Geomechanics model test research on mechanical mechanism of the self-formed roadway by bilateral roof-cutting technology

• Novel BRC-SFR mining technology is proposed for the first time, enabling simultaneous formation of roadways along both flanks during mining operations. • World’s first geomechanical model test of bilateral roof-cutting self-formed roadway technology was successfully conducted with comprehensive validation. • Significant stress reduction achieved: 26% reduction in mining face stress, 26.7% in roof stress, and 29.7% in solid coal side stress compared to conventional methods. • Compared to GRE technology, the BRC-SFR technology effectively controls roadway deformation by more than a factor of 4.2, with roof-to-floor convergence limited to 0.85 mm. • Enhanced mining efficiency through elimination of coal pillar requirements and reduction of roadway excavation volume while maintaining excellent surrounding rock stability. Conventional gob-side entry retaining (GER) technology generally allows only a single roadway to be preserved, which often leads to discontinuous mining–excavation operations and severe roadway deformation under complex stress conditions. To overcome these limitations, this study investigates a bilateral roof-cutting self-formed roadway (BRC-SFR) technology aimed at enabling the self-development of roadways on both sides of the working face. Taking the N1215 working face of the Ningtiaota Coal Mine as the engineering background, field monitoring, geomechanics model tests, and FLAC3D numerical simulations were conducted to systematically analyze the stress evolution, deformation characteristics, and surrounding rock control mechanisms of the proposed method. The geomechanics model test and numerical simulation results show good consistency in terms of stress distribution and deformation trends. Compared with conventional GER, the BRC-SFR technology significantly reduces stress concentration on the working face, roof, and solid coal side, and effectively controls roadway deformation, achieving a reduction by a factor of more than 4.2. The results demonstrate that bilateral roof cutting can interrupt stress transfer paths and improve mining–excavation continuity, providing a reliable technical reference for non-pillar mining under similar geological conditions.