Research on the surrounding rock control of deep coal mine roadways by roof cutting based on high-energy gas directional fracturing

The stability control of the surrounding rock in the deep coal mine roadway is of paramount importance. To this end, from the perspective of pressure relief, a novel roadway surrounding rock control technology using roof cutting by high-energy gas directional fracturing (HEGDF) has been proposed. Only one single crack surface will be generated along the preset direction of the borehole wall after HEGDF, resulting in directional fracturing and pressure relief on the roadway roof, which is beneficial for optimizing the stress environment of the roadway and improving its stability. First, a mechanical model of HEGDF was established, and the principle of roof cutting by HEGDF was analyzed. Then, taking the deep mining of Guotun Coal Mine as the engineering background, a three-dimensional finite element numerical model was established. The stress–strain-damage evolution law of HEGDF under high stress conditions was explored, and the initial circumferential stress distribution pattern of the hole wall after HEGDF was characterized. Subsequently, a roof cutting field test using HEGDF was conducted at Guotun Coal Mine. The results showed that the HEGDF can achieve an ideal directional rock fracturing effect under high stress, effectively cutting off the stress transmission path between the roadway roof and the goaf roof, thus achieving the goal of optimizing the roadway stress environment. This research offers a promising solution for the stability control of surrounding rock in deep coal mine roadways.