Failure Mechanism Analysis and Support Design for Deep Composite Soft Rock Roadway: A Case Study of the Yangcheng Coal Mine in China

This paper presented a case study of the failure mechanisms and support design for deep composite soft rock roadway in the Yangcheng Coal Mine of China. Many experiments and field tests were performed to reveal the failure mechanisms of the roadway. It was found that the surrounding rock of the roadway was HJS complex soft rock that was characterized by poor rock quality, widespread development of joint fissures, and an unstable creep property. The major horizontal stress, which was almost perpendicular to the roadway, was 1.59 times larger than the vertical stress. The weak surrounding rock and high tectonic stress were the main internal causes of roadway instabilities, and the inadequate support was the external cause. Based on the failure mechanism, a new support design was proposed that consisted of bolting, cable, metal mesh, shotcrete, and grouting. A field experiment using the new design was performed in a roadway section approximately 100 m long. Detailed deformation monitoring was conducted in the experimental roadway sections and sections of the previous roadway. The monitoring results showed that deformations of the roadway with the new support design were reduced by 85–90% compared with those of the old design. This successful case provides an important reference for similar soft rock roadway projects.