During the past 15 years, roof fall rates have fallen dramatically in US coal mines, particularly in regions where the roof is weakest. The remarkable reduction in the number of roof falls has been accomplished with more effective roof support systems. The purpose of this paper is to present a design methodology that builds on and quantifies the basic roof support concepts that have been successful in the USA. The methodology starts by defining three modes of roof support, based on the roof strength relative to the stress level: (1) suspension, where roof bolts mainly provide skin control for strong roof; (2) beam building, where moderate strength roof can be supported by roof bolts alone; and (3) supplemental support for weak roof. Next, a large database of roof fall histories at a number of mines is used to define the approximate boundaries of these three regimes based on the coal mine roof rating and the depth of cover. Finally, guidelines are presented for site-specific design of support systems within each regime. The new computer package, analysis of mine roof support (AMRS), implements the design methodology.

在过去的15年中，美国煤矿的屋顶跌落率急剧下降，尤其是在屋顶最薄弱的地区。屋顶跌落次数的显着减少已通过更有效的屋顶支撑系统得以实现。本文的目的是提出一种设计方法，该方法以在美国已经成功的基本屋顶支撑概念为基础并对其进行量化。该方法首先根据相对于应力水平的屋顶强度定义三种屋顶支撑模式：（1）悬架，其中屋顶螺栓主要为坚固的屋顶提供蒙皮控制；（2）梁式建筑，强度中等的屋顶可以仅由屋顶螺栓支撑；（3）弱屋顶的辅助支撑。下一个，使用大量煤矿的顶板下落历史数据库，根据煤矿的顶板等级和覆盖深度，定义这三种情况的近似边界。最后，介绍了在每个方案中针对特定位置的支持系统设计的指南。新的计算机程序包，“矿井顶支架分析（AMRS）”实现了设计方法。