Traditionally, rockburst is considered as a dynamic phenomenon of sudden destruction of coal/rock mass. In this study, rockburst is treated as an event process rather than a phenomenon. This paper introduces typical rockburst process, its classification, mechanism of internal and external causes, and energy criterion. Analysis indicates that rockburst is a dynamic process that includes three sequential phases: burst start‐up, burst energy transfer, and rockburst pressure behavior. Excessive static stress concentration in the strata nearby the target zone appears to be the internal cause of rockburst start‐up, while the external cause is the disturbance of the static stress concentration and additional load transfer by the concentrated dynamic load occurred at further distance. Potential burst start‐up area is the highest stress concentration zone within the region where stress is in the critical equilibrium state. With the identified internal and external factors that contribute to rockburst start‐up, it is concluded that the rockburst preventive measures should focus on the monitoring and controlling of originating source of static and dynamic stress concentrations. Field practice proves that the reunderstanding of rockburst and the derived preventive measures are feasible and successful.

Rockburst frequently occurs in deep multipillar gob-side entry in Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi, China. A case study of the Hongqinghe coal mine was analyzed to reveal the occurrence mechanism of rockburst in deep multipillar gob-side entry through theoretical and applied research. And new control methods were put forward. The results show that there is an essential difference between the surrounding rock load characteristics of multipillar gob-side entry and single-pillar gob-side entry. Within the influence area of the lateral goaf, more coal pillars will promote stress concentration, and the high stress concentration area will migrate to the coal pillar of mining roadway. The hanging roof of the working face can cause the stress concentration in the area of leading coal pillar to reach 5 times. The multipillar gob-side entry is less affected by the dynamic load of the roof of the lateral goaf. The ‘F-shaped and L-shaped’ stress source structure model of the deep gob-side multipillar entry was established, and the occurrence mechanism of rockburst is revealed. On the one hand, the static load of rockburst start foundation is formed under the superposition of lateral goaf, rear goaf, and multicoal pillar. On the other hand, the superposition of the foundation static load and the opportune static load induces the start of rockburst. Aiming at the two types of load sources, the fracturing method of kilometer bedding drilling in the roof of coal pillar area is proposed to reduce the foundation static load. The treatment method of periodic tendency blasting fracture of leading roadway roof in a working face reduces opportune static load. The field test has been carried out, and the effect was good.

The stress environments of gob-side roadways (GSRs) are becoming increasingly complex during deep coal mining under thick and hard roofs. This leads to strong strata behaviors, including roadway floor heave, roof subsidence, and even coal bursts. Among them, coal bursts pose the greatest threat to production safety in coal mines. Coal bursts in a GSR strongly correlate with the load characteristics and stress-energy evolution laws of the roadway. This study analyzes the roof structures of double working faces (DWFs) during the initial weighting stage (IWS) and full mining stage (FMS) of gob-side working faces (GSWFs). This study also explores how varying roof structures affect the stability of GSRs. Three-dimensional roof structure models of DWFs and mechanical models of dynamic and static loads superposition on a GSR throughout the IWS and FMS of a GSWF were developed. An analysis identified the primary stress sources affecting the GSR throughout various mining stages of the GSWF. Subsequently, the principle of “three-load” superposition was developed. A novel method was proposed to quantify the stress state in the GSR surrounding rock across different mining stages of the GSWF. The method quantitatively characterizes the load of the GSR surrounding rock. Based on this, the criterion for judging the burst failure of the roadway was established. Numerical simulations are used to analyze the stress-energy evolution laws of the working face, coal pillar, and GSR surrounding rock during the mining process of the GSWF. These findings offer valuable references for studying and preventing coal bursts in GSRs under equivalent geological situations.