Interaction principle of rock-bolt structure and rib control in large deformation roadways

Large deformation in roadways is an inevitable problem faced by many coal mines, and bolt installation is widely adopted to keep roadway stability. To provide a theoretical basis for bolt supporting scheme design in order to eliminate hazards associated with roadway failure, the interaction principle between bolts and the bolted strata should be studied thoroughly. This research attempts to investigate the above principle through theoretical analysis through a group of selected statistics from fifteen different coal mines. At the same time, the thick board support method was proposed and applied for controlling the ribs deformation in a particular coal mine. It is concluded that the interaction of the rock-bolt entity is subjected to the fluctuation balance law. When deformation increases, the bolted structure experiences periodic equilibrium variation. Both the supporting force needed to stabilise the surrounding rocks and the supporting capability of bolted strata show a trend of decrease in this process. The interaction principle of surrounding rocks and bolts is in essence the mechanical phenomenon caused by their mutual load transformation, and the load-carrying capacity varies with the bolted structure’s deformation, which is subjected to the following law: elastic roadway>plastic roadway> fractured roadway>broken roadway. The designed bolted thickness of the ribs should be more than 1/5 of roadway height to make full use of the self-stability of surrounding rocks. Finite Difference Method simulation and on-site monitoring data showed that the roof subsidence and ribs convergence of 2201 roadway in Shuguang coal mine was reduced by 83.7% and 88.6% respectively after utilising the proposed support method, indicating that the thick-board method was effective. Results of this research can lay a foundation for support design in large deformation roadways