Numerical study on optimisation of cable length and cable location for roadway support by using of improved SA algorithm

The anchor cable is most widely support structure used to coal mine roadways reinforcement in various complex geological and geotechnical conditions, however, the cable distribution of the roadway support is always depend on workers' experience, which is subjective. To guarantee the stability of roadway, extra long anchor cable frequently is used, obviously, it can result in the waste of anchor cable and it is not economy. This paper investigates a combined numerical simulation methodology aiming at determine the minimum anchor cable length and cable location, meanwhile the stability of roadway was guaranteed as well. The FLAC3D numerical simulation was controlled completely by Python script, the convergence state of numerical simulation of roadway with anchor cables were used to judge the stability of roadway with anchor cables, and the location and length of anchor cables were adjusted based on the safety factor of roadway with anchor and the improved simulated algorithm. Subsequently, three kinds of shape (arc roadway, rectangle roadway and circle roadway) roadway were used to verify the validity of the proposed method, and the optimal anchor cable design for the roadway was determined. Overall, the numerical simulation results show that the proposed scheme adapted to determine the anchor cable length and location is reliable, it can guarantee the safety and stability of roadway.