Roof collapse in a retained top coal roadway induced by high-energy seismic events: implications from a case study

Roof collapse in a retained top coal roadway induced by high-energy seismic events: implications from a case study | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Roof collapse in a retained top coal roadway induced by high-energy seismic events: implications from a case study Xiaotao Ma, Linming Dou, Kunyou Zhou, Yanjiang Chai, Anye Cao, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7117218/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 26 Aug, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 15 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Fully mechanized top-coal caving inevitably results in a certain thickness of retained coal above the roadway, which compromises roof stability and increases the difficulty of roof management. This study presents a dynamic disaster phenomenon in the Binchang mining area of China, where high-energy seismic events (HESEs) induced roof collapse in roadways with retained top coal. Disaster characteristic analysis indicates that in high-stress zones, the support system in roadways with retained top coal gradually deteriorates under mining-induced stress loading, and HESEs lead to roof support failure and roof collapse. A mechanical model of the anchored coal mass in the roof was established, and a dynamic instability criterion for the roadway roof was derived by considering the mode of dynamic disturbance. Numerical simulation of roadway instability conducted using PFC2D shows that when the lateral pressure coefficient exceeds 1.25 and a HESE occurs within 17 m of the roadway, the vertical dynamic energy increases by 84.19%, intensifying roof damage. However, the the use of an extended cable bolt anchoring design can reduce the dynamic energy by 86%. The results imply that roof collapse in retained top coal roadways induced by HESEs can be significantly reduced by eliminating dynamic sources through main roof fracturing and enhancing roof reinforcement with extended cable bolts. Physical sciences/Energy science and technology Physical sciences/Engineering Earth and environmental sciences/Natural hazards Earth and environmental sciences/Solid earth sciences Roof collapse Thick coal seam Top-coal caving Dynamic disturbance Induced seismicity Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 26 Aug, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 30 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 30 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 28 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 28 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 25 Jul, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 24 Jul, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 24 Jul, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 Jul, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Jul, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Jul, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 22 Jul, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 21 Jul, 2025 Editor invited by journal 21 Jul, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 17 Jul, 2025 First submitted to journal 17 Jul, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7117218","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":490572607,"identity":"b58426f6-e16d-4e29-ba4e-2c97aea95853","order_by":0,"name":"Xiaotao 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This study presents a dynamic disaster phenomenon in the Binchang mining area of China, where high-energy seismic events (HESEs) induced roof collapse in roadways with retained top coal. Disaster characteristic analysis indicates that in high-stress zones, the support system in roadways with retained top coal gradually deteriorates under mining-induced stress loading, and HESEs lead to roof support failure and roof collapse. A mechanical model of the anchored coal mass in the roof was established, and a dynamic instability criterion for the roadway roof was derived by considering the mode of dynamic disturbance. Numerical simulation of roadway instability conducted using PFC2D shows that when the lateral pressure coefficient exceeds 1.25 and a HESE occurs within 17 m of the roadway, the vertical dynamic energy increases by 84.19%, intensifying roof damage. However, the the use of an extended cable bolt anchoring design can reduce the dynamic energy by 86%. 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