Research on the Failure Mechanism of Pressure Relief in the Working Face of Extra-Thick Coal Seam

This chapter aims to effectively prevent and control the rockburst disasters induced by the failure of pressure relief in the heading face of thick and strong rockburst coal seams. Taking the rockburst accident of the heading face in the upper flat section of the auxiliary inclined shaft in the Xinjiang Liu Huanggou Coal Mine as the engineering background, we used case studies, theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, and field measurements to study the occurrence mechanism and prevention technology of rockburst in the heading face of thick and strong rockburst coal seams. We analyzed the stress distribution characteristics of the heading face of coal seams of different thicknesses during pressure relief and roadwaying, established a “bending-rockburst” mechanical model of the coal and rock mass in the excavation and pressure relief areas, revealed the failure mechanism of large-diameter borehole pressure relief in the heading face of thick coal seams, proposed targeted pressure relief schemes, enriched the theory of rockburst mechanism and prevention technology in the heading face of thick and strong rockburst coal seams.