Roof cutting is an effective technique for controlling the deformation and failure of the surrounding rock in deep gob-side entry. The determination of the roof cutting parameters has become a popular research subject. Initially, two mechanical models are established for the non-roof-cutting and roof-cutting of gob-side entry in deep mining conditions. On this basis, the necessity and significance of roof cutting is revealed by analysing the stress and displacement of roadside prop. The Universal Distinct Element Code numerical simulation model is established to determine the key roof-cutting parameters (cutting angle and cutting height) according to the on-site situation of No. 2415 headentry of the Suncun coal mine, China. The numerical simulation results show that with the cutting angle and height increase, the vertical stress and horizontal displacement of the coal wall first increase and then decrease, as in the case of the vertical stress and displacement of roadside prop. Therefore, the optimum roof cutting parameters are determined as a cutting angle of 70° and cutting height of 8 m. Finally, a field application was performed at the No. 2415 headentry of the Suncun coal mine. In situ investigations show that after 10 m lagged the working face, the stress and displacement of roadside prop are obviously reduced with the hanging roof smoothly cut down, and they are stable at 19 MPa and 145 mm at 32 m behind the working face, respectively. This indicates that the stability of the surrounding rock was effectively controlled. This research demonstrates that the key parameters determined through a numerical simulation satisfactorily meet the production requirements and provide a reference for ensuring safe production in deep mining conditions.

Smoldering of coal is a considerable source of danger in coal mines because it can lead to a gas explosion, which can cause heavy casualties. This work investigated the apparent smoldering reaction model of coal and its kinetic parameters, which are needed to study smoldering fire in a closed fire area of a coal mine. A series of thermogravimetric tests at different oxygen concentrations were performed, and the change in the pyrolysis and oxidation reaction with the oxygen concentration was analyzed. It is concluded that the apparent reaction model of smoldering coal should include a three-step pyrolysis reaction (i.e., drying, depolymerization, and polycondensation) and a five-step oxidation reaction (i.e., oxidation of coal, semi-coke, and three types of char). A genetic algorithm is used to identify the optimal kinetic parameters of the smoldering reaction. It is determined that in atmospheres with different oxygen concentrations, coal has different kinetic parameters. When studying smoldering fire in a closed fire area of a coal mine, it is suggested to adopt the kinetic parameters of the smoldering reaction in a 1% oxygen concentration atmosphere.

Fire prevention and extinguishing and CO₂ sequestration in coal mine gob require continuous transportation of liquid CO₂ in pipelines with large height difference (from ground to underground). However, the temperature and pressure variation of liquid CO₂ in pipelines with large height difference is still unclear, which hinders the design of a liquid CO₂ pipeline transportation system. The influence of pipe diameter and inlet parameters (temperature and pressure) on the variation of temperature and pressure of liquid CO₂ along the 1000 m vertical pipeline was studied in this paper. The study found that for each pipeline diameter considered there existed a range of flowrates where safe flow conditions could be ensured, at which no phase transition occurs throughout the length of the pipeline. When the transporting flow is larger than the maximum limit flow, phase transition occurs dramatically, which will lead to a sudden drop in temperature and pressure. When the transporting flow rate is lower than the minimum limit flow rate, phase transition of CO₂ occurs slowly along the pipeline. According to the requirement of underground fire prevention and extinguishing for transporting flow rate and the economic cost of the pipeline system, the optimum diameter is 32 mm, and the corresponding safe transporting flow range is 507–13,826 kg/h. In addition, when the inlet pressure is constant, if the inlet temperature is too high, phase transition of CO₂ occurs dramatically at the entrance. For a 1000 m vertical pipe with diameter of 32 mm, when the inlet pressure is 14 bar, 16 bar, 18 bar, 20 bar, 22 bar, 24 bar, the corresponding maximum allowable inlet temperatures are −30 °C, −26 °C, −23 °C, −19 °C, −16 °C and −13 °C, respectively. This research has significant guidance for safety transportation scheme of liquid CO₂ from coal mine surface to underground.

To prevent coal spontaneous combustion and store CO₂ in the coal mine, it is necessary to establish a fire-prevention pipeline transport system which continuously injects a large amount of liquid CO₂ from the ground to the underground area directly. At present, few studies are focused on the law of liquid CO₂ transport with great altitude difference. Moreover, the complex transport environment in the coal mine affects the design and application of the pipeline transport system for ground direct injection of liquid CO₂. This study explores the influence of environmental factors at different depths in the coal mine on the liquid CO₂ transport. Excessive altitude difference, ambient temperature and airflow velocity may lead to the boiling of liquid CO₂ during pipeline transport and a sudden drop in CO₂ temperature and pressure, which may cause danger in the pipeline transport system. The critical insulation thickness is determined based on the occurrence of the boiling of CO₂. In addition, the influence law of adding an insulating layer of different thicknesses to the CO₂ pipeline system is obtained. This study is of great significance to the establishment of a pipeline system that safely transports liquid CO₂ from the ground to the underground mine.