Study on the Modification of Confining Rock for Protecting Coal Roadways against Impact Loads from a Roof Stratum

Abstract

Promoting the ability of anti-bursting of the confining rock of a coal roadway is of significant importance to the safe production of a coal mine. In particular, in deep-buried coal mines, highly frequent rock burst occurs due to large earth pressure and complex geological conditions, which needs serious improvement. This paper investigated a type of confining rock modified method, which can modify the physical properties of the surrounding rock and form a crack region and a reinforced region by blasting and grouting reinforcement. Based on a set of physical model experiments and numerical modeling, the results of a comparative analysis between a normal roadway and the modified roadway in the static stress redistribution, dynamic stress, damage evolution, and energy dissipation suggest that the modified confining rock is capable of protecting the coal roadway against rock burst from roof stratum, obviously reducing and transferring the concentered static–dynamic stress out of the cracked region, dissipating the dynamic energy by plastic damage in the cracked region, and keeping the integrity of the reinforced region. In addition, the velocity of the dynamic stress vibration wave at the surface of the modified coal roadway is obviously reduced, which is beneficial for decreasing the movement of cracked rock blocks and protecting the lives and goods in the coal roadway.