To reveal the fracture mechanism of overburden aquifers during mining under anticlinal structural zones in western mining areas, this study takes Panel 1309 of the Guojiahe Coal Mine as the engineering background and employs field investigations, physical similarity simulation, and numerical simulation methods to systematically investigate the overburden fracture and crack evolution laws during extra-thick coal seam mining in anticlinal zones. The research results demonstrate the following: (1) The large slope angle of the anticlinal zone and significant elevation difference between slope initiation points and the axis constitute the primary causes of water inrush-induced support failures in working face 1309. The conglomerate of the Yijun Formation serves as the critical aquifer responsible for water inrush, while the coarse sandstone in the Anding Formation acts as the key aquiclude. (2) Influenced by the slope angle, both overburden fractures and maximum bed separation zones during rise mining predominantly develop toward the goaf side. The water-conducting fracture zone initially extends in the advance direction, when its width is greater than its height, and changes to a height greater than its width when the key aquifer fractures and connects to the main aquifer. (3) The height of the collapse zone of the working face is 65 m, and the distribution of broken rock blocks in the collapse zone is disordered; after the fracture of the water-insulating key layer, the upper rock layer is synchronously fractured and activated, and the water-conducting fissure leads to the water-conducting layer of the Yijun Formation. (4) Compared to the periodic ruptures of the main roof, the number of fractures and their propagation speed are greater during the initial ruptures of each stratum. Notably, the key aquiclude’s fracture triggers synchronous collapse of overlying strata, generating the most extensive and rapidly developing fracture networks. (5) The fracture surface on the mining face side and the overlying strata separation zone jointly form a “saddle-shaped” high-porosity area, whose distribution range shows a positive correlation with the working face advance distance. During the mining process, the porosity variation in the key aquiclude undergoes three distinct phases with advancing distance: first remaining stable, then increasing, and finally decreasing, with porosity reaching its peak when the key stratum fractures upon attaining its ultimate caving interval.

In order to solve the problem of support crushing, rib spalling, and partial roof fall in working face crossing fault structure area, taking II1023 working face of Haizi Mine as the engineering background, the numerical simulation, theoretical analysis, and field measurement were used to simulate the rock activity law in the process of working face crossing fault. Based on this, the mechanical model of the interaction between the support and the surrounding rock in the fault area was established, and the calculation formula of the support strength required by the support under different equilibrium criteria was deduced, which provides a basis for the reasonable selection of hydraulic support. The results show that the rock stress of the working face passing through the fault zone is divided into high-stress section when it is gradually close to the fault and low-stress section after passing through the fault. In the high-stress section, the rock stress increases in front of the working face, and the distribution form is similar to the stress distribution of the narrow coal pillar. The roof easily forms a long hanging roof and slip along the fault surface, which is prone to rib spalling and partial roof fall and support crushing. The support strength is mainly related to fault dip angle, fault cohesion, support beam length, length of the main roof rock beam, and the distance between working face and fault. The reasonable support strength should be determined by the calculation results under different equilibrium criteria. When the working face advances in the high-stress section, the required support strength of the support increases with the increase of the fault dip angle and the length of the main roof rock beam and decreases with the increase of the fault cohesion, the length of support beam, and the distance between working face and fault. With the increase of the fault dip angle, the form of rotary instability changes and the probability increases. The field practice shows that during the fault crossing of the II1023 working face, the working resistance of the support shows the characteristics of high-pressure area and low-pressure area, but it does not exceed the rated working resistance of the selected support. The fully mechanized coal face passed through the fault area safely, and there were no accidents such as support crushing, rib spalling, and partial roof fall.

Pre-excavated withdrawal channel (PWC) is an effective means to shorten the withdrawal time of fully mechanized working face and improve the efficiency, safety, and reliability during the withdrawal. However, the key to the success of the withdrawal method is the influence of mining on the stability of PWC, taking the III32_upper1 working face of Zhuzhuang Coal Mine as the engineering background. By theoretical analysis and numerical simulation, the deformation of the PWC is analyzed and the mechanical model of the influence of the instability of the main roof fracture on the PWC is established. And the effect of the fracture and rotation of the main roof on the PWC is analyzed. The result shows that the instability of the coal pillar leads to the fracture and rotary deformation of the main roof as the width of the coal pillar gradually decreases, which further aggravates the deformation of the PWC and the degree of ground pressure behavior. Based on the influence of mining on the PWC, a control method is proposed. This method uses hydraulic fracturing technology to weaken the mining stress and prevent the fracture of the main roof above the PWC. The control effect of hydraulic fracturing on PWC is analyzed through the establishment of numerical calculation model. The result of engineering practice demonstrates that the mining stress is significantly reduced, and the deformation of surrounding rock in the PWC is effectively controlled after hydraulic fracturing.

The mining confrontation caused by a super-long working face is an important factor that leads to difficulties in the control of surrounding rock in facing-mining roadways. To address this issue, this study takes the 18106 working face of Xiegou Coal Mine as the engineering background. First, deformation characteristics of the surrounding rock in two stages of roadway mining are explored, and the principle of determining the time for fracturing construction is presented. Additionally, the influence of fracturing space position on the control effect of the roadway’s surrounding rock is examined. Results show that the roadway which is influenced by adjacent working face mining has obvious asymmetric deformation, and the order of deformation is as follows: pillar side > roof > coal side > floor. The roof activity in goaf is the key factor of roadway deformation, and the proportion of deformation is 60%, followed by the influence of advance stress, accounting for 38%. After fracturing, with the increase in fracturing height, the deformation of the surrounding rock decreases, and the decrease in deformation of the roof and two sides also reduces, while the decrease in deformation of the floor remains relatively stable. The reasonable fracturing height is 10 m, and the reasonable fracturing construction time is 17 days before the confrontation between the working face and the roadway. Field practice suggests that there are effective cracks in the roof after fracturing, and the deformation of the surrounding rock in facing-mining roadways is reduced by more than 60% compared to that without fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing is significant for controlling the deformation of the surrounding rock in facing-mining roadways.