Air is commonly used as the noncoupling borehole medium in directional slot blasting where the quasi‐static pressure is small, the energy utilization rate of the explosive is low, and the breaking efficiency of the coal‐rock mass is not high. This study investigates the effect of quasi‐static pressure on crack propagation in closed‐field blasting. Crack length propagation in the quasi‐static pressure stage accounts for more than 60% of the total crack length. Water is therefore proposed as the noncoupling medium of the slotting borehole to increase the quasi‐static pressure. A series of experiments was performed to investigate and compare quasi‐static pressures generated using noncoupled water‐medium blasting and noncoupled air‐medium blasting. The experimental results show that the quasi‐static pressure is 37–46 times larger in water‐medium blasting than in the air‐medium case. The experimental measurements show good agreement with theoretical analysis. The results show that the energy utilization rate of the explosives in the hydraulic slotting blasting is high with a notable energy storage effect, and that the fracturing range can be significantly increased. Additionally, fracture by directional blasting using this approach can be more controllable.

Self-oscillating Water Jet (SOWJ) slotting in Coalbed Methane (CBM) is proposed to overcome low gas permeability, high gas desorption, and difficult mining in deep coal beds. SOWJ slotting excitation expands the fracture network, increases coal permeability, and strengthens gas desorption. The coupled effect of these three processes increases CBM extraction. Analysis of the characteristics of SOWJ, the effect of coal slotting, and changes in coal permeability shows that (1) SOWJ impacts on coal-rock mass, forming the erosion–peeling zone, fragmentation zone, and distal conical crack zone in the rock. The jet impact and cavitation sonic vibrating effect generate coal vibration; (2) The slots and fractures formed by the jets release the coal’s elastic energy, depressurising the coal and changing the stress field. The stress redistribution further expands the fractures and the subsequent perforative fracture network; (3) Slot formation increases the coal’s exposed area, changing the gas flow pattern. The decrease of effective stress increases coal permeability; the vibration characteristics of the jets and the cavitation sonic vibrating effect enhance gas desorption, which increases gas emission; (4) Extraction field tests showed that single-hole extraction of CBM from conventional boreholes was 1606 m³ and the average standard scalar volume was 0.01 m³/min, compared to 7081 m³ and 0.042 m³/min for SOWJ slotting boreholes, 4.41 and 4.2 times, respectively, of the conventional boreholes. Thus, SOWJ slotting can significantly improve CBM mining.

There are more and more tunnel projects in the karst-developed areas in Southwest China. Affected by karst caves and water, karst tunnels often experience geological disasters such as local collapses and water inrush. A simplified rock stress hardening-softening model was established based on the triaxial compression test results of two kinds of carbonatite to accurately analyze the deformation and water inrush characteristics of the surrounding rocks after karst tunnel excavation. The total stress–strain curve of rocks was simplified into four linear stages: the linear elastic stage, strain hardening stage, strain-softening stage, and residual stage. The volumetric strain–axial strain curve was simplified into four corresponding linear stages: the elastic expansion stage, slow expansion stage, rapid expansion stage, and stable expansion stage. The stress hardening–softening model was used to deduce the relationship between the rocks’ mechanical parameters such as cohesion, internal friction angle, dilatancy angle, and plastic strain, as well as the relationship between seepage characteristic parameters such as permeability coefficient, porosity, and volumetric strain. A karst tunnel in Chongqing, China was taken as the engineering background. The stress hardening–softening constitutive model and seepage characteristic parameters were applied to the FLAC^3D numerical simulation by the programming language FISH to analyze the stability and water inrush characteristics of karst tunnels in overlying confining caves. The results showed that rock masses between the cave and tunnel were prone to overall sliding instability. Confined water in the karst cave intruded into the tunnel through the shear-slip rupture zone on both sides instead of the shortest path. Two water inrush points existed on the tunnel surface. The variation law of the permeability coefficients of the surrounding rocks could more truly reflect whether there was a seepage channel between the tunnel and karst cave, as well as the permeable area and water inrush speed of the seepage channel. The work provides a new idea for the stability control of karst tunnels.

Due to the low permeability of the coal seam and the low gas extraction rate in conventional boreholes in the Wulunshan Coal Mine in Guizhou, in this study, the deep-hole pre-split blasting method is applied to study the improvement of the gas extraction efficiency by increasing the permeability of the coal seam. The study comprehensively expounds the process in which the deep-hole pre-split blasting method is applied to improve the gas extraction efficiency and proposes a numerical simulation method that combines ANSYS/LS-DYNA and COMSOL Multiphysics. Using the method, the initiation of blasting fracture channels and the subsequent influence on the gas extraction range have been comprehensively and directly researched and analyzed. Finally, some theoretical research has been verified by field experiments. According to the recorded simulation of the Wulunshan Coal Mine, the exposed area of the blasting borehole was 42 times the size of the conventional drilling borehole, and the pressure relief space was 1,050 times that of the conventional drilling borehole, which can connect about 32 m³ of coal. Compared with conventional drilling boreholes, in the process of gas extraction, the control range of the controlled pressure reduction was 4–7 times, the range of gas pressure reaching the standard was 25 times, and the peak pressure was reduced by 3–5 times. The average gas concentration was 1.85 times that of conventional boreholes, and the cumulative gas extraction volume of blasting boreholes was 4.48 times that of conventional boreholes. The research results prove that the application of blasting and permeability enhancement in the coal seam with a high gas content and low permeability can effectively improve the gas extraction efficiency in the Wulunshan Coal Mine in Guizhou.