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Shallow-buried, hard, and extra-thick coal seams are very common in Xinjiang, China, but there are relatively few studies on the mine pressure law and the development characteristics of water-flowing fracture zones (WFFZs) during the mining of such coal seams. In this paper, the mine pressure of the top coal caving face in a shallow, hard coal seam with a hard roof and full bedrock (SHCSHRFB) is analysed, the laws of the surrounding rock deformation and stress of the open-off cut and roadway in the large-mining-height top coal caving face are studied, the characteristics of roof-breaking and overburden fracture development are analysed using the physical similarity simulation method, supporting suggestions for roadways are put forward, and three development stages of the WFFZ are analysed. Field monitoring shows that the hydraulic support stress in SHCSHRFB is weak, but the coal wall and roadway stability are good, which is significantly different from the results in the typical shallow-buried thin bedrock working faces. The measured height of the WFFZ is close to the physical similarity simulation results, but quite different from those arising from use of the empirical formula.
Wu et al. (2024) studied this question.