The Baishitou Tunnel of the Dali–Lincang railway project is a weakly cemented surrounding rock tunnel with geological bedding bias. The deformation of the surrounding rock on the side with the greatest stress is nearly 1 m, which seriously affects construction progress and significantly increases construction cost. In order to achieve the goal of safe, efficient, economic, and socially sustainable development in tunnel construction, it is necessary to study the large deformation of weakly cemented surrounding rock in the geological bedding bias tunnel. Engineering technicians first used field measurement methods to monitor the pressure and deformation of surrounding rock and studied the deformation law of surrounding rock pressure and deformation over time. Secondly, numerical simulation methods were used to study the stress distribution law, plastic failure depth, and initial support stress of tunnel-surrounding rock under different support schemes, and they independently designed a yielding anchor bolt with enhanced anchoring, which plays a key role in controlling the deformation of the surrounding rock. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) Through the analysis of the measured pressure data of the initial branch of the section and the displacement monitoring data of the measuring point, it is found that the deformation of the surrounding rock of the weakly cemented tunnel is large and fast. At the same time, the pressure and deformation of the surrounding rock of the tunnel are greatly affected by geological bedding bias. After the excavation of the inverted arch, the pressure and deformation of the surrounding rock at the right arch shoulder of the tunnel are the highest, reaching 0.832 MPa and 0.53 m, which are significantly greater than those on the left arch shoulder. (2) Using the numerical simulation software FLAC3D 5.0 and ANSYS 16.0, a three-dimensional numerical model of the roadway was established to simulate the stress distribution, plastic failure depth, and initial support stress of the tunnel’s surrounding rock under the influence of geological bedding bias. By comparing the support effects of different support schemes, it was concluded that under the support scheme of “I25 arch + yielding anchor bolt”, the surrounding rock failure depth was small, the stress concentration was weak, and the initial support deformation was controllable as a whole. (3) The self-designed yielding anchor bolt has good economic and applicable value, and it has received the expected support effect after field verification. (4) Various special support measures such as advanced grouting anchor rods, casing arches, or temporary cross supports are used to assist in controlling the large deformation of weakly cemented surrounding rock tunnels to a certain extent.

This study addresses the challenges posed by weakly cemented strata in mine tunnels, where surrounding rock softens and deforms upon water exposure, which promotes the development of seepage pathways, and exhibits insufficient stability in bolt (cable) support systems. This study conducts laboratory grouting tests using silica sol on typical weakly cemented sandstone from Xinjiang mining areas. The mineral composition and pore structure were characterized using XRD, SEM, and mercury porosimetry. The injectable mixing ratio parameters for silica sol and the catalyst were determined through viscosity-time evolution tests. Grouting was performed using a custom-built constant-pressure grouting apparatus. After curing, unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and porosity-permeability tests were conducted to evaluate the micro-mechanism of grouting effects on the mechanical and permeability properties of weakly cemented sandstone. The results indicate: (1) The sandstone exhibits a high clay mineral content of 39.8%, dominated by illite. Its pores are primarily small-scale (10–100 nm), accounting for 79.31% of the total pore volume. This scale matches that of silica sol nanoparticles (approximately 9–20 nm), facilitating slurry penetration into micro-pores; (2) microscopic analyses reveal that silica sol effectively reconstructs pore structures through permeation filling and surface coating. Compared to KCl-induced gelation (with approximately 8% gel coverage), NaCl-induced gelation forms a more continuous gel film with more complete pore filling, achieving coverage of around 22%. Furthermore, the larger surface area of the gel aggregates indicates a more thorough filling of micro- and nano-pores, effectively enhancing rock mass compactness. (3) Permeability decreased from 6.91 mD to 3.55 mD, a reduction of 48.6%, while porosity decreased from 16.94% to 13.55%, showing a phased reduction during the grouting process; (4) following pressure grouting stabilization, the uniaxial compressive strength of sandstone increased appropriately by approximately 7–14%, while the elastic modulus rose by about 18–28%. The failure mechanism shifted from shear brittleness to a shear-tension composite state, with enhanced post-peak bearing capacity. These findings provide support for optimizing silica sol grouting parameters in weakly cemented strata tunnels and for the synergistic reinforcement of rock mass permeability and strength.