Borehole pressure relief method is one of the most effective ways of rock burst prevention in coal mines. The measured results of borehole pressure relief at no. 8939 longwall face in Xinzhouyao coal mine, China, are presented here. The analyses identify the pressure relief magnitudes in coal mass around the boreholes with different diameters, spacing, and drilling time. This research has established that the best pressure relief of the rib coal can be achieved by using φ108 mm borehole with 0.7 m interval after 288 hours. The strain relief is acceptable after 288–360 hours of drilling, while the best result is achieved after 432 hours. It is also the first time to monitor the borehole pressure relief in a coal mine on‐site using Brillouin optical time domain reflectometer (BOTDR) distributed fibre‐optic sensing. The method implemented in this research provides new ways to improve stress relief design and minimize the rock burst occurrence for mine practitioners.

Rock burst is one of the major dynamic disasters that directly threaten production safety in coal mines. According to the current research, the occurrence of rock burst can be described by the generalized Newton’s second law with three elements which are research object, force condition, and motion state. These three elements refer to the coal and rock mass in the mining area, concentrated static and dynamic loads, and dynamic instability of surrounding rock, respectively. On this basis, a comprehensive rock burst research method involving the three elements of Newton’s second law was proposed, which especially focuses on the investigation into geological conditions of mining areas. The research procedure of this method specifically includes the detailed exploration of engineering geological bodies, the classification and stability evaluation of surrounding rock, the measurement and inversion of in situ stress, the evolution analysis of mining-induced stress field, energy field, and fracture field, the study of multiscale failure mechanism of coal and rock mass, the establishment of theoretical failure model of coal and rock mass, the real-time monitoring and warning in potentially dangerous areas, and the reasonable prevention and control in key risk zones. As a preliminary discussion, the significant research progress in each aspect mentioned above has been reviewed and the feasible research directions of rock burst are presented in this paper.

The coal pillar stress distribution at the 311102 working face in the Bayangaole Mine is analyzed and revealed. In addition, borehole stressmeter, PASSAT monitoring system, and numerical modelling are fully utilized. Based on the patterns of acoustic wave velocity distribution, it is discovered that the impact created by mining activity can expand into the working face around 40 m, where the peak stress concentration is found about 15 m ahead. According to borehole stressmeter readings, mildly impacted, ordinarily impacted, and severely impacted zones are distinguished. The equilibrium theory and corresponding calculation indicated that the coal body in front of the working face has a plastic zone width of 4.96 m. The stress‐displacement analysis based on numerical simulation showed that the relationship between peak vertical stress and pillar width is unimodal and bimodal. Specifically, both 5 and 10 m wide pillars showed a unimodal stress‐width correlation and the peak vertical stresses are all located at the pillar center, whereas 15 m wide pillar has a bimodal stress‐width relationship. In comparison, 10 m wide pillar holds the maximum in‐situ stress. In consideration of site conditions and economic influences, 6 m wide coal strip coal pillar is designed at the working face 311102. As a result, stopping was successfully completed, and remarkable economic benefits were achieved.

Thick sandstone roof strata exacerbate surrounding rock deformation and failure in roadways, posing a severe threat to safe and efficient coal mine production. To address the challenge of controlling surrounding rock in high-stress roadways under such conditions, a novel composite roof cutting and pressure-relief method leveraging the dilation characteristics of gangue was hereby proposed. Firstly, numerical simulations were employed to establish a gangue model, and investigations were conducted into the in-fluence of gangue size and placement patterns on its dilation behavior and bearing capacity. The results revealed that within a specific size range (excluding extreme particle sizes such as the maximum and minimum), smaller gangue particles with more irregular placement exhibited a higher dilation coefficient and superior bearing performance. Building upon this principle, the composite roof cutting and pressure-relief method was further formulated, accompanied by the development of a theoretical roof structure model elucidating its control mechanism. Secondly, numerical simulations were performed to assess the control effectiveness of the new method, and comparative analyses were carried out to verify its efficacy. The results demonstrated that this method effectively utilized gangue dilation characteristics, significantly minimizing overlying strata subsidence and alleviating surrounding rock stress on the solid coal side of the roadway. Finally, field engineering trials were conducted. Monitoring data confirmed that the new method successfully reduced surrounding rock stress, optimized the roadway stress environment, effectively suppressed surrounding rock deformation, and achieved the objective of roadway protection. Overall, the re-search findings provide significant references for controlling surrounding rock deformation in high-stress roadways under thick sandstone roof conditions.

The high stress environment and hard roof conditions seriously limit the application of gob-side roadway retaining. To achieve non-coal pillar mining, this study proposes a novel method combining roadside filling and roof cutting under stress-release and strong support synergy. Mechanical modeling reveals surrounding rock failure mechanisms in high-stress gob-side roadway retaining. Numerical simulations show the new method reduces surrounding rock stress/displacement more effectively than conventional gob-side roadway retaining. Optimized parameters were validated via field tests, confirming significant control of rock deformation under complex high-stress conditions. The method successfully enables non-coal pillar mining, providing a scientific basis for similar applications.