Modern longwall mining employs hydraulic powered supports at the face area. The supports not only holds up the roof, pushes the face chain conveyor, and advances itself, but also provides a safe environment for all associated mining activities. Therefore its successful selection and application are the prerequisite for successful longwall mining. Furthermore, due to the large number of units required, the capital invested for the power support usually accounts for more than half of the initial capital for a longwall face. Therefore both from technical and economic points of view, the powered support is a very important piece of equipment in a long wall face.
The application of modern powered supports can be traced back to early 1950’s. Since then, following its adoption in every part of the world, there have been countless models design and manufactured in various countries. But unfortunately, there still is no uniform system of classification.
