Coupled Mechanism of Continuous Roof Cutting and Rockburst Control in Deep Gob-Side Entry Retaining

Abstract

Continuous roof-cutting gob-side entry-retaining has been increasingly applied in deep coal mines to improve entry stability and reduce rockburst susceptibility. However, the structural response of the overburden and the associated load-transfer mechanisms during continuous extraction of multiple adjacent working faces remain unclear. This study integrates theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, and field microseismic monitoring to investigate the progressive adjustment of overburden structures, stress redistribution, and dynamic response under continuous roof-cutting conditions. The results reveal that continuous roof-cutting drives a staged transformation of the overburden bearing system during successive mining. The overburden structure evolves from an asymmetric fracture–subsidence pattern in the initial working face to a uniform subsidence in the successive working face. This evolution modifies stress-transfer pathways and supports the proposed dual-arch collaborative bearing mechanism, in which loads are redistributed through the compacted gangue and deep coal mass, reducing stress concentration and promoting gradual energy release. Field monitoring recorded 346 microseismic events, with 93.64% occurring ahead of the working face and 52.89% located within the roof strata. The maximum energy of mining-induced microseismic events remained below 1 × 104 J throughout the monitoring period, and no abnormal high-energy events were detected during critical squaring stages. The consistency among analytical interpretation, numerical stress redistribution, and field microseismic response supports the proposed mechanism that continuous roof-cutting regulates overburden movement and promotes distributed energy release, thereby reducing rockburst susceptibility under the investigated mining conditions.