Response characteristics of gas pressure under simultaneous static and dynamic load:Implication for coal and gas outburst mechanism

Coal and gas outbursts are dynamic disasters in which a large mass of gas and coal suddenly emerges in a mining space within a split second.The interaction between the gas pressure and stress environment is one of the key factors that induce coal and gas outbursts.In this study,first,the coupling relationship between the gas pressure in the coal body ahead of the working face and the dynamic load was investigated using experimental observations,numerical simulations,and mine-site investigations.It was observed that the impact rate of the dynamic load on the gas-bearing coal can significantly change the gas pressure.The faster the impact rate,the speedier the increase in gas pressure.Moreover,the gas pressure rise was faster closer to the impact interface.Subsequently,based on engineering background,we proposed three models of stress and gas pressure distribution in the coal body ahead of the working face:static load,stress disturbance,and dynamic load conditions.Finally,the gas pressure distribution and outburst mechanism were investigated.The high concentration of gas pressure appearing at the coal body ahead of the working face was caused by the dynamic load.The gas pressure first increased gradually to a peak value and then decreased with increasing distance from the working face.The increase in gas pressure plays a major role in outburst initiation by resulting in the ability to more easily reach the critical points needed for outburst initiation.Moreover,the stronger the dynamic load,the greater the outburst initiation risk.The results of this study provide practical guidance for the early warning and prevention of coal and gas outbursts.

Elimination mechanism of coal and gas outburst based on geo‑dynamic system with stress–damage–seepage interactions

Coal and gas outburst is a complex dynamic disaster during coal underground mining.Revealing the disaster mechanism is of great signifcance for accurate prediction and prevention of coal and gas outburst.The geo-dynamic system of coal and gas outburst is proposed.The framework of geo-dynamic system is composed of gassy coal mass,geological dynamic environment and mining disturbance.Equations of stress–damage–seepage interaction for gassy coal mass is constructed to resolve the outburst elimination process by gas extraction with boreholes through layer in foor roadway.The results show the occurrence of outburst is divided into the evolution process of gestation,formation,development and termination of geo-dynamic system.The scale range of outburst occurrence is determined,which provides a spatial basis for the prevention and control of outburst.The formation criterion and instability criterion of coal and gas outburst are established.The formation criterion F1 is defned as the scale of the geo-dynamic system,and the instability criterion F2 is defned as the scale of the outburst geo-body.According to the geo-dynamic system,the elimination mechanism of coal and gas outburst—‘unloading+depressurization’is established,and the gas extraction by boreholes through layer in foor roadway for outburst elimination is given.For the research case,when the gas extraction is 120 days,the gas pressure of the coal seam is reduced to below 0.4 MPa,and the outburst danger is eliminated efectively.

In-situ gas contents of a multi-section coal seam in Sydney basin for coal and gas outburst management

The gas content is crucial for evaluating coal and gas outburst potential in underground coal mining. This study focuses on investigating the in-situ coal seam gas content and gas sorption capacity in a representative coal seam with multiple sections (A1, A2, and A3) in the Sydney basin, where the CO_(2) composition exceeds 90%. The fast direct desorption method and associated devices were described in detail and employed to measure the in-situ gas components (Q_(1), Q_(2), and Q_(3)) of the coal seam. The results show that in-situ total gas content (Q_(T)) ranges from 9.48 m^(3)/t for the A2 section to 14.80 m^(3)/t for the A3 section, surpassing the Level 2 outburst threshold limit value, thereby necessitating gas drainage measures. Among the gas components, Q_(2) demonstrates the highest contribution to Q_(T), ranging between 55% and 70%. Furthermore, high-pressure isothermal gas sorption experiments were conducted on coal samples from each seam section to explore their gas sorption capacity. The Langmuir model accurately characterizes CO_(2) sorption behavior, with ft coefcients (R^(2)) greater than 0.99. Strong positive correlations are observed between in-situ gas content and Langmuir volume, as well as between residual gas content (Q_(3)) and sorption hysteresis. Notably, the A3 seam section is proved to have a higher outburst propensity due to its higher Q_(1) and Q_(2) gas contents, lower sorption hysteresis, and reduced coal toughness f value. The insights derived from the study can contribute to the development of efective gas management strategies and enhance the safety and efciency of coal mining operations.

Mechanism investigation on coal and gas outburst: An overview

Coal and gas outburst is a frequent dynamic disaster during underground coal mining activities.After about 150 years of exploration,the mechanisms of outbursts remain unclear to date.Studies on outburst mechanisms worldwide focused on the physicochemical and mechanical properties of outburst-prone coal,laboratory-scale outburst experiments and numerical modeling,mine-site investigations,and doctrines of outburst mechanisms.Outburst mechanisms are divided into two categories:single-factor and multi-factor mechanisms.The multi-factor mechanism is widely accepted,but all statistical phenomena during a single outburst cannot be explained using present knowledge.Additional topics about outburst mechanisms are proposed by summarizing the phenomena that need precise explanation.The most appealing research is the microscopic process of the interaction between coal and gas.Modern physical-chemical methods can help characterize the natural properties of outburst-prone coal.Outburst experiments can compensate for the deficiency of first-hand observation at the scene.Restoring the original outburst scene by constructing a geomechanical model or numerical model and reproducing the entire outburst process based on mining environment conditions,including stratigraphic distribution,gas occurrence,and geological structure,are important.Future studies can explore outburst mechanisms at the microscale.

Coal and gas outburst dynamic system

Coal and gas outburst is an extremely complex dynamic disaster in coal mine production process which will damage casualties and equipment facilities, and disorder the ventilation system by suddenly ejecting a great amount of coal and gas into roadway or working face. This paper analyzed the interaction among the three essential elements of coal and gas outburst dynamic system. A stress-seepage-damage coupling model was established which can be used to simulate the evolution of the dynamical system, and then the size scale of coal and gas outburst dynamical system was investigated. Results show that the dynam- ical system is consisted of three essential elements, coal-gas medium （material basis）, geology dynamic environment （internal motivation） and mining disturbance （external motivation）. On the case of CI 3 coal seam in Panyi Mine, the dynamical system exists in the range of 8-12 m in front of advancing face. The size scale will be larger where there are large geologic structures. This research plays an important guid- ing role for developing measures of coal and gas outburst prediction and prevention.

Similarity criteria and coal-like material in coal and gas outburst physical simulation

Coal and gas outburst is one of the main gas hazards in coal mines. However, due to the risks of the coal and gas outburst, the field test is difficult to complete. Therefore, an effective approach to studying the mechanism and development of outburst is to conduct the similar physical simulation. However, the similarity criteria and similar materials in outburst are the key factors which restrict the development of physical simulation. To solve those problems, this paper has established similarity criteria base on mechanics model, solid-fluid coupling model and energy model, and presented high similar materials. Combining with three groups of similar number, and considering similar mechanical parameters and deformation and failure regularity, the similarity criteria of outburst is determined on the basis of the energy model. According to those criteria, we put forward a similar material consists of pulverized coal, cement, sand, activated carbon, and water. The similar material has high compressive strength and the accordant characteristics with the raw coal, include density, porosity, adsorption, desorption. The new research is promising for preventing and controlling gas hazards in the future.

Preventing Coal and Gas Outburst Using Methane Hydration

According to the characteristics of the methane hydrate condensing and accumulating methane, authors put forward a new technique thought way to prevent the accident of coal and gas outburst by urging the methane in the coal seams to form hydrate. The paper analyzes the feasibility of forming the methane hydrate in the coal seam from the several sides, such as, temperature,pressure, and gas components, and the primary trial results indicate the problems should be settled before the industrialization appliance realized.

Application of the catastrophe progression method in predicting coal and gas outburst

Based on catastrophe theory,we used the catastrophe progression method to predict the risk of coal and gas outbursts in coal mines.According to the major factors affecting coal and gas outbursts,we built a comprehensive evaluation index system and a coal and gas outburst prediction model.In addition,we performed a standard transformation for each index system;based on the degree the various indices affect the risk of an outburst,to make the data dimensionless.Based on the outburst data from eight mines,we determined catastrophe progression values and verified these values.The results show that:1) converting multi-dimensional problems into one-dimensional problems using this catastrophe progression method can simplify the steps of predicting coal and gas outbursts;2) when pre-determined catastrophe progression values are used to predict coal and gas outbursts,the predicting accuracy rate can be as high as 87.5%;3) the various coal mines have different factors inducing outbursts with varying importance of these factors and 4) the catastrophe progression values,calculated based on these factors,can be used effectively to predict the risk of outbursts in coal mines.

Coal and gas outburst mechanism of the “Three Soft” coal seam in western Henan

Based on the particularities of gas outbursts,i.e.,low gas bearing capacity and low gas pressure in the "Three Soft" coal seam in western Henan,we applied the theories of plate tectonics and regional structural evolution to investigate the mechanism of this seam and its impact on the coal seam gas formation.Our investigation revealed that coal and gas outbursts are distributed in a strip in a NW direction,with a number of high-penetration mines scattered towards the south side and low-gas mines largely located on the north side.We analyzed the statistics of 38 gas explosions and the rock-coal sturdiness number coefficient f of 167 sampling sites in the region and found the gas outburst mechanism that features a "low indicator outburst phenomenon".The mechanism is characterized by structural coal as its core,a low gas bearing capacity,low gas pressure and sturdiness coefficient f mostly less than 0.3.Our research results provide a theoretical foundation for effective control of gas disasters.

Bayesian discriminant analysis for prediction of coal and gas outbursts and application

Based on the principle of Bayesian discriminant analysis, we established a model of Bayesian discriminant analysis for predicting coal and gas outbursts. We selected five major indices which affect outbursts, i.e., initial speed of methane diffusion, a consistent coal coefficient, gas pressure, destructive style of coal and mining depth, as discriminating factors of the model. In our model, we divided the type of coal and gas outbursts into four grades regarded as four normal populations. We then obtained the corresponding discriminant functions through training a set of data from engineering examples as learning samples and evaluated their criteria by a back substitution method to verify the optimal properties of the model. Finally, we applied the model to the prediction of coal and gas outbursts in the Yunnan Enhong Mine. Our results coincided completely with the actual situation. These results show that a model of Bayesian discriminant analysis has excellent recognition performance, high prediction accuracy and a low error rate and is an effective method to predict coal and gas outbursts.

Mechanical criterion for coal and gas outburst:a perspective from multiphysics coupling

Although a series of hypotheses have been proposed,the mechanism underlying coal and gas outburst remains unclear.Given the low-index outbursts encountered in mining practice,we attempt to explore this mechanism using a multiphysics coupling model considering the effects of coal strength and gas mass transfer on failure.Based on force analysis of coal ahead of the heading face,a risk identification index C_(m)and a critical criterion(C_(m)≥1)of coal instability are proposed.According to this criterion,the driving force of an outburst consists of stress and gas pressure gradients along the heading direction of the roadway,whereas resistance depends on the shear and tensile strengths of the coal.The results show that outburst risk decreases slightly,followed by a rapid increase,with increasing vertical stress,whereas it decreases with increasing coal strength and increases with gas pressure monotonically.Using the response surface method,a coupled multi-factor model for the risk identification index is developed.The results indicate strong interactions among the controlling factors.Moreover,the critical values of the factors corresponding to outburst change depending on the environment of the coal seams,rather than being constants.As the buried depth of a coal seam increases,the critical values of gas pressure and coal strength decrease slightly,followed by a rapid increase.According to its controlling factors,outburst can be divided into stress-dominated,coal-strength-dominated,gas-pressure-dominated,and multi-factor compound types.Based on this classification,a classified control method is proposed to enable more targeted outburst prevention.

Experimental study on evolution law for particle breakage during coal and gas outburst

Coal and gas outburst is a dynamic phenomenon in underground mining engineering that is often accompanied by the throwing and breakage of large amounts of coal.To study the crushing effect and its evolution during outbursts,coal samples with different initial particle sizes were evaluated using a coal and gas outburst testing device.Three basic particle sizes,5–10 mesh,10–40 mesh,and 40–80 mesh,as well as some mixed particle size coal samples were used in tests.The coal particles were pre-compacted at a pressure of 4 MPa before the tests.The vertical ground stress(4 MPa)and the horizontal ground stress(2.4 MPa)were initially simulated by the hydraulic system and maintained throughout.During the tests,the samples were first placed in a vacuum for 3 h,and the coal was filled with gas(CH4)for an adsorption time of approximately 5 h.Finally,the gas valve was shut off and the coal and gas outburst was induced by quickly opening the outburst hole.The coal particles that were thrown out by the outburst test device were collected and screened based on the particle size.The results show the following.(1)Smaller particle sizes have a worse crushing effect than larger sizes.Furthermore,the well-graded coal particles are weakly broken during the outburst process.(2)As the number of repeated tests increases,the relative breakage index grows;however,the increment of growth decreases after each test,showing that further fragmentation becomes increasingly difficult.

Research on coal structure indices to coal and gas outbursts in Pingdingshan Mine Area,China

According to the feature that coal and gas outbursts is controlled by coal structure in Pingdingshan mine area, based on the study of the distribution law of disturbed coal in Mine Area and the macroscopic characteristics of coal structure, the characteristics and genesis to micro-pore of disturbed coal, the relationship between the type of coal structure and gas parameter, and the structural feature of coal at outbursts sites are mainly explored in this paper. Further, the steps and methods are put forward that coal structure indices applied to forecast coal and gas outbursts.

Catastrophic mechanism of coal and gas outbursts and their prevention and control

Based on the engineering observations of coal and gas outbursts during mining processes and the experimental results,we built a thin plate mechanical model for layered and spalled coal bodies.We studied the mechanical mechanism of outbursts,due to instability,of thin plates of coal rocks under the action of in-plane load and normal load,by using the catastrophe theory.The total potential function is derived for the layered rock system,the cusp catastrophe model for the system is established,the bifurcation set that makes the system unstable is given,the process in which gradual change of action forces leads to catastrophic change of state is analyzed,and the effect of movement path of point(P,q) in the control space on the stability of rock plate is analyzed.The study results show that during the process of coal mining,the stability of the layered coal bodies depends not only on its physical properties and dimensions but also on the magnitudes and changing paths of the in-plane load and the normal load.When the gas in the coal bodies ahead of the mining face is pre-drained,the gas pressure can be reduced and the normal load q can be lowered.Consequently,disasters such as coal and gas outbursts can be effectively prevented.

Coal damage mechanism in the developing process of coal and gas outburst

Based on the damage analysis of elliptical aperture,the mechanism of coal damagein the developing process of coal and gas outburst was researched.The results show thatthe damage to coal by gas is mainly caused by the concentrated tensile stress appearing nearthe endpoint of the pores.Fractures in coal,gas pressure,ground stress and the tensilestrength of the coal matrix are the major controlling factors of this kind of damage.When theground stress releases abruptly and the gas pressure is high,tensile failure will occur aroundthe endpoint of the small pores due to gas pressure,and the coal may be broken up like powder;this is called pulverization.Otherwise,when the gas pressure is low,the tensile stress canonly occur around the endpoint of the large pores and fractures due to gas pressure,the fracturesin coal extend and link together,the fracture extension direction is statistically perpendicularto the direction of the minor principal stress.This kind of damage is shown as the stratifiedspall around the outburst hole.

Effectiveness analysis of methane-drainage by deep-hole controlled pre-splitting blasting for preventing coal and gas outburst

In the study of the application effectiveness of deep-hole controlled pre-splittingblasting technology,it was found through laboratory micro test and field study on a mine insouth China that under the technology,coal masses produce many irreversible cracks.Afterblasting,the nearer the distance from blasting hole,the larger the BET surface areaand volume ratio of the infiltration pore are;they increased by 11.47%and 5.73%,respectively.The coefficient of air permeability is increased 4 times.After 3 months,the gasdrainage rate was increased by 66%.In the first 15 days,the cumulative pumped gas was1.93 times of blasting before.The average absolute gas emission decreased by 63.46%.Experimental results show that deep-hole controlled pre-splitting blasting not only preventscoal and gas outburst,but also gives good economic results.

Energy-limiting factor for coal and gas outburst occurrence in intact coal seam

This research reviewed the mechanics and gas desorption properties of intact coal,and tested the crushing work ratios of different intact coals,and then,studied the stress conditions for the failure or crushing of intact coal and the gas demand for the pulverization of intact coal particles.When a real-life outburst case is examined,the required minimum stress for intact coal outburst is estimated.The study concludes that the crushing work ratios of three intact coal samples vary from 294.3732 to 945.8048 J/m^(2).For the real-life case,more than 2300 MJ of transport work is needed,and 10062.09,7046.57 and 5895.47 m^(3) of gas is required when the gas pressure is 1,2 and 3 MPa,respectively.The crushing work exceeds the transport work and even reaches 13.96 times of the transport work.How to provide such an enormous crushing work is an energy-limiting factor for the outburst in intact coal.The strain energy is needed for the crushing work,and the required minimum stress is over 54.35 MPa,even reaching 300.44 MPa.These minimum stresses far exceed the in-situ vertical and horizontal stresses that can be provided at the 300–700 m mining depth range.

Development of regional prediction information system of coal and gas outburst

Coal and gas outburst information system is based on-Geographic Information System(GIS), with which the relation among mine geological structure, coal features, stress field and coal and gas outburst were researched, and also the relation between gas distributed condition and dangerous degrees. Various prediction method, index and technique were applied to realize the data visualization; the accuracy of region prediction was increased. The system has successfully applied in Huainan minging area and Pingdingshan minging area.

Pore characterization of different types of coal from coal and gas outburst disaster sites using low temperature nitrogen adsorption approach

To characterize the pore features of outburst coal samples and investigate whether outburst coal has some unique features or not, one of the authors, working as the member of the State Coal Mine Safety Committee of China, sampled nine outburst coal samples(coal powder and block) from outburst disaster sites in underground coal mines in China, and then analyzed the pore and surface features of these samples using low temperature nitrogen adsorption tests. Test data show that outburst powder and block coal samples have similar properties in both pore size distribution and surface area. With increasing coal rank, the proportion of micropores increases, which results in a higher surface area. The Jiulishan samples are rich in micropores, and other tested samples contain mainly mesopores, macropores and fewer micropores. Both the unclosed hysteresis loop and force closed desorption phenomena are observed in all tested samples. The former can be attributed to the instability of the meniscus condensation in pores,interconnected pore features of coal and the potential existence of ink-bottle pores, and the latter can be attributed to the non-rigid structure of coal and the gas affinity of coal.

Research on Geological Structure Mark of Coal and Gas Outbursts in Pingdingshan Mining Area

Based on the study of regional displaying rules of coal and gas outburst controlled by geological structure in Pingdingshan mining area, the geological structure features in outburst sites were investigated emphatically. The combination type, orientation and least seam thickness in outburst sites were put forward. This research provides a geological mark for forecasting gas outbursts in deep mining.