ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mater.
Sec. Mechanics of Materials
This article is part of the Research TopicMechanical Response and Failure Mechanism of Rock Under Dynamic Disturbance and WaterView all 9 articles
Mechanism and control of deformation in mining roadways with hard roofs in extra-thick coal seams
Provisionally accepted
- China Coal Energy Research Institute Co., Ltd, Xi’an, China
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To address the challenge of significant and uncontrollable deformation in the surrounding rock of the mining roadways for the exceptionally thick coal seams 3 to 5 at Tashan Colliery in the Datong Mini ng District, under conditions of a hard roof, this study employed a systematic approach combining fie ld investigations, theoretical analysis, numerical modelling, and engineering practice. First, rock mec hanics testing and borehole observation were employed to determine the physical and mechanical par ameters of the surrounding rock and its joint development characteristics in the 5230 auxiliary haulag e roadways. FLAC3D simulation was then utilized to reveal the deformation patterns of the roadway u nder the influence of different mining phases. Building upon this foundation, a sectional coal pillar m echanical model was established based on load estimation. The mechanism of pressure relief through hard roof caving was analyzed, and key caving parameters (caving height:36m and angle:11°) were o ptimized using UDEC numerical simulation. Ultimately, a reinforced support technical solution cente red on "roof cutting and pressure relief combined with hollow grouting anchor cables" was proposed. Optimal support parameters were established: anchor cable length of 5.5 meters, spacing of two cabl es per row, and grouting pressure of 3 MPa. Field industrial trials were subsequently conducted. Field measurements demonstrate that this integrated technical approach effectively controls roadway rock mass deformation, ensuring long-term stability. It provides crucial theoretical foundations and techni cal support for safe and efficient coal mining operations in analogous geological conditions.
Keywords: Extra-thick coal seams, hard roof strata, Roof cutting and pressure relief, grouting anchorcables, Surrounding rock control
Received: 26 Sep 2025; Accepted: 31 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gu, Zhang, Liu, Yuan, Yang, Liu, Zhang and Qiu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Beiyan Zhang, zpy20240731@163.com
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