Stability assessment of rock surrounding an I-beam supported retreating roadway

The installation of a back-wall guard-board is the key to successfully supporting underground retreating roadways in coal mines. Based on the coordinate support principle, and using an I-shaped steel support for the surrounding rock, a mechanical model was developed for the stability of the roadway support and surrounding rock. Analysis of the bearing capacity of the roof back-wall guard-board and modelling of the equations for the maximum deflection and the maximum compressive stress of the top and side beams of the I-shaped steel support were undertaken. Simultaneously, the model was used to calculate and analyse the stability of the top and side beams of the I-shaped steel support structure and analyse the criteria for their stability. The results provide a reliable theoretical basis for the judgment of the stability of the surrounding rock and support structure. The theoretical evaluation results are consistent with field data. Finally, the key support parameters of the top and side beams of the I-shaped steel support structure and the variation of the maximum deflection and the maximum compressive stress as affected by the influence of the guard-board length were investigated. It is concluded that, as the back-board length increases, the maximum compressive stress in the top beam of the I-shaped steel support increases while the compressive stress in the side beam decreases. The results show that the accuracy of judgment of the stability of a supported retreating roadway is improved, providing guidance for the design of such typical I-shaped steel support and back-board structures.