International Journal of Mining Science and Technology 25 (2015) 113–119

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

International Journal of Mining Science and Technology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijmst

Experimental study on the bolt–cable combined supporting technology

for the extraction roadways in weakly cemented strata
Meng Qingbin a,⇑, Han Lijun a, Sun Jingwu b, Min Fengqing a, Feng Wei a, Zhou Xing a
a
State Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Deep Underground Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
b
Resources Power Coal Industry Co., Ltd., Xilinhaote 026000, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Aiming at the characteristics of the poor steady ability, the short stable time and severe deformation
Received 7 April 2014 behavior of weakly cemented soft surrounding rock around extraction roadway, a bolt–cable combined
Received in revised form 3 June 2014 supporting technology was proposed. Numerical simulation was performed by using FLAC3D software
Accepted 1 August 2014
to study the effects of different supporting systems. The simulation result proves that those supporting
Available online 7 February 2015
systems have good practical values. Based on real-time monitoring and analysis of the deformation of
surrounding rock and the stress of supporting structure, real time information of deformation of sur-
Keywords:
rounding rock and stress state of supporting structure of extraction roadway within weakly cemented
Weakly cemented strata
Extraction roadway
strata was obtained. Monitoring results show that large deformation and failure of surrounding rock of
Bolt–cable combined supporting technology extraction roadway within weakly cemented strata can be effectively controlled by the bolt–cable com-
Real-time monitoring bined supporting technology, which ensures the long-term stability and safety of surrounding rock and
supporting structure.
Ó 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of China University of Mining & Technology.

1. Introduction weakly cemented strata. Thus shaped steel bracket is needed to

As the coal resource in mid-east region of our country decreases
each day, many mines relocate to the west region with time. For
most part of the west region, Inner-Mongolia included, the main
coal-bearing strata is the Cretaceous and Jurassic strata and the
rocks of coal-bearing strata are mainly soft rock of layered struc-
ture which is characteristic of poor cementation, low strength,
weathering, mudding and softening in water [1–3]. The physical
and mechanical characteristics of this weakly cemented soft rock
are situated between soft rock and hard soil. Because of the poor
steady ability, short stable time and severe deformation behavior
of weakly cemented soft surrounding rock around extraction road-
way, the bolt and cable can be hardly set. The coal roadway is not
stable. The roadway support equipment is difficult to install, and
the roadway is hard to stay stable after frequent renovation. The
frequent roof caving accidents in the coal roadway within weakly
cemented soft surrounding rock have severe effects on the coal
mining efficiency and safety. Thus the coal mining progress in west
region and exploiting depth are greatly constrained.
The typical cross-sectional shape of the mining roadway is rect-
angle shape. This rectangle roadway shape is hard to form in the
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 13951468390.
E-mail address: mqb1985@126.com (Q. Meng).
keep the shape of the roadway and constant maintenances should
be made to the shaped steel bracket. Although many domestic
experts had done some research on the theory [4–8], took engi-
neering practice on selection of mining roadway and solved some
supporting technology difficulties [9–21], little research has been
made on the supporting theory and supporting technology of the
mining roadway within weakly cemented soft rock strata. Based
on engineering project of the Xiyi mine in Wujianfang coalfield
in Inner Mongolia, this paper studied the supporting theory and
technology of the mining roadway within weakly cemented soft
rock strata. Many engineering practices have showed that, for the
roadway surrounding rock and the supporting structure under
complex hydro-geologic and engineering geologic condition, the
deformation behavior of roadway and the stress variation laws of
supporting structure can be obtained through in-situ measure-
ments [22–26]. According to New Austria Tunneling Method,
through the analysis of in-situ monitoring results, further optimi-
zation of the design, construction program and information con-
struction can be achieved. Real time monitoring and analysis on
the deformation of surrounding rock and stress of supporting
structure provides real time grasp of deformation behavior of sur-
rounding rock and stress state of supporting structure. So timely
estimation of the supporting efficiency and adjustment of the sup-
porting design can be applied, which ensure the long-term stability
and safety of surrounding rock and supporting structure.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmst.2014.11.010
2095-2686/Ó 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of China University of Mining & Technology.
114 Q. Meng et al. / International Journal of Mining Science and Technology 25 (2015) 113–119

2. Mining roadway supporting system design in weakly installation position. Anchor cable is produced by high strength and
cemented strata low relaxation pre-stressed steel strand with diameter of
u17.8 mm and length of 6000 mm. The layout is 3-2-3 with inter
The Xiyi coal mine locates at southwest Wujianfang coalfield, row of 1600 mm  2100 mm. The pre-stress of anchor cable is not
West Ujimqin flag, Inner Mongolia, and is developed by inclined less than 150 kN. Anchor cable tray is high strength arch-shaped
shaft. The main coal-bearing strata belong to the BayanHua Group tray with specifications as 300 mm  300 mm  16 mm. The floor
of Cretaceous. The roof and floor of the roadway are mainly poorly of the roadway is reinforced by injecting concrete with strength
cemented mudstone, siltstone and sandstone. The coal-bearing level of C35. The thickness of concrete in the floor and in the wall
strata have low physical and mechanical properties, and the is 300 mm and 200 mm, respectively. One medium 2360 type and
strength of the roadway roof rock is lower than that of the coal- one slow 2360 type chemical resin sausages were used for the bolt;
bearing strata. Strength weathering, muddy and disintegration one medium 2360 type, one slow 2360 type and one super-slow
phenomenon as well as loosening in water or after weathering also 2360 type chemical resin sausages were used for the anchor cable.
exist. For this kind of weakly cemented soft rock strata, it is diffi- The floor concrete thickness is 300 mm and wall foot concrete
cult to set the bolt, cable and other supporting systems, which thickness is 200 mm. The concrete strength level is C35.
are extremely detrimental to the stability of the roadway.
Considering the characteristics of the poor steady ability, the
short stable time and severe deformation behavior of weakly 3. Numerical study on the bolt–cable combined supporting
cemented soft surrounding rock around extraction roadway, two technology
supporting methods are provided in this paper based on coal bed
thickness and roadway depth. The roadway cross section takes 3.1. Numerical simulation model
the tangential arch shape with straight wall. When the coal seam
is less than 10.0 m, the coal seam is too thin to be stably set. Thus FLCD3D software is used to carry out the numerical simulation
combining with supporting method, bolt mesh and shaped steel study on bolt–cable combined supporting technology in the
bracket is selected to make sure the roadway to be stable and safe. extraction roadways within weakly cemented strata. The model
When the coal seam is larger than 10.0 m, the coal seam is thick scale is 60 m  60 m  60 m (length  width  height). And the
enough for the bolt and anchorage cable to exert their full poten- model has 141600 elements and 147681 nods (See Fig. 2).
tial, so the roadway global stability and safety can be guaranteed. Both the bottom and lateral displacement are fixed in this
Thus the bolt–cable combined supporting system is selected to model and gravity stress is applied on the surface according to
support the roadway, as shown in Fig. 1.
For all coal seams in China, the exploiting depth is less than
1500 m. As roadway depth increases, the effect of gradually
increasing in-situ stress on the deformation, stress and failure
zones around roadways located in soft strata, increases. In addi-
tion, it can be observed that the instability of the roof increases,
and the ribs fracture and the floor heave happen. Thus the floor,
roof and ribs of the roadway require reinforcement.
The materials and its parameters of the bolt–cable combined
supporting technology scheme are as follows: The bolt is 20 mm
in diameter and 2400 mm in length with inter row spacing of
700 mm  700 mm and the initial pretension value is not less than
50 kN. The bolt pallet is arch-shaped and has high strength, the
specifications of which are 150 mm  150 mm  8 mm. The metal
mesh is rhombic and made from U6.5 mm cold-drawn iron wire
with inter row spacing of 50 mm  50 mm. Steel backbar is made
of round steel by welding and is used in the full face of the roadway.
Two longitudinal steels are welded with spacing of 60 m in the bolt Fig. 2. Three-dimensional numerical simulation model established by FLAC3D.

Anchor cable
Φ17.8 mm× 5100 mm (6000 mm)
Inter- row spacing
1600 mm×2100 mm
Roof bolt
700 700 700 700 700 700 700

Steel bolt Steel backbar

Φ 20 mm× 2400 mm
2100

Row spacing Steel mesh

700 mm× 700 mm
1700

Cable tray
Φ 6.5 metal mesh
Grid Bolt tray
2100
3700

150 mm× 150 mm

Side bolt
2000
300

Concrete
10°

Anchorage cable
200

5000
Φ 6 metal mesh 5000
Grid 150 mm× 150 mm
(a) Front view (b) vertical view

Fig. 1. Combined supporting technology solutions of anchor wire rope in gateway.

 Q. Meng et al. / International Journal of Mining Science and Technology 25 (2015) 113–119 115

Table 1
Physical and mechanical parameters of coal seam roof and floor.

Sample Uniaxial compressive strength (MPa) Elastic modulus (MPa) Poisson’s ratio Cohesive force (MPa) Angle of internal friction (°)
Mudstone 5.89 458.5 0.29 1.79 36.5
Coal seam 6.903 480.68 0.18 2.56 19.42
Mudstone 5.64 301.7 0.28 0.7 34.62

Table 2
Mechanical parameters of bolt and cable.

Material Elastic modulus (GPa) Poisson’s ratio Density (kg/m3) Mud stiffness (MPa) Mud internal friction Angle (°) Mud Cohesive force (MPa)
Bolt 200 0.25 7800 0.9 48 1.0
Cable 300 0.18 7850 0.9 48 1.0

the depth of roadway. The depth of the roadway is 250 m, and the
lateral compress coefficient is 1.2. The values selected to represent
the physical and mechanical parameters of coal seam roof and floor
are on the basis of the Xiyi mine geological drilling data as listed in
Table 1. Mechanical parameters of bolt and cable are as listed in
Table 2 [13,27]. The study of deformation of surrounding rock, evo-
lution laws of plastic zone and stress distribution characteristics
with section shape after excavation is based on Mohr–Coulomb
failure criterion. In order to comprehensively research the defor-
mation, stress and failure zones around a soft rock tunnel under
the condition of different supporting patterns, four types of sup-
porting schemes are applied in the numerical modeling here. The
four types of supporting schemes are as follows:
Numerical simulation was performed for the following support-
ing schemes: without any support (Scheme 1), bolt mesh support-
ing system (Scheme 2), bolt–cable combined supporting system
(Scheme 3), and, bolt–cable and floor injecting concrete supporting
system (Scheme 4).
3.2. Analysis of numerical modeling
The maximums of the displacement of surrounding rock and
plastic zone depth of extraction roadway under the condition of
four different supporting schemes are listed in Table 3. The distri-
bution of plastic zone of extraction roadway under the condition of
four different supporting schemes is showed in Fig. 3.
According to Table 3, when the floor is reinforced by concrete
and the roadway is supported by bolt and cable, the maximum roof
subsidence, floor drum, side inner squeezing quantity, roof plastic
zone, floor plastic zone and side plastic zone of the roadway are
18.34 mm, 37.26 mm, 29.35 mm, 0.67 mm, 0.91 mm and
0.52 mm, respectively. As shown in Fig. 3, the distribution of plas-
tic zone of extraction roadway under supporting scheme 4 is char-
acteristic of uniformity. The large concentration of plastic zone
which leads to local failure of the roadway does not occur, so that
the roadway global unstable failure resulting from local failure is
avoided. The above numerical modeling analysis shows that, for
roadway in weakly cemented strata under the bolt–cable com-
bined supporting system, the deformation and failure of surround-
ing rock are effectively controlled to low level, which ensures the
long-term stability and safety of surrounding rock and supporting
structure.
4. Monitoring of the roadway surrounding rock deformation
and support structure stress
In order to reveal the deformation and support structure force
condition of roadway surrounding rock in extreme weakly cemen-
ted formation, validate the feasibility of support scheme and eval-
uate support effect, real time monitoring of roadway surrounding
rock convergence deformation, roof abscission layer, steel support
force and stress state of bolt and anchor cable was carried out.
Besides, timely adjustment and optimization of support schemes
can be made according to the feedback of monitoring information,
which can well guarantee the stability and safety of surrounding
rock and support structure. Schematic of monitoring sections mea-
suring points is as shown in Fig. 4. Roof abscission layer indicator
was used to monitor the roof abscission. On each monitoring sec-
tion, No. 1 measuring point was arranged in roadway roof. The
monitoring of convergence deformation of roadway surrounding
rock was carried out by using the convergence gauge. Monitoring
section was set every 30.0–50.0 m. On each monitoring section,
the #4 and #5 measuring points were symmetrically arranged.
The monitoring instrument of support force and stress state of bolt
and anchor cable is pressure cell. On each monitoring section, #3–
#5 measuring points and #2–#3 measuring points were arranged
for bolt and anchor cable, respectively.
4.1. Analysis of roof abscission layer monitoring results
As shown in Fig. 5, the monitoring results of roof abscission
layer reveal that, within roadway mileage of 466.4–1792.0 m
(the depth of roadway is 157.7–259.1 m), abscission value of shal-
low base measuring point is about 0.0–33.0 mm with an average
value of 5.2 mm, while the abscission value of deep base measuring
point is about 0.0–65.0 mm with an average value of 6.3 mm.
Within roadway mileage of 1828.0–1900.0 m (the depth of road-
way is 250.7–251.6 m), abscission value of shallow base measuring
point is about 0.0 mm, and the abscission value of deep base mea-
suring point is about 0.0 mm.

Table 3
Displacement of surrounding rock and plastic zone depth of extraction roadway in different support scheme.

Schemes Surrounding rock displacement (mm) Maximum depth of the plastic zone (m)
Roof subsidence Floor drum Side inner squeezing quantity Roof plastic zone Floor plastic zone Side plastic zone
Scheme 1 113.62 148.14 104.35 1.39 1.95 1.28
Scheme 2 64.08 93.58 68.47 0.94 1.44 0.93
Scheme 3 22.35 87.87 32.54 0.70 1.25 0.57
Scheme 4 18.34 37.26 29.35 0.67 0.91 0.52
116 Q. Meng et al. / International Journal of Mining Science and Technology 25 (2015) 113–119

None
Shear-n shear-p
Shear-n shear-p tension -p
Shear-p
(a) Scheme 1 (b) Scheme 2 (c) Scheme 3 (d) Scheme 4

Fig. 3. The distribution of plastic zone of extraction roadway under different supporting schemes.

3
Convergence
deformation
measuring Anchor
point cable force
1 5 2 measuring
points
Bolt force
measuring
point

(a) Convergence deformation measuring points (b) Bolt force measuring points (c) Anchor cable force measuring points

Fig. 4. Schematic of measuring points of monitoring sections.

70 subsidence curves of 10 monitoring cross sections. With the time

60 Shallow base growth, the deformation of sides and the subsidence of roof have
point
Abscission layer

50 three phase: severe deformation, fluctuation deformation and sta-

value (mm)

Deep base
40 point
30
20
10
0
400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000
Roadway mileage (m)
Fig. 5. Monitoring results of roof abscission layer.
In general, the abscission values of shallow and deep base mea-
suring points in 45 roof abscission layer monitoring sections are
not large (some monitoring points are exceptional). Especially,
the abscission values of shallow base measuring points are
relatively small, which denotes that surrounding rock deformation
and failure of shallow layer are effectively controlled. The pre-
stressed bearing structure with high stiffness forms in the support-
ing systems. These prestressed support structures reinforce the
whole strength of coal seam and the shear resistance between dif-
ferent coal seams in the anchored area, leading to effective control
of abscission and dislocation of coal seams as well as the bending
deformation and tensile shear failure of surrounding rock [28,29].
For some monitoring points, large abscission values are observed.
This mainly results from the roof coal fracture and subsidence
around these monitoring points. It is suggested to enhance the roof
anchor cable density and add steel bracket in the large abscission
value section in order to prevent occurrence of roof caving.
4.2. Analysis of convergence deformation monitoring results
Roadway surrounding rock convergence displacement directly
reflects the deformation behavior and stable condition of the road-
way. Part of roadway surrounding rock convergence displacement
varies with time, as shown in Fig. 6.
According to Fig. 6, the side convergence deformation curves of
11 monitoring cross sections have similar trend with the roof
ble deformation. To be precise, as time increases, the horizontal
displacement of side wall and the roof subsidence undergo three
deformation stages (i.e., rapid growth, wavy growth and stable
growth) [22], and then tend to a fixed value, respectively.
Within roadway mileage of 1242.0–1740.0 m (the roadway
depth is 224.8–248.31 m), side convergence displacement is
28.39–80.00 mm with an average of 30.67 mm, while roof subsi-
dence is 2.0–24.0 mm with an average of 12.83 mm. Within road-
way mileage of 1895.0–2067.0 m (the roadway depth is 251.19–
263.7 m), side convergence displacement is 47.0–81.0 mm with an
average of 61.0 mm, while side roof subsidence is 16.0–29.0 mm
with an average of 24.0 mm. Within roadway mileage of 1242.0 m
(the roadway depth is 224.8 m), side convergence displacement is
28.39 and roof subsidence is 13.0 mm. Within roadway mileage of
2067.0 m (the roadway depth is 263.7 m), side convergence
displacement is 51.0 mm and roof subsidence is 23.0 mm.
On the basis of the above analyses, it can be concluded that the
roadway side convergence displacement is larger than roof subsi-
dence, denoting that the bolt–cable combined supporting system
controls roof subsidence and abscission effectively. With the
increasing depth of roadway, the increase of roof subsidence and
side convergence displacement are observed. Thus it is necessary
to reinforce the supporting system. One practical method is to
enlarge the density of anchor cable by changing the anchor cable
layout from 3-2-3 to 4-3-4. Besides, in order to prevent excessive
detrimental development of side deformation, it is recommended
to add anchor cable to roadway side to enhance side supporting
resistance and improve the stability and strength of supporting
structure. When the depth of roadway is too large and deformation
failure of surrounding rock is severe, grouting reinforcement tech-
nique is suggested to be adopted to enhance the surrounding
strength and bearing capacity. This grouting technique will also
change the bolt and anchor cable anchorage style from end
anchorage to full length anchorage, enlarge the anchored area
and its strength, improve bolt and cable bearing capacity as well
as prevent slip and breakage of bolt and cable. As a result, the
 Q. Meng et al. / International Journal of Mining Science and Technology 25 (2015) 113–119 117

90
80 Mileage 1242 m, Depth 224.8 m

displacement (mm)
Mileage 1265 m, Depth 225.1 m

Side convergence
70 Mileage 1290 m, Depth 225.2 m
60 Mileage 1320 m, Depth 225.8 m
50 Mileage 1358 m, Depth 230.4 m
Mileage 1608 m, Depth 242.2 m
40 Mileage 1740 m, Depth 248.3 1m
30 Mileage 1895 m, Depth 251.19 m
20 Mileage 1983 m, Depth 257.81 m
10 Mileage 2022 m, Depth 260.75 m
Mileage 2067 m, Depth 263.7 m
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Monitoring time (d)
(a) Side convergence displacement
35 Mileage 1242 m, Depth224.8 m
Roof subscission (mm)

30 Mileage 1265 m, Depth 225.1 m

Mileage 1290 m, Depth 225.2 m
25 Mileage 1320 m, Depth 225.8 m
20 Mileage 1358 m, Depth 230.4 m
15 Mileage 1608 m, Depth 242.2 m
Mileage 1895 m, Depth 251.19 m
10 Mileage 1983 m, Depth 257.81 m
5 Mileage 2022 m, Depth 260.75 m
Mileage 2067 m, Depth 263.7 m
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Monitoring time (d)
(b) Roof subsidence

Fig. 6. Surrounding rock convergence displacement and roof subsidence at different monitoring time.

deformation and failure of surrounding rock will be effectively con- 23.2–8.16 kN, 3.48–18.8 kN, respectively. In general, bolt stress is
trolled and long-term stability, surrounding rock safety and sup- small and is far less than the bolt yielding strength which is larger
porting structure will also be guaranteed. than 157.0 kN [28]. This is mainly due to that the bolt, which is
applied with inadequate initial pretension (the designed initial
pretension is more than 50.0 kN) because of deficient equipment,
4.3. Analysis of bolt force monitoring results
could not bear the pressure from the surrounding rock timely
and failed to control the surrounding rock’s deformation effec-
Real time monitoring on force of bolt and anchor cable can be
tively. It is observed that the stress of spandrel bolt is larger than
used to analyze the working status of bolt and anchor cable, such
that of roof bolt, resulting from the occurrence of concentration
as judging the yield and failure state, evaluating the stability and
stress in such areas as spandrel and wall corner due to the stress
safety of support structure as well as the rationality of support
redistribution caused by the excavation of coal roadway. It is also
parameters. Curves of partial bolt stress with time are shown in
noted that the bolt stress undergoes wavy variation but tends to
Fig. 7.
stable value as time increases.
As shown in Fig. 7, within the roadway mileage of 1335.0–
1930.0 m (the roadway depth is approximately 227.6–247.97 m),
the force values of left spandrel bolt, roof bolt and right spandrel 4.4. Analysis of anchor cable force monitoring results
bolt are 27.26–67.68 kN, 14.4–33.64 kN, 13.34–50.88 kN, respec-
tively. Within the roadway mileage of 2088.0–2210.0 m (the road- Fig. 8 shows the curves of partial anchor cable force with time.
way depth is approximately 265.17–270.38 m), the stress values of As shown in Fig. 8, within the roadway mileage of 1367.0–
left spandrel bolt, roof bolt and right spandrel bolt 6.38–12 kN, 1730.0 m (the roadway depth is approximately 230.7–247.97 m),

80 50
70 45 Mileage 1335 m, Depth 227.6 m
Bolt force (kN)

40
Bolt force (kN)

60 Mileage 1390 m, Depth 228.2 m

Mileage 1335 m Depth 227.6 m 35 Mileage 1705 m, Depth 246.84 m
50 Mileage 1390 m Depth 228.2 m 30 Mileage 1930 m, Depth 247.97 m
40 Mileage 1930 m Depth 247.97 m 25 Mileage 2088 m, Depth 265.17 m
30 20 Mileage 2210 m, Depth 270.38 m
Mileage 2088 m Depth 265.17 m 15
20 Mileage 2210 m Depth 270.38 m 10
10 5
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Monitoring time (d) Monitoring time (d)

(a) Left spandrel bolt force (b) Roof bolt force

60
Bolt force (kN)

50
40 Mileage 1335 m, Depth 227.6 m
Mileage 1390 m, Depth 228.2 m
30 Mileage 1930 m, Depth 247.97 m
20 Mileage 2088 m, Depth 265.17 m
10 Mileage 2210 m, Depth 270.38 m

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Monitoring time (d)
(c) Right spandrel force
Fig. 7. Curves of bolt stress with time.
118 Q. Meng et al. / International Journal of Mining Science and Technology 25 (2015) 113–119

the force values of left spandrel anchor cable, roof anchor cable and 5. Conclusions
right spandrel anchor cable are 88.74–174.58 kN, 103.82–
125.86 kN, 98.6–131.08 kN, respectively. Within the roadway mile- (1) Aiming at the characteristics of poor steady ability, short sta-
age of 1840.0–2148.0 m (the roadway depth is approximately ble time and severe deformation behavior of weakly cemen-
250.79–268.74 m), the stress values of left spandrel anchor cable, ted soft surrounding rock around extraction roadway, a
roof anchor cable and right spandrel anchor cable are 117.12– bolt–cable combined supporting technology is proposed.
138.72 kN, 73.92–225.6 kN, 99.84–225.12 kN, respectively. By using FLAC3D software, numerical simulation is per-
In summary, bolt force and anchor cable force are in the normal formed to study the supporting effects of different support-
range, but anchor cable bears much larger force and is the main ing systems and testify the rationality of the supporting
contributor to control the deformation of roadway surrounding systems. Real-time monitoring and analysis are applied to
rock. As the bolt force value is far from the yield limit of reveal the deformation of surrounding rock, so that the
353.0 kN [28], it is suggested to improve the bole initial pretension deformation of roadway surrounding rock and the stress of
[28,29]. On the one hand, the large initial pretension will improve supporting structure can be dynamically mastered. And the
the fault rock’s physical and mechanical properties, enlarge the real time information is obtained including the deformation
pretension-influenced area and enhance anchored rock’s whole of surrounding rock and the stress state of supporting struc-
stiffness and strength through the pallet and joist. On the other ture of extraction roadway within weakly cemented strata.
hand, the prestressed bolt will improve the surrounding rock’ (2) The bolt–cable combined support reinforces the whole
anti-tensile strength by counteracting partial surrounding rock’s strength of coal seam and the shear resistance between dif-
tensile stress due to the stress redistribution after excavation of ferent coal seams in the anchored area, leading to effective
the roadway, improve the compressure stress in anchored area restraint of abscission and dislocation of coal seams as well
and correspondingly reinforce the surrounding cock’s anti-shear as the bending deformation and tensile shear failure of sur-
capacity through the friction generated by the compressure rounding rock. Consequently, the stability and safety of
[28,29]. And it should be noted that the bigger initial pretension roadway can be guaranteed.
is added to the bolt, the larger compressed area is generated. As (3) Bolt force and anchor cable force are in the normal range and
a result, complete compressive area occurs in the anchored zone the bolt force value is far from the yield limit. It is suggested
which is favorable for the bolt to perform its full active anchorage to enhance the bole initial pretension stress to improve
ability. Generally, the initial pretension value applied to the anchor anchored rock’s whole stiffness and strength. The bolt
cable is large enough to counteract the tensile stress area around applied with larger initial pretention will enlarge the com-
the head of neighboring bolt. And the tensile stress area is further plete compressed zone and improve the compressure stress
changed into compressive area, which makes it possible for over- in this zone. This makes it possible for overlapping of com-
lapping of compressive area in bolt anchored zone and anchor pressive area in bolt anchored zone and anchor cable
cable anchored zone, so that a larger and complete compress- anchored zone. Besides, the bolt loaded with large initial
active anchored zone in the surrounding rock is generated and cor- pretension stress and anchor cable form the coupling sup-
respondingly the supporting structure whole stiffness and strength port system. As a result, the deformation and failure of the
is enhanced. The bolt loaded with large initial pretension can also roadway surrounding rock within the weakly cemented
match the stiffness and strength of neighboring anchor cable [30], strata can be effective controlled.
and make up a bolt-net-anchor coupling support, which will effec- (4) Engineering practice shows the bolt–cable coupling support
tively control large deformation and failure of surrounding rock of can effectively control the large deformation and plastic fail-
extraction roadway in weakly cemented strata and thus ensure the ure zone of surrounding rock of roadway within weakly
long-term stability and safety of surrounding rock and supporting cemented soft strata and guarantee the long-term stability
structure. and safety of surrounding rock and supporting structure.

200 Mileage 1367 m Depth 230.7 m

180 Mileage 1398 m Depth 232.1 m
160 Mileage 1618 m Depth 242.5 m
Calbe force (kN)

140 Mileage 1730 m Depth 247.97 m

120 Mileage 1840 m Depth 250.79 m
100 Mileage 1905 m Depth 252.08 m
80 Mileage 1985 m Depth 257.98 m
60 Mileage 2023 m Depth 260.81 m
40 Mileage 2148 m Depth 268.74 m
20 Mileage 2253 m Depth 271.88 m
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Monitoring time (d)
(a) Left spandrel anchor cable force
Mileage 1367 m, Depth 230.7 m
Mileage 1398 m, Depth 232.1 m Mileage 1398 m, Depth 232.1 m
250 Mileage 1618 m, Depth 242.5 m 300 Mileage 1618 m, Depth 242.5 m
Mileage 1840 m, Depth 250.79 m Mileage 1730 m, Depth 247.97 m
Mileage 1905 m, Depth 252.08 m 250 Mileage 1840 m, Depth 250.79 m
Calbe force (kN)

200
Calbe force (kN)

Mileage 1985 m, Depth 257.98 m Mileage 1905 m, Depth 252.08 m

Mileage 2023 m, Depth 260.81 m 200 Mileage 1985 m, Depth 257.98 m
150 Mileage 2253 m, Depth 271.88 m Mileage 2023 m, Depth 260.81 m
150 Mileage 2148 m, Depth 268.74 m
100 Mileage 2253 m, Depth 271.88 m
100
50 50

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Monitoring time (d) Monitoring time (d)
(b) Roof anchor cable force (c) Right spandrel anchor cable force

Fig. 8. The time curve of cable stress.

 Q. Meng et al. / International Journal of Mining Science and Technology 25 (2015) 113–119
Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by the National Natural
Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51174196, 51204168,
51109209 and 51309222) and the Youth Fund Project of Jiangsu
Province Natural Science Foundation (No. BK20130193).
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