Coal is among the most important energy sources, and gob-side entry retention by roof cutting (GERRC) is an innovative non-pillar mining technique that can effectively increase coal recovery rates and avoid coal wastage. To investigate the characteristics of mine strata pressure using the GERRC technique, a field case study under conditions involving a medium-thick coal seam and a compound roof was performed, and the mine strata behavior mechanisms were studied by theoretical analysis. Field monitoring shows that the distributions of the weighting step and strength along the longwall working face are asymmetrical. The periodic weighting length on the entry retaining side is longer than that on the other sides of the longwall working face, and the average increase is appropriately 4 m. Compared to the other sides of the longwall, on the entry retaining side, the periodic weighting strength is weaker, the average pressure is reduced by 2.1 MPa, and the peak pressure is reduced by 10.2 MPa. The lateral distance affected by roof cutting along the longwall is approximately 29.75 m, and the closer to the cutting slit, the more significant the roof cutting effect is. The retained entry becomes stable when it is more than 230 m behind the mining face, and the final cross section of the retained entry can meet the reuse demand of the next mining face. Theoretical analysis shows that the roof pressure mechanism in GERRC can be explained using cantilever beam theory. Within the area affected by roof cutting, the thickness of the immediate roof increases, and the suspension plate length of the roof immediately behind the longwall decreases. Then, the gangue pile in the goaf behind the longwall formed by the immediate roof’s collapse and expansion can support the main roof and other overlying strata much better. Therefore, the rotational breaking angle of the main roof is smaller, the periodic weighting step strength increases, and the periodic weighting decreases. According to the structural state of the surrounding rocks during the entire entry retaining process, the retained entry can be divided into coal support, dynamic pressure and stable entry areas.

In order to solve the problem of roadway deformation based on the theory of “short cantilever beam by roof cutting,” the method of “pressure relief by roof cutting in the adjacent roadway” is proposed. Through presplitting blasting the roadway hard rock layer, the stress propagation path is cut off, and the surrounding rock stress environment of the roadway is improved, to achieve the purpose of controlling the deformation of the roadway caused by stress. Through theoretical analysis, it is determined that the depth of the presplitting blasthole is 17 m, and the angle with the vertical direction is 10°. Based on in situ measurements and tests, by presplitting blasting the roof strata of the adjacent roadway, the maximal value of the working resistance of the hydraulic support in the presplitting blasting side of the working face decreased by 24.9%, and the average volumes of the maximum floor heave, the maximum roof subsidence, and the maximum ribs displacement were reduced by 50.1%, 34.9%, and 41.7%, respectively. This method completely changes the traditional thought patterns of “reinforcing support” to control roadway deformation from “strong support” to “pressure relief.” It provides a new idea for controlling the roadway deformation.

In order to reduce large deformation failure occurrences in non-pillar longwall mining entries due to roof weighting behaviors, a case study in Halagou coal mine was conducted on optimization and control techniques for entry stability in non-pillar longwall mining. The Universal Discrete Element Code (UDEC) modeling was adopted to study entry stability in non-pillar mining, and the characteristics of deformation and stress and crack propagation were revealed. The large deformation transmission between the entry-immediate roof and the gob-immediate roof could be eliminated by optimizing the entry roof structure through a directional roof-cutting method. The localized tensile stresses generated in the entry-surrounding rock caused the generation of coalescent macroscopic fractures, which resulted in the instability of the entry. The tensile stress state could be inhibited by an active flexible support system through enhancing the confining pressure on the surrounding rock. Serious rotation subsidence occurs in the entry roof due to periodic weighting of the main roof, which could be greatly reduced by a passive rigid support pattern. The numerical and field test results both showed that the roof weighting pressure was offloaded by the technique and that the deformation of the entry surrounding the rock in non-pillar mining was quite small. Thus, the technique can effectively ensure the stability of the gob-side entry, which can provide references for entry stability control in non-pillar longwall mining.

In order to explore the characteristics of rock pressure distribution with roof cutting and pressure releasing under different composite roof structures and optimize the support design of entry retaining, the mechanical analysis and numerical simulation are used to analyze the structure characteristics of composite roof and the effect of roof cutting under composite roof in this paper. Besides, taking the 8304 working face of Tashan Coal Mine as an example, the results of theoretical research are verified by field-monitoring data of hydraulic supports, working resistance, and roadway deformation. The results show that the weak interlayer in the composite roof is easily damaged under the external force and the distribution of the layer has a key effect on the roof characteristics. When the weak interlayer is located at the middle of the roof cutting layer range, the demand of the roadway support strength is the highest; when the weak interlayer is located at the top of the roof cutting layer range, the demand of the roadway support strength is the lowest. Furthermore, with the increase of the height of the weak interlayer in the roof cutting layer range, the stress concentration peak of the coal wall side decreases first and then rises, then descends again, and the trend can be fitted by the curve of a three-degree equation.

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