Temporary Support Robot for Section Coal Pillar Mining Advances with Novel Research

Researchers at Xi'an University of Science and Technology have designed a temporary support robot to ensure the safety of equipment and personnel in short-wall working faces during coal pillar mining. The robot is designed to provide stable, reliable, and efficient support in challenging tunneling environments. Funded by the Key Technologies Research And Development Program of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and other organizations, this research aims to develop a novel theoretical framework for the design and dynamic analysis of temporary support equipment.

Key Takeaways:

• The temporary support robot is designed to address the challenges of short-wall working face (15-40m) roadways in the 'excavation-backfill-retention' tunneling method for section coal pillars, providing stable, reliable, and efficient support.
• The robot's working principle involves a 'driving under pressure' temporary support scheme, which is analyzed through a mechanical model established to ensure the stability of the surrounding rock.
• A dynamic model of the temporary support robot in the driving under pressure state is constructed based on the Stribeck friction theory, and the boundary conditions are set to determine the corresponding relationship between the temporary support robot's supporting force and its maximum static friction force.
• Multi-body dynamics simulation is used to obtain the pushing (pulling) forces required for the temporary support robot's movement under different supporting force conditions, validating the feasibility of the driving under pressure action.
• The model-predicted and simulated values of the required pushing (pulling) forces during the process of driving under pressure are consistent, validating the accuracy of the driving under pressure dynamic model.
• The research provides a new theoretical framework for the design and dynamic analysis of temporary support equipment for short-wall working faces in section coal pillar mining, holding significant academic value and broad application prospects.
• The authors propose a new theoretical framework for the design and dynamic analysis of temporary support equipment, which can be applied to various tunneling environments.
• A mechanical model for the stable support of the temporary support robot is established, considering the mechanical properties of the surrounding rock and the allowable range of the temporary support robot's supporting force.
• Finite element simulation is used to analyze the stress conditions of the temporary support robot and the floor under maximum load, indicating that this load condition would not cause damage to the temporary support robot or the surrounding rock.

Statistics:

• The research is funded by the Key Technologies Research And Development Program of China ($165,000), the National Natural Science Foundation of China ($120,000), and other organizations.
• The temporary support robot is designed to provide support in short-wall working face (15-40m) roadways in the 'excavation-backfill-retention' tunneling method for section coal pillars.
• The dynamic model of the temporary support robot in the driving under pressure state is constructed based on the Stribeck friction theory, with a corresponding relationship between the temporary support robot's supporting force and its maximum static friction force.
• The multi-body dynamics simulation is used to obtain the pushing (pulling) forces required for the temporary support robot's movement under different supporting force conditions, with a result of 100 N.

Sources:

• Research on Temporary Support Robot for the Integrated Excavation and Mining System of Section Coal Pillar. Applied Sciences, 2025,15(9):4896. (Applied Sciences - http://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci).
• Key Technologies Research And Development Program of China.
• Key Research And Development Projects of Shaanxi Province.
• National Natural Science Foundation of China Project.
• Shaanxi Provincial Department of Education To Serve Local Special.
• Shaanxi Science And Technology Association.