Coal bursts are typically defined as a rapid failure of coal or surrounding rock producing a violent release of energy and ejection of rock particles. This phenomenon is extremely complex and dynamic, and this has made it very difficult to predict. In the last decades, different researchers have aimed to understand the sources and mechanisms of failure of coal bursts. Various indices have been developed to assess the burst potential such as the Burst Potential Index (BPI), Energy Storage Rate, and the Strain Energy Density. Lately, numerical modeling has also been used as a tool to examine the rock deformation process and stress distribution at specific mining stages to forecast the burst potential. The present work presents a coupled methodology using numerical modeling and rock burst indices to estimate the burst potential of two coal pillars in a longwall gateroad system. The analysis was conducted using elastic and elastoplastic constitutive models. Results showed that the burst potential index increases when the pillars store sufficient elastic strain energy unless mitigation measures are taken to reduce the strain build-up
