Research on Soft Rock Damage Softening Model and Roadway Deformation and Failure Characteristics

To determine a reasonable control strategy for deep buried soft rock roadways, a study on deformation and failure characteristics was carried out. The Weibull distribution damage variable was introduced to construct a damage-softening model considering the lateral deformation of the rock mass, and the functional relationship between the model parameters F₀ and m and the confining pressure were discussed. The nonlinear fitting method was used to correct the model parameters. Using the model, the failure characteristics of deep buried soft rock roadways were analyzed. A comprehensive and step-by-step joint support control strategy was proposed based on the numerical simulation results. The research results showed that the damage-softening model curve established could genuinely reflect the whole process of mudstone failure. The apparent stress concentration phenomenon occurred in the surrounding rock. The surrounding rock deformation showed that roadway floors had larger plastic failure areas than sides and vaults. The plastic failure depth could reach 2.45 m. After a comprehensive and step-by-step joint support control strategy was adopted, the deformation rate of the roadway at the section was less than 0.1 mm/d. The optimized support scheme can effectively improve the stability of the roadway.