To solve the problems of high loss of ore pillars in hard rock mines and failure of traditional artificial pillar roof contact, this paper aims to establish a new bearing capacity evaluation method for prestressed expansion pillars. Axial compression tests were conducted on expansion pillars with two typical heights of 1.8 m and 3.0 m via laboratory mechanical tests to determine their ultimate bearing capacities and failure modes. Meanwhile, numerical simulation loading tests were carried out on expansion pillars at different heights based on Abaqus finite element software, and an analysis was conducted by comparing them with four types of column curves in the steel structure design code. The test results indicate that the ultimate bearing capacity of the 1.8 m pillar is 2 689 kN, while that of the 3.0 m pillar is 1 730 kN. The failure mode analysis reveals that all pillars undergo bending buckling under high loads, and the 3.0 m pillar exhibits typical compressive instability characteristics. The parametric comparison of simulation results demonstrates that the stability of the 1.8 m pillar conforms to the class a curve, while the 3.0 m pillar approaches the class b curve. The sensitive effect of the pillar bearing performance on height is revealed in this paper, which provides a design basis for the optimization of underground mine support systems.
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