The non-pillar entry (roadway) retained by roof cutting serves the two adjacent working faces. As compared with the conventional mining roadways, the roadway retained by roof cutting has a longer life cycle and receives more complicated influence from mining. Determining the location where the roof deformation and maximum deformation occur can provide an important basis for roadway support. Here, the direct roof of the roadway is studied by assuming it as an elastic deformation body. The stress features of the direct roof of the gob-side entry retained by roof cutting are analyzed, and the roof deformation is divided into five stages. The stress superposition principle is employed, and the equivalent concentrated load within the roadway is introduced. The mechanical model of the direct roof is established for the whole process of gob-side entry retaining by roof cutting. Next, the calculation formula for the concentration of direct roof at different positions is obtained for the whole process of gob-side entry retaining by roof cutting. The application scope of the calculation formula and the determination method of the key parameters are analyzed. The relationship between direct roof deformation of the roadway and stiffness of the support system is studied. The results show that the direct roof deformation has a symmetrical distribution about the midline. The maximum roof deformation occurs in the middle of the roadway, and it gradually decreases as the coal seam stiffness increases. During the example calculation, the maximum roof deformation is 280 mm for the gob-side entry retaining under primary mining. The measured maximum roof deformation is 320 m, and the error rate is 12.5%. It is then verified that the uniform mechanical model proposed in this study applies to the calculation of direct roof deformation in the gob-side entry retained by roof cutting.

To determine the impact of influencing factors on unsupported roof stability in coal mine roadway, a mechanical model of the unsupported roof was built. FLAC 3D numerical simulation was utilized to study the stability of the unsupported roof under the influence of the depth of the roadway, the thickness of the roof, and the unsupported‐support distance. In view of the key influencing factors, the geological conditions of the site, and the relationship between the tensile stress and tensile strength of the unsupported roof, the maximum unsupported roof distance during roadway excavation was determined. Considering the surplus safety factor of the unsupported roof, the reasonable unsupported roof distance during the excavation of roadway 150802 was finally determined to be 2.08 m. The comprehensive roadway excavation speed increased by 62.7%, achieving a monthly progress over 500 m.

The important technical process to ensure the success of gob-side entry retaining by roof cutting (GERRC) was the advanced pre-splitting blasting to cut off the mechanical connection between the roadway and working face roof. The whole-cycle roof structure evolution and stress characteristics of GERRC were analyzed. The factors affecting the roof deformation of GERRC were analyzed, and the quantitative relationship between the roof deformation of GERRC and the support stiffness was determined. The results showed that the temporary support stiffness was higher, the support position to the side of the roof cutting was closer, and the roof subsidence deformation of GERRC was smaller. It is proposed to use a single support mass with a high stiffness to control the deformation of the roof, but it also made the support mass and roof elastic potential energy aggregate. To fully utilize the matching of the support stiffness and roof subsidence, improve the stability, and control the subsidence deformation of the roof in GERRC, double-row stacking supports were adopted in the inclination of GERRC, which were used to increase the stiffness of the support system.

In order to study the deflection and failure characteristics of the goaf roof, a mechanical model of the goaf thin plate is established and the deflection expression of the goaf roof is obtained. The results show the following: (1) under the action of single factor, the roof deflection is more sensitive to the interaction of unsupported roof distance and load, but less sensitive to the support force. (2) The influence degree of each factor on the deflection of the thin plate in the unsupported top area is as follows: unsupported roof distance and load interaction > unsupported roof distance and supporting force > supporting force and load. (3) The roof bending deformation is slow when the unsupported roof distance is within 0–2.3 m. When the vacant distance of the roof is more than 2.3 m, the bending deformation of the roof is accelerated. Using FLAC3D numerical simulation software, the distribution of vertical stress and displacement under different space distances is analyzed and the reasonable space distance is 2.0 m. Through the application of 150802 machine roadway in Liuzhuang coal mine, the driving speed of the coal roadway is improved and the monthly footage of coal roadway reaches 506 m.

Based on 7135 working face of Qidong Coal Mine, the cracking mechanism of pre-splitting of gob-side entry retaining by roof cutting and the key parameters of pre-splitting blasting are studied by means of theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, and on-site measurement. Under the same blasting conditions, the energy of shaped-charge blasting in the direction of shaped charge is much larger than that of non-shaped-charge blasting, and the cracks generated along the direction of shaped charge are longer than that of non-shaped-charge blasting. The key parameters of pre-splitting cracks are the hole spacing and charge length. The crack propagation law of two holes blasting at the same time with different blasting methods, different linear charge density, and different hole spacing is studied. It is obtained that the cracking effect of shaped-charge blasting with the same hole spacing is better than that of non-shaped-charge blasting, showing that it can form part-through cracks; Increasing the linear charge density can increase the crack distance, but also destroy the integrity of the retained rock mass. The key parameters of advanced pre-splitting blasting in engineering practice are put forward. Generally, the maximum hole spacing and the minimum charge length that can produce part-through cracks are selected. When the hole spacing is 600 mm and the charge length is 4 m, the crack propagation of roof and the stress change of anchor cable after blasting are measured, and the crack formation rate reaches 86% to 90% within the blasting depth of blasting hole, and the anchor cable is in a good stress state, which can effectively control the roof. The research results provide a theoretical basis for the parameter design of pre-splitting blasting cracking of gob-side entry retaining by roof cutting.

Scientific and reasonable roof-cutting parameters are key to ensuring pressure relief of the retained roadway roof. This manuscript takes the 7135 working face of Qidong Coal Mine as the engineering background and uses theoretical analysis, numerical and on-site measurement methods to study the quantitative relationship and pressure relief effect between different roof-cutting parameters of GERRC. We established a fracture criterion based on the tensile strength of the main roof of the uncut joint along the cutting line. We analyzed the quantitative relationship between different main roof thickness, cutting height, cutting angle, and the main roof tensile stress of the uncut joint. We found that within a small range of cutting angles, as the cutting angle decreases, the tensile stress on the main roof of the uncut joint increases. When the cutting angle is 0, the main roof tensile stress of the uncut joint reaches its maximum. As the cutting height increases, the limitation of the cutting angle on the cutting height becomes smaller. Numerical simulation was conducted to study the distribution patterns of maximum and minimum principal stresses along the direction of the roadway roof during the retention period under different roof-cutting heights and angles. Based on this, the optimal unloading effect of the roadway roof and the minimum concentration of mining stress were obtained at a roof-cutting height of 9 m and a roof-cutting angle of 80°. Through on-site measurement of the stress on the reinforcement anchor cable during the retention period, the deformation of the sinking roadway roof, and the pressure relief control effect of the retained roadway roof, the pressure relief effect and scientific rationality of the design of the cutting height and cutting angle were verified.