When water damage occurs in a mine, variations in the immersion levels of tunnels at different burial depths can be observed. There is a significant relationship between the stability of the surrounding rock and the depth of immersion. Therefore, studying the deformation and damage characteristics of sandstone with circular holes at varying immersion depths, along with their acoustic properties, plays a crucial role in maintaining the stability of water-rich roadways. The TAW-2000 press and static strain system were utilized to investigate the mechanical properties, crack evolution, and deformation field distribution of sandstone with circular holes at varying immersion depths. Additionally, this study analyzed the impact of immersion depth on the characteristic parameters of acoustic emission. The results indicate that immersion depth is negatively correlated with the compressive strength and modulus of elasticity of sandstone; as immersion depth increases, the duration of the compression and yield phases of the rock samples also increases, while the duration of the elastic phase remains relatively unaffected. Furthermore, greater immersion depths correspond to a decrease in the total number of cracks, although the proportion of tensile cracks increases, making the formation of secondary cracks less likely. The frequency of acoustic emission events (transient elastic waves generated by the formation, extension, or closure of tiny cracks within the rock) shows a closely correlated dynamic with the stress–time curve of the rock sample. The acoustic emission ringing counts generated by rock samples under submerged water conditions tend to stabilize with a slight increase before signs of rupture appear. Additionally, the cumulative total energy of acoustic emissions from the rock samples decreases as the water level rises. These research findings provide significant reference value for addressing issues related to water immersion and the extent of water saturation in roadways within rock engineering.

Roadway section form is an important part of the underground engineering structure, and it directly affects the overall stability of the roadway and the occurrence of underground disasters in coal mines. Based on this, this paper adopts a TYJ-500 electro-hydraulic servo rock shear rheology testing machine to conduct a uniaxial compression test on sandstone containing different prefabricated hole section morphology and analyzes the damage characteristics seen during the damage evolution process, with the help of a high-speed camera and acoustic emission monitoring equipment. The test results show that the pore morphology is the main factor affecting the mechanical parameters of sandstone, and the peak stress and elastic modulus of sandstone with pore sections have the characteristics of increasing and decreasing at the same time, except for the intact rock samples. The pore morphology exhibits central symmetry (circular holes and rectangular holes) damage, more pressure-shear cracks and shear cracks, and the acoustic emission characteristics of high-energy–low-amplitude–low-count of the “two low-trend and one high-trend characteristic curves” attributes; moreover, due to the special existence of its pore morphology, it leads to the rock samples having less energy accumulation and release. The axisymmetric hole types (trapezoidal holes and straight-wall domed holes) are damaged by tensile cracks and shear cracks, and their acoustic emission characteristics show the characteristic properties of “three high-trend characteristic curves” of high-energy–high-amplitude–high-count, and there is a strong elastic energy accumulation and output. The conclusions of this article can provide a certain theoretical basis for the design of coal mine roadway sections in underground structures, failure analysis, and stability evaluation of roadway structures.

The instability of mine roadways is significantly influenced by the coupled effects of groundwater seepage and non-uniform loading. These interactions often induce localized plastic deformation and progressive failure, particularly in the roof and sidewall regions. Seepage elevates pore water pressure and deteriorates the mechanical properties of the rock mass, while non-uniform loading leads to stress concentration. The combined effect facilitates the propagation of microcracks and the formation of shear zones, ultimately resulting in localized instability. This initial damage disrupts the mechanical equilibrium and can evolve into severe geohazards, including roof collapse, water inrush, and rockburst. Therefore, understanding the damage and failure mechanisms of mine roadways at the mesoscale, under the combined influence of stress heterogeneity and hydraulic weakening, is of critical importance based on laboratory experiments and numerical simulations. However, the large scale of in situ roadway structures imposes significant constraints on full-scale physical modeling due to limitations in laboratory space and loading capacity. To address these challenges, a straight-wall circular arch roadway was adopted as the geometric prototype, with a total height of 4 m (2 m for the straight wall and 2 m for the arch), a base width of 4 m, and an arch radius of 2 m. Scaled physical models were fabricated based on geometric similarity principles, using defect-bearing sandstone specimens with dimensions of 100 mm × 30 mm × 100 mm (length × width × height) and pore-type defects measuring 40 mm × 20 mm × 20 mm (base × wall height × arch radius), to replicate the stress distribution and deformation behavior of the prototype. Uniaxial compression tests on water-saturated sandstone specimens were performed using a TAW-2000 electro-hydraulic servo testing system. The failure process was continuously monitored through acoustic emission (AE) techniques and static strain acquisition systems. Concurrently, FLAC^3D 6.0 numerical simulations were employed to analyze the evolution of internal stress fields and the spatial distribution of plastic zones in saturated sandstone containing pore defects. Experimental results indicate that under non-uniform loading, the stress–strain curves of saturated sandstone with pore-type defects typically exhibit four distinct deformation stages. The extent of crack initiation, propagation, and coalescence is strongly correlated with the magnitude and heterogeneity of localized stress concentrations. AE parameters, including ringing counts and peak frequencies, reveal pronounced spatial partitioning. The internal stress field exhibits an overall banded pattern, with localized variations induced by stress anisotropy. Numerical simulation results further show that shear failure zones tend to cluster regionally, while tensile failure zones are more evenly distributed. Additionally, the stress field configuration at the specimen crown significantly influences the dispersion characteristics of the stress–strain response. These findings offer valuable theoretical insights and practical guidance for surrounding rock control, early warning systems, and reinforcement strategies in water-infiltrated mine roadways subjected to non-uniform loading conditions.