theory. In this regard, using the several alpha-cuts, the subsidence in definite panel is defined as a fuzzy form. Finally, to show the application of the defined approach in the prediction of an underground mining subsidence based on fuzzy set theory, it was applied for the Tabas coal mine subsidence prediction which located in South Khorasan province of Iran. Results show that the mining area is in an unstable state by considering the critical-factor of safety = 0.75.