Abstract:
Coal and gas outbursts coupled with strong mining-induced pressure constitute major constraints on safe and efficient deep coal mining. In Chinese coal seams, multiphase sedimentary–tectonic evolution has created a coexisting environment of high gas content and high geostress, wherein moderately low-positioned thick and hard sandstone roofs fail to collapse readily. This poor collapse behavior leads to ineffective gas drainage through high-level long boreholes and fracture-zone boreholes, consequently triggering severe strata behaviors at working faces and gas accumulation in upper corner areas. Taking the No. 632 working face of Huangling No. 1 Coal Mine as the study area, and focusing on the requirement for collaborative control of gas and mining-induced pressure through hydraulic fracturing of the moderately low-positioned thick and hard sandstone roof, a combined methodology incorporating field measurement, theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, and industrial-scale testing is adopted. The geological occurrence characteristics of the No. 632 working face are clarified, the manifestation features of the coupled gas–stress disaster are analyzed, and the linkage-triggering mechanism of this compound disaster is revealed. The moderately low-positioned thick and hard roof is identified as the key factor inducing the compound disaster. The feasibility and general strategy for synergistic gas–stress control are proposed, the target zone for roof drilling operations and the hydraulic fracturing engineering parameters are designed, and an experimental study on the collaborative control technology via hydraulic fracturing of the moderately low-positioned thick and hard sandstone is conducted. Results indicate that the thick and hard siltstone at the roof interval of 27–40 m is the key control stratum, and both the high-porosity development zone in the goaf and the high-permeability gas migration zone are distributed within 20–40 m above the coal seam. During fracturing operations, the pumping pressure ranges between 16.0 and 24.0 MPa. Hydraulic fracturing increases the borehole gas drainage concentration by 1.5–4.5 times and raises the net gas drainage volume by 1.4–2.3 times. The gas concentration in the upper corner is stabilized from a fluctuating range of 0.2%–1.0% before fracturing to a steady range of 0.5%–0.9%, with the average maximum concentration reduced by 0.15%. The gas concentration distribution curve exhibits significant stabilization characteristics, and the original increasing trend is eliminated. Furthermore, hydraulic fracturing reduces floor heave by 655 mm, decreases the deformation rate by 31.7% compared with that before fracturing, and lowers the total roof-to-floor convergence by 34.8%. These findings provide a theoretical basis and engineering reference for compound disaster management in coal mines with analogous geological conditions.