Using the Vulnerable Index Method to Assess the Likelihood of a Water Inrush through the Floor of a Multi-seam Coal Mine in China

Water inrush through a mine floor is a complicated nonlinear phenomenon, which is controlled by multiple factors. Different coal seams can have different vulnerabilities, even if they are in the same mine and the same district. To assess the differences in vulnerability between multiple coal seams, we used data from three coal seams of the Tashan Coal Mine. Analysing the results indicates that the vulnerable index method, which incorporates GIS, has many potential advantages in evaluating the likelihood of water inrushes compared to the water inrush coefficient method that has traditionally been used in China.