Texture, mineralogy, and rock strength in horizontal stress-related coal

mine roof falls

S.E. Phillipson
Mine Safety & Health Administration, Roof Control Division, Pittsburgh Safety & Health Technology Center, P.O. Box 18233, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, United States
A B S T R A C T A R T I C L E I N F O
Article history:
Received 30 January 2008
Received in revised form 29 May 2008
Accepted 31 May 2008
Available online 5 June 2008
Keywords:
Petrography
Horizontal stress
Roof fall
Coal mine
Geologic structures can represent planes of preferential weakness that, by dismembering the roof beam, may
contribute to the failure of roof spans. However, beam deection and roof failure also occur in rocks where no
visible geologic discontinuities are present. This suggests that roof failure may depend on rock strength,
which in turn depends on intrinsic textural properties inherent to the rock. In this study, rock samples were
collected from horizontal stress-related roof fall material in coal mines for petrographic characterization and
compressive strength testing. Brittle, stress failure-prone rock types include thinly interlaminated siltstone
and shale, and black shale that had been lightly recrystallized. Samples exhibit a narrow range of density
values between approximately 2.53.0 g/cm
3
but exhibit a wide range of unconned compressive strength
values, between approximately 2070 MPa. Results of laboratory observations suggest that for samples of
coal mine immediate roof shale, compressive strength is not well correlated with density, grain size, sutured
grain boundaries, or quartz content. These results for shale are generally at odds with the results of similar
studies for sandstone. The great variability of strength, texture, and mineralogy documented in these samples
may be an indication of their complexity and the need for specialized methodology in the study of shale
strength.
Published by Elsevier B.V.
1. Introduction
During the course of investigations by the Mine Safety and Health
Administration's Roof Control Division (RCD), many roof falls were
encountered that did not appear to be controlled by obvious structural
geologic discontinuities. Those falls exhibited characteristics of
horizontal stress-induced failure, involving exure or buckling of the
roof beam without the presence of pre-existing structural geologic
discontinuities to act as planes of preferential weakness. Horizontal
stress is attributed to the transmission of forces through the crust by
the action of plate tectonics (Mark, 2001). Although the presence of
geologic structural discontinuities can provide planes of preferential
weakness along which a roof span may fail, roof failure in the absence
of such structures may be inuenced by some textural or miner-
alogical property inherent to the rock.
Much work has been performed on determining the strengths of
various sedimentary rocks, and several engineering classication
systems such as the widely used Rock Mass Rating system(Bieniawski,
1973, 1979) and newly developed Coal Mine Roof Rating (Molinda and
Mark, 1999; Mark, 1999; Mark and Molinda, 2005) have attempted to
relate rock strength to mine roof stability. For purposes of rock
classication schemes, rock strength has been regarded as a mechan-
ical property that can be quantied by such laboratory tests as the
triaxial or uniaxial compression tests, or the splitting tensile
(Brazilian) strength test. Other index tests such as the Schmidt
Hammer rebound number or the point load test attempt to provide a
proxy for uniaxial compressive strength (i.e. Rusnak and Mark, 2000).
However, very little work has been performed to relate intrinsic
micro-textural properties, rock strength, and mine roof instability. In
this study, the quartz and feldspar content, dominant grain size,
degree of grain suturing, and grain shape are compared to values of
unconned uniaxial compressive strength for coal mine immediate
roof rocks that experienced failure by excess in situ horizontal stress.
Samples of roof rocks and roof fall debris were collected from coal
mines in the Appalachian and Illinois Basins. This study relates
quantitative and semi-quantitative petrographic descriptions of rocks
collected from coal mine roof falls to rock strength, and assesses
whether microscopic rock textures may inuence rock strength in
horizontal stress-related roof falls in underground coal mines.
2. Background
Although rock mechanics testing has become widespread as a
method to characterize the behavior of rocks in mining and civil
engineering environments, the use of petrographic properties to
characterize ground stability has found only limited applicability for
civil engineering projects, and is virtually absent in mining engineer-
ing projects. The lack of petrographic information incorporated in
mining engineering applications stands in contrast with the
International Journal of Coal Geology 75 (2008) 175184
E-mail address: phillipson.sandin@dol.gov.
0166-5162/$ see front matter. Published by Elsevier B.V.
doi:10.1016/j.coal.2008.05.018
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conclusions of several researchers, who indicate that a petrographic
characterization is the essential core of a proper investigation into the
suitability of geological materials (Price, 1960; Fahy and Guccione,
1979; Verhoef and Van De Wall, 1998; El Bied et al., 2002). Methods of
stability analysis of underground openings require input data on the
geomechanical behavior of rocks (Bieniawski, 1973; Fahy and
Guccione, 1979; Ulusay et al., 1994; Molinda and Mark, 1999). Because
core samples obtained from sedimentary strata are commonly of such
poor quality that mechanical tests are not possible, mechanical
properties may be estimated from simple index tests or from rock
properties that are known to correlate with the necessary mechanical
properties. Petrologic properties, such as texture and mineralogy,
inuence rock strength and can be readily measured through
microscope inspection of thin sections (Fahy and Guccione, 1979). In
order to obtain useful information from core samples unsuitable for
strength testing, some investigators utilized statistical techniques to
predict a value of rock strength based on petrographic properties (Bell,
1978; Fahy and Guccione, 1979; Shakoor and Bonelli, 1991; Richards
and Bell, 1995; Bell and Culshaw, 1998; Prikryl, 2001). However,
techniques based on linear regression appear applicable to only a
narrow range of properties from a specic location or rock type.
Rock strength is one of the most important parameters evaluated
in rock mechanics (Price, 1960; Rashed and Sediek, 1994; Prikryl,
2001). The uniaxial compressive strength has been found to correlate
with mechanical properties such as point load index, Schmidt
hammer rebound number, and Los Angeles degradation abrasion
loss (Kasim and Shakoor, 1996; Rusnak and Mark, 2000). Variation in
rock strength is explained by a number of factors including grain size,
grain shape, degree of grain interlocking, preferred orientation
(fabric), quartz content, matrix content (generally regarded as silt or
clay), mineral composition, density, porosity, texture, moisture
content, and state of alteration (Hawkes and Mellor, 1970; Spry,
1976; Dobereiner and De Freitas, 1986; Howarth and Rowlands, 1986;
Hawkins and McConnell, 1990; Shakoor and Bonelli, 1991; Edet, 1992;
Bell and Culshaw, 1993; Rashed and Sediek, 1994; Ulusay et al., 1994;
Kasim and Shakoor, 1996; Bell and Culshaw, 1998; Bell and Lindsay,
1999; Tugrul and Zarif, 1999). Petrographic features of a rock are
intrinsic properties, which control the mechanical behavior of the rock
mass at the fundamental level (Singh et al., 2001). Merrian et al. (1970)
dened texture as the relative amounts, sizes, and shapes of
constituent grains, as well as the manner in which they interlock.
Although a number of studies have been conducted on the
relationship between petrographic and mechanical properties, the
majority of work has been conducted on sandstone and the author is
unaware of similar work that has been published for shale. Many of
the petrographic properties determined to be important for strength
in sandstone are not applicable to the study of shale. For example,
ner-grained sandstone was found by a variety of studies to be
generally stronger than their coarser-grained counterparts (Spry,
1976; Fahy and Guccione, 1979; Ulusay et al., 1994; Tugrul and Zarif,
1999), although shale, which is by denition ner-grained than
sandstone, exhibits lower values of unconned compressive strength.
Furthermore, although matrix volume has been correlated to
decreasing compressive strength in sandstone (Howarth and Row-
lands, 1986; Bell and Culshaw, 1998), the material that would be
classied as matrix or grain coatings in sandstone may constitute
the majority of many shale samples. Related to the volume of matrix
material, Kahn (1956) dened the packing density as the ratio of the
sum of the length of grains in a traverse across a rock section to the
total length of the traverse. Similarly, studies of sandstone in which
compressive strength declined linearly with an increase in porosity
(Howarth and Rowlands, 1986), and total pore volume was inversely
correlated with unconned compressive strength, tensile strength,
and point load strength (Bell, 1978; Fahy and Guccione, 1979; Shakoor
and Bonelli, 1991; Richards and Bell, 1995) are not applicable to shale,
which is characterized by low porosity. Although the shape of grain
boundaries probably exerts a signicant control on sandstone strength
(Taylor, 1950; Spry, 1976; Fahy and Guccione, 1979; Hawkins and
McConnell, 1990), and studies of sandstone by Fahy and Guccione
(1979) indicated that sphericity was inversely correlated with
compressive strength, shale is generally characterized by at mica
akes, a shape that is not characteristic of rounded or angular grains of
quartz or feldspar. Finally, even though high quartz content has been
correlated with higher uniaxial compressive strength and tensile
strength in sandstone (Fahy and Guccione, 1979; Shakoor and Bonelli,
1991; Bell and Lindsay, 1999; Tugrul and Zarif, 1999), while Richards
and Bell (1995) reported a highly signicant statistical correlation
between quartz content and Brazilian tensile strength, and a moderate
correlation between quartz content and unconned compressive
strength, quartz content in shale is much lower than in sandstone.
Previous studies of different rock types have identied properties
that may be applicable to the study of shale textures, and some of
these conventions are adopted in this study in the interests of
quantifying observations. Taylor (1950), Fahy and Guccione (1979),
Howarth and Rowlands (1986), and Hawkins and McConnell (1990)
recognized the inuence of grain interlocking on sandstone strength,
and Taylor (1950) assigned weights to classications of grain
boundaries, such that tangential contacts were weighted as 1, long
contacts were weighted as 2, concavo-convex contacts were
weighted as 3, and sutured contacts were weighted as 4. Howarth
and Rowlands (1986) concluded that shear failure of crystals and
crystal grains is resisted by interlocking grains. Shakoor and Bonelli
(1991) found that sandstones with higher percentages of sutured
grain contacts exhibited higher values of compressive strength, tensile
strength, and Young's modulus, while Richards and Bell (1995)
reported a highly statistically signicant correlation between the
number of sutured contacts and the unconned compressive strength,
and a positive correlation between sutured contacts and Brazilian
tensile strength in sandstone. Additionally, Prikryl (2001) recognized
the effect of preferred orientation (fabric) of minerals in magmatic and
metamorphic rocks, and indicated that the maximum unconned
uniaxial compressive strength was oriented parallel to the lineation
and to the preferential shape orientation of rock-forming minerals in
granites. Shale is similarly texturally anisotropic, with a strongly
preferential layering dened by thin bedding laminations and mica
akes. Finally, total rock strength in any rock is reduced by the
presence of macroscopic, microscopic, and sub-microscopic defects
such as cavities, cracks, joints, foliations, and veins (Spry, 1976; Edet,
1992; Tugrul and Zarif, 1999; Prikryl, 2001).
3. Methodology
Samples were collected from roof fall material in coal mines of the
Pennsylvanian-aged Appalachian and Illinois Basins so that petro-
graphic properties and rock strength could be determined. Coal mines
were developed by the room-and-pillar mining method, and by the
longwall mining method. All roof falls had occurred after the ground
had been supported with roof bolts installed on a pattern, with
support ranging from 4- to 6-foot (1.21.8 m), fully-grouted, headed
rebar to 6- to 8-foot (1.82.4 m), mechanically-anchored, resin-
assisted bolts. Rock samples were collected only from roof falls that
appeared to have failed in response to excess in situ horizontal stress,
and where no visible structural geologic discontinuities had dis-
membered the roof beam. Geologic mapping conrmed an absence of
visible structural controls and documented the effects of horizontal
stress in the manner proposed by Mark (1999), inwhich stress damage
features are plotted on section maps to determine the orientation of
the horizontal stress eld.
Core extraction and rock strength testing was were performed at
the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's (NIOSH)
Pittsburgh Research Laboratory. For each study location, 216 core
samples were extracted from multiple samples of roof fall material.
176 S.E. Phillipson / International Journal of Coal Geology 75 (2008) 175184
Core was extracted both parallel to bedding and perpendicularly to
bedding, when possible, for unconned uniaxial compressive strength
testing. Because of the non-uniformsize of samples available fromroof
fall material, extraction of standard NX size core was not always
possible. In those cases, 1-inch (2.54-cm) diameter core samples that
were 2.5 in (6.3 cm) long were extracted, preserving a 2.5 L/D ratio.
Finished core samples were reported by the testing laboratory as
0.990 in (2.515 cm) in diameter, with actual L/Dratios of 2.508 to 2.530.
In limited instances, a L/Dratio of 2 was necessary due to small sample
size (Mine #2, Mine #3, Mine #5, Mine #7). In these samples, the L/D
ratio ranged from 2.006 to 2.022, with nished diameters of 0.990 in.
Samples from Mine #6 did not yield standard sized core samples,
because they separated along bedding partings after core extraction.
Instead, core pieces were tested by the point load method, and discs
were obtained from NX-sized core fragments for splitting tensile
(Brazilian) strength testing at the Colorado School of Mines' Earth
Mechanics Institute. Core samples were prepared in accordance with
ASTM D-4543, and disc samples were prepared in accordance with
ASTM D-3967. Unconned uniaxial compressive strength and tensile
splitting strength tests were performed in accordance with ASTM D-
2938 and ASTM D-3967.
Hawkes and Mellor (1970) described three broad modes of failure
observed in compression testing: 1) cataclasis consists of a general
internal crumbling by formation of multiple cracks in the direction of
the applied load, such that when the specimen collapses, conical end
fragments are left and long slivers of rock form around the periphery;
2) axial cleavage, or vertical splitting, in which one or more major
cracks split the sample along the loading direction; 3) shearing of the
test specimen along a single oblique plane. The mode of failure in
which the rock specimen crumbles by internal cracking and then is
burst apart by conical or wedge-shaped end segments is generally
accepted as a valid mode of failure which represents the true behavior
of most rocks. Failure along a distinct single shear plane has been
widely accepted as the normal mode of failure. The tested core
samples in this study generally exhibited failure along a single,
inclined or nearly vertical plane.
Thin sections were studied by standard methods with a Meiji
Model 9400 binocular microscope with polarizing light capability, and
eyepiece micrometer. Thin sections were examined for grain size,
grain shape, packing density, the percent of void space, the percent of
sutured grain boundaries, and modal composition. Textural properties
were based on at least 400 counted points, using a Zeiss mechanical
stage mounted on a Zeiss binocular polarizing light microscope.
Average grain size was determined by measurements along two
perpendicular axes passing through the center of each grain. Grain
contacts were classied according toTaylor (1950). In contrast to work
performed by others on sandstone, mica akes were regarded as
grains, rather than matrix, due to the domination of shale by mica.
4. Textural and strength properties of roof fall rocks
Fig. 1 shows the geographic location of the four mines in the Illinois
Basin and eight mines in the Appalachian Basin from which samples
were collected. Samples were collected from the upper Middle
Pennsylvanian (Desmoinesian) Herrin and Springeld Seams in the
Illinois Basin, and from a variety of Lower and Middle Pennsylvanian
seams in the Central and Southern Appalachian Basin.
4.1. Locations and characteristics of horizontal stress-related roof falls
The roof falls documented in relation to horizontal stress in coal
mines commonly occurred in intersections, or began in intersections
Fig. 1. Map of the eastern and central United States, showing locations of mines where sample material was collected in relation to outlines of the Appalachian and Illinois Basins.
Compare to Table 1 for rock properties.
177 S.E. Phillipson / International Journal of Coal Geology 75 (2008) 175184
and then worked down the adjacent entry or crosscut. The falls were
commonly steep-sided and bounded by a steep rib cutter when
developed in shale that appeared to have been lightly to moderately
recrystallized, or in the thinly bedded alternating shale/siltstone rock
known commonly in the U.S. coal mining community as stackrock.
Underground mine mapping indicated the presence of excess in situ
horizontal stress by documenting the presence of aligned cutters and
preferentially-oriented, shallow pot-outs in the immediate roof in the
manner suggested by Molinda and Mark (1999). Mark (1999) suggests
that documenting the orientation of many shallow pot-outs that are
commonly localized in the immediate roof can yield an inferred
orientation of maximum in situ horizontal stress, because the stress
direction is expected to be oriented perpendicularly to the long axis of
pot-outs. Thus, the shallow, shale-hosted pot-outs are analogous to a
stress ellipse. Fig. 2 indicates the inferred orientations of horizontal
stress determined by RCD personnel during the course of ground
Fig. 2. Location map of sample mines in the Illinois and Appalachian Basins, shown in relation to horizontal stress directions (yellow lines) determined by RCD mapping in
underground mines. Directions in the southern Illinois Basin are consistent at approximately N 80 E; directions in southern West Virginia are consistent at approximately N 80 W;
directions in northern West Virginia/southwestern Pennsylvania are consistent at approximately N 70 E. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this gure legend, the
reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
Fig. 3. Photo of pot-out (alternately known as a cutter) interpreted to have formed by
high in situ horizontal stress. Thinly laminated shale immediate roof has been buckled
downward along a trend that is interpreted to be perpendicular to the orientation of the
maximum horizontal stress, which is indicated by converging white arrows. Roof
support consists of fully-grouted, headed rebar with wooden header boards.
Fig. 4. Photo of brow at a mine in southern Indiana attributed to failure by horizontal
stress (Mine #9), showing buckled strata and cutter formation that bounds one side of
the fall cavity. Note presence of thinly interbedded, alternating siltstone (light) and
shale (dark). Ground support consists of fully-grouted, headed rebar with wood header
boards, and wood cribs to support dead load.
178 S.E. Phillipson / International Journal of Coal Geology 75 (2008) 175184
stability investigations, in relation to the mines where study samples
were collected.
Horizontal stress-related roof falls have different cavity proles as
compared to those associated with structural geologic weaknesses
(Fig. 3). In the variety of thinly interlaminated siltstone and shale that
is commonly referred to by some miners as stack rock, fall cavities
are commonly bounded by a cutter at the roof line at one rib. Although
the term cutter has been attributed to a variety of different features,
it is herein used to describe a high-angle, stress-related fracture that is
expressed at the roofrib interface, and extends nearly vertically into
the roof above the ribline (Fig. 4). When fall cavities allowobservation
of the immediate roof, it appears that cutters represent a fold axial
plane that extends nearly vertically through buckled, commonly
thinly laminated sedimentary strata arranged in a narrow zone of
stacked chevron folds. Cutters are commonly expressed at the visible
roof line by guttering, or shallow potting that extends along the
roofrib interface and may extend across the roof adjacent to pillars
through crosscuts. The fall cavities are therefore steep-sided, and fall
material is represented by large slabs that appear to have experienced
little rotation when falling out of the roof, landing in roughly correct
stratigraphic order, right-side-up. In other mines, where the roof rock
is characterized by shale that appears more dense than normal,
exhibiting a ringing or crystalline sound and evoking the informal
comparison of porcelain dinner plates, horizontal stress-related roof
falls are characterized by slabs of dense, apparently recrystallized
shale (Mine #2, Figs. 1 and 2) Fig. 5. Fall cavities are commonly not as
sharply dened, and fall material appears to have been dumped out of
the roof in a jumbled pile.
An indication of the presence of horizontal stress can be
ascertained by underground mapping of elongated, ellipsoidal pot-
outs and cutters (Fig. 6). In the example shown in Fig. 6, the
preferential direction of elongation of cutters toward the northwest,
as well as the development of roof falls across the section in a
northwesterly direction, is suggestive of a horizontal stress orienta-
tion directed between the northeastsouthwest.
4.2. Petrographic properties
Common properties of samples generally associated with rock
strength by other researchers are summarized in Table 1, and include
the unconned compressive strength, density, quartz content, matrix
volume, void space volume, the amount of sutured grain boundaries,
the packing density, qualitative sphericity, and grain size with the
range of sizes observed. Most of these parameters have been applied
to study of sandstone, and may not be completely applicable to shale.
For instance, the ne-grained mica that would be characterized as
matrix material in sandstones represents the framework grains in
Fig. 5. Brow of roof fall cavity attributed to failure by horizontal stress in southeastern
Kentucky (Mine #3).
Fig. 6. Map of a mining section in Mine #9, southern Indiana, showing the trends of cutters (short red lines) and roof falls (crosshatched). Note preferential direction of cutter
development, and preferential trend of roof fall locations across the section. Cutter orientation and trend of roof falls indicate an overall north N 75 E horizontal stress orientation,
indicated by dark black converging arrows.
179 S.E. Phillipson / International Journal of Coal Geology 75 (2008) 175184
shale and therefore mica akes are characterized as grains rather than
matrix. The term matrix was only used in these samples to refer to
material that was too ne-grained to be positively identied with a
polarizing light microscope at a magnication of 400, even though
such material most likely represents a mixture of muscovite and iron
hydroxide. Using this convention, the packing densities for the coal
mine immediate roof rocks are nearly 100%. Furthermore, the
characterization of sutured grain boundaries is somewhat different
between sandstone and shale, in that the micas dominating shale are
not minerals that readily exhibit the sutured boundaries noted in
quartz and feldspars. However, suturing is interpreted to have taken
place in mica where grain boundaries protrude into neighboring
boundaries, rather than sharing long, straight boundaries, or where
ragged ends of mica akes internger with corresponding ragged
edges of neighboring grains, exhibiting a heavy, dark grain boundary
analogous to the sutured quartz and feldspar boundaries.
Mineralogy and rock names are summarized in Table 2. Although
the samples of coal mine immediate roof in the eld appeared as dark,
ne-grained sedimentary rock that would commonly be referred to as
shale or shale with sand laminations, petrographic examination
commonly indicated a coarser grain size than that can be applied to
shale. The rock names are based on grain size and mineral content. For
samples with grain sizes in the Wentworth scale of ne silt, Potter et
al.'s (1980) classication scheme for shale is used, which results
generally in the name of laminated siltstone. Although the term
siltstone often has connotations regarding quartz and feldspar
content, it should be noted that in this classication, it is meant only to
indicate a size fraction, such that the siltstones are dominated by mica,
with only minor quartz. For samples that exhibit abundant quartz and
feldspars, with grain sizes in the Wentworth scale of ne or very ne
sand, Dott's (1964) classication scheme for immature sandstone is
utilized, resulting in names such as mudstone and wacke.
Mine #2 experienced severe degradation of the immediate roof
shortly after mining, which resulted in the abandonment of the
submain. The submain was affected by a series of large intersection
roof falls in which large (N2 m), detached blocks of shale and
sandstone fell out in approximately original stratigraphic order.
Observations indicated the presence of numerous, elliptical pot-outs
that were elongated along a preferential bearing, indicating an
inferred in situ horizontal stress direction of N 90 E (Fig. 2). Much
of the immediate roof in the abandoned submainwas characterized by
hanging, cantilevered slabs of shale. Although apparently susceptible
to degradation by horizontal stress, a sample of the mine roof
exhibited a relatively high unconned compressive strength parallel
Table 1
Summary of rock type with selected mechanical and petrographic properties
Mine no. Loc. Rock type Coal seam UCS (MPa) (g/cm
3
) %Q %M %V %S PD (%) Sphericity Grain size range (mm) Dom. grain size (mm)
#2-par WV sh-r Beckley Crystal 52.19 2.95 2 0 0 86 100 subangular. b.010.04 0.02
#2 WV sh-r 35.58 2.95 2 0 0 86 100 subangular. b.010.04 0.02
#3-a KY sh-r Hazard No. 4 66.90 2.55 12 1 0 49 100 angular 0.010.3 0.042
b sr-r 32.91 2.51 8 0 0 64 100 angular b.010.1 0.035
c sh-r NR 2.66
#4 KY sh-r Blue Gem NR 2.79
#5 KY sh-r Harlan 21.31 2.70 8 0 0 82 100 angular b.011.0 0.035
#6 KY sh Upper Harlan 38.5 2.94 5 35 1 26 99 angular b.010.06 0.01
#7 KY sr Kellioka 45.57 2.64 17 0.4 0 78 100 angular 0.010.2 0.07
#8 IL sr Herrin NR Extreme water degradation
#9 IN sr Springeld 60.54 2.57 20 1.7 0.7 12 100 subangular b.010.1 0.04
#10-b IN SS Springeld 33.81 2.51 28 19 0 26 100 angular .020.3 0.09
#10-c SS 45.26 2.43 30 14 0 18 100 angular .020.5 0.1
#11 IL sh Springeld 56.37 2.52 12 7 0 7 100 subangular .010.1 .04
#12 WV sh Kittanning 63.6 7 0 0 37 100 angular b.010.08 0.01
#13 WV sh No. 2 Gas 92.86 14 24 0 1 100 angular 0.020.2 0.07
Percentages are based on 400+ point counts. UCS = unconned uniaxial compressive strength; denotes UCS value based on point load test; %Q = percent volume of quartz; %M =
percent volume of matrix; %V = percent volume of void space; %S = percent of sutured grain boundaries; PD = packing density; grain size = average value of major plus minor axes of
grain viewed in a single plane; SS = sandstone; sr = thinly interlaminated siltstone and shale, stackrock; sh-r = recrystallized shale; par = strength determined parallel to bedding
planes; all values reported for strength perpendicular to bedding planes unless otherwise noted. NR = core sample non-recoverable.
Table 2
Summary of mineralogy and rock names for individual rock samples
Mine no. Loc. %Qtz. %Plag. %Micro. %Musc. %Biotite %FeOx % Void % Matrix Rock name
#2-par WV 2 0 0 78 19 0 0 0 Laminated siltstone
#2 WV 2 0 0 78 19 0 0 0
#3-a KY 12 10 0 25 52 0 0 1 Laminated quartzo-feldspathic siltstone
b 8 4 0 32 56 0 0 Laminated quartz-bearing siltstone
c
#4 KY
#5 KY 8 10 0 55 27 0 0 1 Laminated quartzo-feldspathic siltstone
#6 KY 5 2 0 80 11 1 1 35 Laminated quartz-bearing siltstone
#7 KY 17 21 0 43 17 0.2 0 0.4 Feldspathic mudstone

#8 IL Mudshale
#9 IN 20 15 0 44 4 15 0.1 2 Feldspathic mudstone

#10-b IN 28 21 b1 42 8 1 0 19 Feldspathic wacke

#10-c 30 23 0 23 9 1 0 14 Feldspathic wacke

#11 IL 12 18 b1 55 5 2 0 7 Laminated quartzo-feldspathic siltstone

#12 WV 7 3 0 76 9 5 0 0 Quartz-bearing laminated siltstone
#13 WV 14 6 0 42 7 7 0 24 Quartz-bearing laminated siltstone
Rocks are named according to Potter et al.'s (1980) classication scheme for shale, with the term silt used as a size classication rather than mineralogical connotation;

denotes
that rocks are named according to Dott's (1964) classication of immature sandstone; denotes that matrix material is represented by very ne-grained muscovite and biotite that is
barely distinguishable; matrix is interpreted as material that is indiscernible at 400 magnication.
180 S.E. Phillipson / International Journal of Coal Geology 75 (2008) 175184
to bedding of 52.19 MPa (7567 psi), and a relatively high dry density of
2.95 g/cm
3
. Core samples were also obtained perpendicularly to
bedding, to maintain consistency with other samples, and yielded an
unconned compressive strength of 35.58 MPa (5159 psi). These
results indicate a +30% greater compressive strength parallel to
bedding that than perpendicular to bedding. Despite the relatively
high strength of the rock, thin section observation indicated a very low
occurrence of quartz (3%), and instead revealed nearly complete
domination by ne-grained muscovite and biotite akes (Fig. 7).
A sample fromMine #5 has signicantly more quartz (8%), and also
exhibits a larger average grain size of 0.035 mm, which is nearly
double that of the Mine #2 sample (Fig. 8). However, the compressive
strength of the Mine #5 sample is nearly 40% lower at 21.31 MPa
(3090 psi) than documented in the sample from Mine #2, which has a
compressive strength of 35.58 MPa (5159 psi) perpendicular to
bedding (Table 1). Although both samples exhibit a very high number
of sutured contacts between neighboring mica akes, which dominate
the mineralogy, the texture of the Mine #2 sample appears more
homogenous. In contrast, the Mine #5 sample is characterized by
numerous, discontinuous micro-partings that are characterized by
iron hydroxide-stained bedding laminations (Fig. 8).
A sample collected from roof fall material at Mine #7 is
characterized by much more quartz (17%) than either sample from
Mine #2 or Mine #5 (Fig. 9). Although its compressive strength of
45.57 MPa (6603 psi) is more than double that of the sample from
Mine #5, and much higher than the value of compressive strength
obtained for the sample from Mine #2 perpendicular to bedding, it is
still lower than the very quartz-poor sample from Mine #2 that was
tested parallel to bedding (Table 1). Similarly to the sample from Mine
#5, the sample from Mine #7 is characterized by abundant, yet
discontinuous iron hydroxide-stained partings developed along
muscovite-rich bedding laminations (Fig. 9). Observation of textures
from the sample from Mine #7 indicates the abundance of angular,
relatively coarse quartz grains, many of which touch each other along
corners or are more commonly bounded by muscovite lathes. Iron
hydroxide-stained bedding laminations that are rich in biotite are
distributed through the rock, and bound thicker areas that are
characterized by the presence of coarse-grained, angular quartz.
4.3. Mechanical properties
Because unconned compressive strength is such an important
index property for engineering classications, graphs were con-
structed for the study samples in which the unconned compressive
strength was plotted against various petrographic properties so that
their degree of relation could be assessed. Fig. 10 simply displays the
range of unconned compressive strength values for samples of
horizontal stress-related roof fall material collected during this study.
Values of unconned compressive strength range between approxi-
mately 20 and 70 MPa. Sample 2 was collected from the Pennsylva-
nian-aged Appalachian coaleld of southern West Virginia; Samples
37, 12, and 13 were collected from the Pennsylvanian-aged southern
Fig. 7. Microscopic texture of sample from Mine #2, dominated by muscovite akes.
Muscovite akes are interpreted to exhibit suturing where ragged-edged, mutually
impinging boundaries interlock with each other. Field of view 1 mm at 100, taken
under crossed polars.
Fig. 8. Microscopic texture of sample from Mine #5, southeastern Kentucky. Quartz
content is higher than sample from Mine #2 in Fig. 5, but the UCS is much lower. Note
the presence of iron hydroxide-stained partings. Field of view 1 mm at 100, taken
under crossed polars.
Fig. 9. Microscopic texture of stackrock from Mine #7. Abundant, large quartz grains
occur in layers that alternate with ne-grained muscovite and biotite mica. Quartz
content is much higher than sample fromMine #2, but UCS value is lower. Field of view
1 mm at 100, taken under crossed polars.
Fig. 10. Graph of unconned compressive strength values for samples collected from
roof falls interpreted as horizontal stress related. Samples displayed a wide variety of
UCS values, mainly between 20 and 70 MPa. Points labeled with sample no. from Tables
1 and 2; A denotes Appalachian Basin, I denotes Illinois Basin.
181 S.E. Phillipson / International Journal of Coal Geology 75 (2008) 175184
Appalachian coaleld of eastern Kentucky, and; Samples 811 were
collected from the Pennsylvanian-age coaleld of the Illinois Basin
(Fig. 1 and 2). Based on this limited data population, it is not clear that
there are signicant strength differences between shale roof rocks of
different regions.
Fig. 11 portrays the value of unconned compressive strength for
recrystallized shale compared to the dry density of samples. All
recrystallized shale samples fall within a relatively narrowrange, from
slightly below 2.5 g/cm
3
to slightly below 3.0 g/cm
3
as might be
expected for rocks dominated by mica and exhibiting essentially no
void space. There does not appear to be a clear relationship between
rock density and unconned compressive strength for these samples.
The highest-density samples have only moderate values of compres-
sive strength, whereas the samples with the highest values for
compressive strength have relatively low values for density. Thus
there appears to be no correlation between unconned compressive
strength and density for the samples of shale immediate roof collected
during this study.
Fig. 12 portrays the relationships between unconned compressive
strength for samples and the volume of quartz grains documented in
each sample. There does not appear to be a clear relationship between
quartz content and compressive strength in the samples of immediate
roof rock. This observation contrasts with a commonly assumed
relationship among underground mining personnel between higher
quartz content and a stronger roof horizon. In practice, much
emphasis in the mine may be placed on whether the roof drills
hard regarding the assumed strength of the immediate roof. It is
commonly assumed that slower penetration rates exhibited by drill
steel on roof-bolting machines can be correlated to a higher sand, or
quartz content even for low amounts of quartz that may occur as thin
sand streaks. It does not appear that quartz content alone is a
meaningful indicator of the strength of the samples.
When feldspar content is included with quartz, the relation with
unconned compressive strength changes somewhat. At least in the
range above 30 MPa, there appears to be an increase in the unconned
compressive strength associated with a decrease in combined quartz
and feldspar content (Fig. 13). This is interpreted to be a result of the
addition of feldspar, and may be related to the observations of Tugrul
andZarif (1999), whoreportedthat increasing feldspar canbeassociated
with a reduction in strength because of cleavage and microssures
inherent in feldspar. Below the point of 30 MPa, the two samples with
very low combined quartz and feldspar also exhibit the lowest
unconned compressive strength values. However, it should be noted
that the sample population is very small, and is not sufcient to draw
conclusions based on such widely separated geographic locations.
Fig. 14 portrays the relationships between the unconned
compressive strength and the percent of sutured grain contacts
documented in samples of recrystallized shale. The characterization of
Fig. 11. Density of immediate roof samples, compared to unconned compressive
strength, collected from horizontal stress-related roof falls in underground coal mines.
For these samples of immediate roof, there is virtually no correlation between UCS and
Density. Density values are as expected for rocks dominated by muscovite and biotite,
and range between approximately 2.53 g/cm
3
. Points labeled with sample no. from
Tables 1 and 2; A denotes Appalachian Basin, I denotes Illinois Basin.
Fig. 12. Values of unconned compressive strength are plotted against the percent
quartz content for samples of interlaminated sandstone/shale involved in horizontal
stress-related roof falls. The unconned compressive strength of these rocks does not
appear to be related to quartz content, and the two samples with the highest quartz
content exhibit only moderate unconned compressive strength values. Points are
labeled with sample no. from Tables 1 and 2; A denotes Appalachian Basin, I denotes
Illinois Basin.
Fig. 13. Unconned compressive strength compared to the combined content of quartz
and feldspars. Compare to Fig. 10, inwhich quartz content alone has virtually no relation
to unconned compressive strength. UCS appears to actually increase with a
corresponding decrease in combined quartz and feldspar content above 30 MPa.
Fig. 14. Values of unconned compressive strength are plotted against the percent of
sutured grain contacts for samples of interlaminated sandstone/shale involved in
horizontal stress-related roof falls. Samples from the Illinois Basin exhibit very few
sutured contacts that are restricted to quartz and feldspar grains within quartzo-
feldspathic bands, but display similar UCS values to samples from the Appalachian
Basin.
182 S.E. Phillipson / International Journal of Coal Geology 75 (2008) 175184
sutured grain contacts in shale may be more difcult than in coarser-
grained clastic rocks, where sutured quartz and feldspar boundaries
are more readily apparent, as typied by indistinct grain boundaries or
blue lines as might be observed in Fig. 7. The at, sheetlike crystal
habit of muscovite and biotite, with their strongly developed natural
cleavage, would not normally be considered to exhibit strong
interlocking characteristics. However, many of the samples studied
appeared similar in texture to low grade metamorphic rock such as
phyllite or slate, with grain boundaries of mica akes apparently fused
with no interstitial matrix material. Although the samples of immediate
roof had largely been assumed to represent a single population, ins-
pection of the graph of suturedboundaries and unconned compressive
strengthappears toindicatethat twodistinct populations of rocks canbe
dened. There appears to be one population of rocks with fewer than
50% sutured boundaries, and a second population of rocks with greater
than60%suturedboundaries. It is interestingto note that the population
of samples with fewer than 30% sutured boundaries were dominantly
collected fromthe intracratonic Illinois Basin, whereas the population of
samples with greater than 60% sutured boundaries were dominantly
collected fromthe southern AppalachianBasin inthe vicinity of the Pine
Mountain thrust (Figs. 1 and 2). However, the sample with the highest
unconned compressive strength value (Mine #13, with 14% quartz,
92.86 MPa) exhibits the lowest number of sutured boundaries (1%) and
consists of the nest-grained material.
Fig. 15 portrays the relationship, or in this case lack of relationship,
betweentheunconnedcompressive strengthandthe average grainsize
of recrystallized shale samples collected for this study. There appears to
be no correlation between the unconned compressive strength and
average grain size for these samples. Because the average grain sizes of
the studied samples are very small, ranging between 0.01 mm and
0.07 mm, they may not provide a sufciently wide spectrum for
meaningful comparisons, and general changes in unconned compres-
sive strength may not be sensitive to minute changes in average grain
size, especially with a range of values that is already very small.
5. Discussion and conclusions
Horizontal stress-related ground failures commonly occur in coal
mines that are characterized by an immediate roof composed of thinly
interlaminated, alternating brittle and soft layers. The brittle layers are
represented by well-indurated or lightly metamorphosed (or diag-
enetically compacted) shale and very ne sandstone along the
Kentucky/West Virginia/Virginia border, adjacent to the Appalachian
Mountains, or by well-indurated shale within the Illinois Basin.
Perhaps surprisingly, in light of the importance placed on this factor
by some formal and informal rock quality rating systems, the quartz
content of immediate roof shale does not appear to be related to rock
strength. For the generally ne-grained samples of immediate coal mine
roof collected in this study, there is virtually no correlation between the
quartz content and the unconned compressive strength. It is suggested
that quartz content is not correlatedtorock strengthinshalebecausethe
obdurate quartz grains are not in contact with each other to form a
supporting framework, so do not lend strength to the rock. Also sur-
prisingly, there is virtually no correlation between unconned com-
pressive strength and the percent of sutured mica grain boundaries. It is
suggested that sutured mica grains do not affect rock strength in the
same way that sutured quartz grains do, because the shear strength of
the planar mica grain contacts may be much lower than that of quartz
grains. Similarly, there is virtually no correlation between grain size and
compressive strength. These observations are generally at variance with
the results reportedfor previous studies of sandstone, althoughit should
be noted that the constituents of shale would simply be classied as
matrix material in a study of sandstone, and that sandstone with so
much matrix material would be expected to be weak.
The effect of delamination could not be adequately constrained or
documented. Several samples exhibited partings dened by strongly
aligned and concentrated mica lathes, which represent planes of
preferential weakness developed parallel to bedding. Unconned
compressive strength testing might not account for this preferential
weakness because samples were tested perpendicularly to bedding.
This was necessitated by the extreme difculty of obtaining core
samples parallel to bedding, and was also required by the ASTM
standard for testing. Thus, the UCS value can only be considered as an
index property. It could be more appropriate for future work to devise
a sample extraction and testing procedure that would allow
determination of compressive strength parallel to bedding, or conduct
an assessment of bending or exural strength, similar to the outer
ber tensile strength (i.e. Merrill, 1957). The strongly parallel fabric
represented by thin bedding laminations and aligned mica akes
could be analogous to the metamorphic fabric described by Prikryl
(2001), and could account for the greater than 30% difference in UCS
values obtained parallel and perpendicular to bedding in Sample #2.
Although the sample population is too small to draw broad
conclusions, plots of unconned compressive strength compared to
the percent of sutured boundaries tend to be separated, with samples
that display a high number of sutured grain boundaries represented by
rocks from the southern Appalachian Basin, and rocks with a low
number of sutured grain boundaries represented dominantly by rocks
from the intracratonic Illinois Basin. Additional samples should be
studied to determine if rocks from the respective basins can be
separated based on the content of sutured grain boundaries. A greater
number of samples could also determine whether some coal seams are
associated with roof shale that has a greater degree of grain boundary
suturing than others within the same basin. The results could have
implications for the inuence of burial compaction or tectonic activity
on rock strength.
Acknowledgements
The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Steve
Schatzel, Steve Tadolini, Dennis Dolinar, and the entire rock mechanics
staff at the NIOSH Pittsburgh Research Laboratory for performing
sample preparation and strength testing, and for providing the use of
equipment. Special thanks are also extended to those with MSHA and
industry who assisted in obtaining rock samples for this study.
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