One of the challenges that urgently needs to be addressed, both in current times and in the future, is to improve the heading speed of coal roadways. The roof instability of the heading face is the main factor restricting the rapid heading of coal roadways. Based on the theory of thin plate, a mechanical model of the roof in the heading face is established, the distribution law of deflection, stress, and internal force is discussed, and the supporting principle of the roof is clarified. Through a Flac3D numerical simulation, the main influencing factors of roof stability in the heading face are analyzed, including ground stress, surrounding rock strength, roadway section, unsupported distance, etc., and the regression analysis of each factor is carried out by evaluating the amount of roof subsidence. The results show that the maximum tensile stress and the corresponding bending moment of the roof appear at the fixed supported edge, and the maximum compressive stress and the maximum value of the corresponding bending moment appear at the center of the roof slightly close to the simply supported edge. In the on-site construction process, the position close to the fixed supported edge needs to be supported first. The roof subsidence has a positive exponential relationship with the stress level, a negative exponential relationship with the surrounding rock strength, a quadratic functional relationship with the roadway section, and a logarithmic relationship with the unsupported distance. In fractional support, the initial partial support can timely reduce the roof span and partially recover the confining pressure. Under certain geological and production conditions, the use of fractional support can not only effectively maintain the stability of the roadway but also speed up the heading speed. According to the research results, it is determined that in the auxiliary transportation roadway of the Caojiatan Coal Mine, the 122,110 working face adopts the fractional support model, the maximum roof subsidence is 18 mm, the roof is stable, and the monthly progress is more than 1000 m, which significantly improves the roadway heading speed.

To control the stability of small coal pillar roadways under the pressure of hard-roof isolated-island working faces, this study employed theoretical analysis, laboratory tests, numerical simulation, and field experiments. We determined the optimal coal pillar width and designed a high-strength, easy-to-cut pier column to work in synergy with the coal pillar. The pier column consists of easy-to-cut high-water material, internally reinforced with stirrups and externally confined by a cuttable bellow. Test results showed that the 28-day strength of a standard specimen made with a 1:1 high-water material ratio reached 17.2 MPa. Large specimens without reinforcement had a strength of only 2 MPa, which increased to 4 MPa with internal stirrups and further to 10.2 MPa with external bellow confinement. Numerical simulation indicated that the full composite structure achieved a strength of 15.6 MPa, equivalent to 90% of the standard specimen, successfully balancing high strength and cuttability. Field monitoring revealed an advance influence range of 60–75 m for the isolated-island face. The maximum load on the pier column was 16.2 MPa, and its use reduced roadway width deformation by 50% and height deformation by 87%, demonstrating effective control of roadway deformation.