Gob-side entry driving near an advancing working face can improve the recovery rate of coal resources and keep the balance between mining and development. However, the large displacement of the gob-side entry caused by the mining dynamics of abutment pressure challenges the safety and processes of coal mining. This article takes the 15102 tailentry of Xizhang Coal Mine in Changzhi City, Shanxi Province, as an example to study the stability of the coal pillar and the failure characteristics of the surrounding rock and proposes cooperative control strategies of surrounding rock stability. Field tests indicated that when the coal pillar width was 15 m, the displacements of the entry floor, roof, coal pillar side, and solid coal side were 1121 mm, 601 mm, 783 mm, and 237 mm, respectively. A meticulously validated numerical model, incorporating a double-yield model for the gob materials and calibrated parameters, was developed to investigate the stress changes and yield zone distribution across the coal pillar with different sizes. The results of the simulation indicate that the influence range of the dynamic abutment pressure caused by mining in the upper section of gob-side entry driving is 30 m ahead and 70 m behind. When the coal pillar width increases from 7 m to 20 m, the internal stress of the coal pillar increases continuously, while the internal stress of the solid coal decreases continuously. It is estimated that the reasonable coal pillar width should be 7 m, which is subjected to a lower load. The cooperative control strategies comprising a narrow coal pillar, hydraulic fracturing roof cutting for pressure relief, and entry dynamic support were proposed and applied in the 15103 tailentry. The final displacements of the floor, roof, coal pillar side, and solid coal side were 66.01%, 62.06%, 61.05%, and 63.30% lower than that of the 15102 tailentry in the same period, respectively, which effectively controlled the stability of surrounding rock. In addition, this finding for the gob-side entry driving near an advancing working face in this study can potentially be applied to other similar projects.

The hard roof leads to large deformation or failure of the entry and poses risks to mining safety. Shaped charge blasting is applied to directionally fracture the hard roof and release mining pressure in this paper. The stress condition around the blasting borehole required to induce fracture propagation is calculated by theoretical calculation and numerical simulation. Evolution of blasting‐induced fractures between adjacent boreholes, main fracture in the shaped charge jet direction and secondary fractures in other directions is analyzed. The reliability of Livemore software of explicit dynamics analysis code (LS‐DYNA) in simulating shaped charge blasting is validated by experimental results. A numerical model is established to reveal the formation processes of the shaped charge jet, disclose the evolution of the equivalent stress and understand the development of the main fractures and secondary fractures between adjacent boreholes. The failure type of the rock mass and the fracture development zone are identified. The results indicate that blasting‐induced fractures mainly initiate and propagate in the shaped charge jet direction between adjacent boreholes. Shaped charge blasting leads to the directional propagation of fractures. The field monitoring results show that shaped charge blasting is able to realize the directional propagation of blasting‐induced fractures and release mining pressure.

Gob-side entry retained technology is of great significance to develop coal mining industry sustainably, which can improve the coal recovery rate by mining without the coal pillar. However, scholars and researchers pay little attention to the gob-side entry retained with soft roof, floor, and seam in thin coal seams. In this study, the difficulties and key points of surrounding rock control for gob-side entry retained with soft roof, floor, and seam in thin coal seams were firstly proposed. Secondly, the mechanical model of the interaction between the roadside backfill body and the roof for gob-side entry retained with soft roof, floor, and seam in thin coal seams was established, and the relevant parameters were designed. Finally, the above results were verified by the engineering practice of gob-side entry retained technology and the monitoring of mine pressure on the 1103 working face of the Heilong Coal Mine. Moreover, the effect factors of surrounding rock stability for gob-side entry retained with soft roof, floor, and seam in thin coal seams were discussed using the discrete element method. The results could provide guidance for gob-side entry retained with soft roof, floor, and seam in thin coal seams under similar geological conditions.

Gob-side entry retaining (GER) employed in a thin coal seam (TCS) can increase economic benefits and coal recovery, as well as mitigate gas concentration in the gob. In accordance with the caving style of a limestone roof, the gas concentration and air pressure in the gob were analyzed, and a roof-cutting mechanical model of GER with a roadside backfill body (RBB) was proposed, to determine the key parameters of the GER-TCS, including the roof-cutting resistance and the width of the RBB. The results show that if the immediate roof height is greater than the seam height, the roof-cutting resistance and width of the RBB should meet the requirement of the immediate roof being totally cut along the gob, for which the optimal roof-cutting resistance and width of RBB were determined by analytical and numerical methods. The greater the RBB width, the greater its roof-cutting resistance. The relationship between the supporting strength of the RBB and the width of the RBB can be derived as a composite curve. The floor heave of GER increases with increasing RBB width. When the width of the RBB increased from 0.8 m to 1.2 m, the floor heave increased two-fold to 146.2 mm. GER was applied in a TCS with a limestone roof of 5 m thickness; the field-measured data verified the conclusions of the numerical model.