Purpose is to analyze nature of rock deformation and to estimate experimentally state of mine workings being supported under the conditions of areas disturbed by coal mining.Methods. The studies involved field instrumental observations within measuring points equipped with contour benchmarks. Express method was applied to determine height and width of the mine working; typical supported areas were designed; and photographs were taken. The research was conducted in a belt roadway and ventilation raise of western longwall 11 (c 18 seam of MM "Pivdennodonbaske No. 1"), and in their connections with the longwall.Findings. It has been determined that the longwall effect in the mine working, being supported repeatedly, is 80 -60 m in front of a stope; vertical convergence within the area is more than 1 m; floor rise share is almost 76%; and share rate is more than 3 mm/day. It has been specified that local destruction of anchor fitting as well as almost 70% of deformation of frame support is observed within the zone of the longwall affect. It has been identified that potential inrush area from the belt roadway is between supports 3 and 9 of a face zone support; i.e. distance from the seam edge is more than 2.4 m. It has been proved that the use of rigid protective structures is not efficient in the context of soft floor rocks since the protective structures function like dies. Condition of the belt roadway, being constructed and supported behind the longwall, is satisfactory; boundary deformations are within the range of the support flexibility.Originality. Regularities concerning deformation of boundaries of mine workings under the conditions of unstable wall rocks of c 18 seam (MM "Pivdennodonbaske No. 1"), when the mine workings are being constructed and supported behind a stope to be used repeatedly for following longwall, have been determined. Regularities of the process when rocks are forced out into a mine working cavity remained after protective structure, being constructed along a mine working at the boundary of the worked-out area, have been identified as well as regularities of vertical convergence rocks within terminal sites of the longwall.Practical implications. The findings can be used to develop measures and means for the stability of development mine workings under the conditions of unstable wall rocks and measures to prevent their fall within the tail longwall sites.

An effective way of protecting development workings by integrated rock wall structures is considered. The necessity of improving this method and its experimental verification is substantiated. Integrated rock wall structures are experimentally tested under laboratory conditions. On the basis of the results of physical modeling, parameters of integrated structures have been specified in terms of impact factors; their yield strength is also specified. The condition for ensuring the stability of the integrated protective structure, which allows calculating appropriate rock wall width, is determined.

Problems of maintaining of development the roadways in conditions of the soft adjoining rocks have been considered. The engineering solution for resistance of rigid protection means by building local reinforced zones under these constructions has been suggested. Combination of protection means and reinforced zones has reduced roof rock subsidence. The operation of protection means and reinforced zones as a holistic construction has been viewed on physical and numerical models. Based on simulation results, the efficiency of deepening of protective means below the footwall, the alternative to which can be creation of the reinforced zones in the footwall rocks, has been established. Factors that have to be taken into consideration when setting parameters of a local reinforced zone under the protective means have been identified.

The prospective coal-bearing areas of Donbas in Ukraine have been identified. Their development will increase the energy security of Ukraine. It has been suggested that the development of these areas will involve mining the coal seams in a weak roof and floor environment, which are characterized by low compressive strength, lower density and a tendency to plastic deformations. The stability has been assessed of the rocks outcrop on the contour of mine roadways for mines operating in these areas. It has been determined that roof rocks in most of these mines belong to a range of groups from very unstable to moderately stable, and the bottom rocks are, in most cases, prone to swelling. This complicates the intensive prospective areas mining with the use of advanced technologies, as well as secondary support for retained goaf-side gateroads with limited yielding property. The mines have been determined, for which this issue is relevant when mining the seams with further increase in the depth. The mechanism of displacement in the secondary supports and has been exemplified and studied using the numerical method. The obtained results allowed us to substantiate the necessity of developing new technical solutions for the protection of gateroads under conditions of prospective Donbas areas.

The conditions of coal seam mining in the mines of Ukraine have been considered. The problem of conducting coal mining by longwalls in the conditions of soft adjoining rocks, which concerns the protection of mine roadways located near the face, has been revealed. In such conditions, the existing protective constructions are ineffective due to the fact that they yield and get pressed into the soft rocks of the footwall. This indicated the need for research into the geomechanical state of soft rocks of the footwall. According to the results of known studies on the mechanism of rock mass failure around roadways and the data of physical and mechanical properties of the coal mass, which is represented by soft rocks, the correlation dependence has been obtained, the use of which allowed for the determination of the parameters of the rock deformation diagram and the establishment of the stability criterion of footwall rocks under the protection means and stability conditions of the geotechnical system “protective construction – adjoining rocks.” They are the basis of a new approach to ensure the stability of the roadways, which are supported behind the faces, by controlling the stress state in the system “protective construction – adjoining rocks.” This may be the basis for the development of new methods of protecting roadways in conditions of soft adjoining rocks.