Structural effect of a soft–hard backfill wall in a gob-side roadway

The stability of a backfill wall is critical to implement gob-side entry driving technology in which a small coal pillar is substituted by a waste backfill wall. Based on features of surrounding rock structures in the backfill wall, we propose a mechanical model on the structural effect of a soft–hard backfill wall using theory analysis, physical experiments and a numerical simulation. The results show that the deformation of the structure of the soft–hard backfill wall is coordinated with the roof and floor. The soft structure on the top of the backfill wall can absorb the energy in the roof by its large deformation and adapt to the given deformation caused by the rotation and subsidence of a key rock block. The hard structure at the bottom of the backfill wall can absorb the strong supporting resistance from the top surrounding rock. The soft structure on the top protecting the hard bottom structure by its large deformation contributes to the stability of the entire backfill wall. An application indicated that the stress in the backfill wall effectively decreased and its deformation was significantly reduced after the top coal remained. This ensured the stability of the backfill wall.