Study on the coupling migration law of airflow-respiratory dust of an 8-m high fully-mechanized mining face

8-m super-high fully mechanized mining face has been successfully applied in China, which has brought many difficulties to dust control. The main reason is that the mining height increases and the dust distribution and evolution law are quite different. Targeting the 12,513 fully-mechanized mining face in Bulianta Coal Mine of China in this paper. The spatial evolution of airflow-respiratory dust of an 8-m high fully-mechanized mining face is analyzed using numerical simulation and underground measurement methods. The results reveal that the numerical and measured results are consistent. At the working range from 15 m in front of the shearer to 30 m behind it, the wind speed increases with an average rise of 70% on the coal cutting side. The airflow diffusion at the working face is primarily longitudinal and partly transverse. Along the airflow direction, the respiratory dust concentration in the pedestrian space first increases and decreases, followed by a marginal increase and gradual decrease，and the dust concentration increased with the increase of height, the migration distance of dust particles was directly proportional to time, and the smaller dust particles were prone to transverse diffusion. In the range of 20–30 m from the downwind side of the shearer, the transverse diffusion of coal cutting dust and the dust produced by support coal falling show conversion, leading to the increase of dust concentration. Under the same dust production intensity, compared with ordinary mining height, with the increase of mining height, the influence range of dust diffusion is wider, the floating duration is longer, and the space dust concentration will be reduced, and the support coal falling dust is the main dust pollution source in pedestrian space. The results reveal that the numerical and measured results are consistent, and obtained the relationship of spatial evolutions of respiratory dust