Construction and application of coal seam roof stability evaluation model based on AHP-entropy weight TOPSIS method

Abstract In order to evaluate the stability of the roof of a coal seam accurately and reliably, a TOPSIS evaluation model of the stability of the immediate roof a coal seam, combined with the AHP method and entropy weight method, was developed. Ten (10) commonly used evaluation indices are selected to establish the index system for evaluating the stability of the immediate roof of the coal seam. The AHP and entropy weighting methods combine subjective and objective weightings of the thirty (30) field data sets from a mine in Inner Mongolia. The most important indicators affecting the stability of the immediate roof of the coal seam are the lithology combination of the roof and the strength of he roof combination. The TOPSIS method calculates and scores the weighted evaluation matrix to assess the degree of stability of the immediate roof of 30 groups of field data. The results show that the AHP-entropy weight TOPSIS model, combining subjective and objective weighting and multi-level combination, can be used to analyse the stability of the immediate roof of the coal seam. The evaluation results are better than those of the AHP and entropy weight TOPSIS model. The combination weighting method improves the precision of the TOPSIS model evaluation. The research results can help control rocks surrounding the roadway, the selection of support equipment and the choice of parameter.