Geological characteristics and exploration breakthroughs of coal rock gas in Carboniferous Benxi Formation,Ordos Basin,NW China

To explore the geological characteristics and exploration potential of the Carboniferous Benxi Formation coal rock gas in the Ordos Basin,this paper presents a systematic research on the coal rock distribution,coal rock reservoirs,coal rock quality,and coal rock gas features,resources and enrichment.Coal rock gas is a high-quality resource distinct from coalbed methane,and it has unique features in terms of burial depth,gas source,reservoir,gas content,and carbon isotopic composition.The Benxi Formation coal rocks cover an area of 16×104km^(2),with thicknesses ranging from 2 m to 25 m,primarily consisting of bright and semi-bright coals with primitive structures and low volatile and ash contents,indicating a good coal quality.The medium-to-high rank coal rocks have the total organic carbon(TOC)content ranging from 33.49%to 86.11%,averaging75.16%.They have a high degree of thermal evolution(Roof 1.2%-2.8%),and a high gas-generating capacity.They also have high stable carbon isotopic values(δ13C1of-37.6‰to-16‰;δ13C2of-21.7‰to-14.3‰).Deep coal rocks develop matrix pores such as gas bubble pores,organic pores,and inorganic mineral pores,which,together with cleats and fractures,form good reservoir spaces.The coal rock reservoirs exhibit the porosity of 0.54%-10.67%(averaging 5.42%)and the permeability of(0.001-14.600)×10^(-3)μm^(2)(averaging 2.32×10^(-3)μm^(2)).Vertically,there are five types of coal rock gas accumulation and dissipation combinations,among which the coal rock-mudstone gas accumulation combination and the coal rock-limestone gas accumulation combination are the most important,with good sealing conditions and high peak values of total hydrocarbon in gas logging.A model of coal rock gas accumulation has been constructed,which includes widespread distribution of medium-to-high rank coal rocks continually generating gas,matrix pores and cleats/fractures in coal rocks acting as large-scale reservoir spaces,tight cap rocks providing sealing,source-reservoir integration,and five types of efficient enrichment patterns(lateral pinchout complex,lenses,low-amplitude structures,nose-like structures,and lithologically self-sealing).According to the geological characteristics of coal rock gas,the Benxi Formation is divided into 8 plays,and the estimated coal rock gas resources with a buried depth of more than 2000 m are more than 12.33×10^(12)m^(3).The above understandings guide the deployment of risk exploration.Two wells drilled accordingly obtained an industrial gas flow,driving the further deployment of exploratory and appraisal wells.Substantial breakthroughs have been achieved,with the possible reserves over a trillion cubic meters and the proved reserves over a hundred billion cubic meters,which is of great significance for the reserves increase and efficient development of natural gas in China.

Whole petroleum system in Jurassic coal measures of Taibei Sag in Tuha Basin,NW China

Based on the latest results of near-source exploration in the Middle and Lower Jurassic of the Tuha Basin,a new understanding of the source rocks,reservoir conditions,and source-reservoir-cap rock combinations of the Jurassic Shuixigou Group in the Taibei Sag is established using the concept of the whole petroleum system,and the coal-measure whole petroleum system is analyzed thoroughly.The results are obtained in three aspects.First,the coal-measure source rocks of the Badaowan Formation and Xishanyao Formation and the argillaceous source rocks of the Sangonghe Formation in the Shuixigou Group exhibit the characteristics of long-term hydrocarbon generation,multiple hydrocarbon generation peaks,and simultaneous oil and gas generation,providing sufficient oil and gas sources for the whole petroleum system in the Jurassic coal-bearing basin.Second,multi-phase shallow braided river delta–shallow lacustrine deposits contribute multiple types of reservoirs,e.g.sandstone,tight sandstone,shale and coal rock,in slope and depression areas,providing effective storage space for the petroleum reservoir formation in coal-measure strata.Third,three phases of hydrocarbon charging and structural evolution,as well as effective configuration of multiple types of reservoirs,result in the sequential accumulation of conventional-unconventional hydrocarbons.From high structural positions to depression,there are conventional structural and structural-lithological reservoirs far from the source,low-saturation structural-lithological reservoirs near the source,and tight sandstone gas,coal rock gas and shale oil accumulations within the source.Typically,the tight sandstone gas and coal rock gas are the key options for further exploration,and the shale oil and gas in the depression area is worth of more attention.The new understanding of the whole petroleum system in the coal measures could further enrich and improve the geological theory of the whole petroleum system,and provide new ideas for the overall exploration of oil and gas resources in the Tuha Basin.

Numerical modeling on strain energy evolution in rock system interaction with energy-absorbing prop and rock bolt

The interaction mechanism between coal and rock masses with supporting materials is significant in roadway control, especially in deep underground mining situations where dynamic hazards frequently happened due to high geo-stress and strong disturbed effects. This paper is to investigate the strain energy evolution in the interaction between coal and rock masses with self-designed energy-absorbing props and rock bolts by numerical modeling with the finite difference method. The interaction between rock and rock bolt/prop is accomplished by the cables element and the interface between the inner and outer props. Roadway excavation and coal extraction conditions in deep mining are numerically employed to investigate deformation, plastic zone ranges, strain energy input, accumulation, dissipation,and release. The effect on strain energy input, accumulation, dissipation, and release with rock deformation, and the plastic zone is addressed. A ratio of strain energy accumulation, dissipation, and release with energy input a, β, γ is to assess the dynamic hazards. The effects on roadway excavation and coal extraction steps of a, β, γ are discussed. The results show that:(1) In deep high geo-stress roadways, the energyabsorbing support system plays a dual role in resisting deformation and reducing the scope of plastic zones in surrounding rock, as well as absorbing energy release in the surrounding rock, especially in the coal extraction state to mitigate disturbed effects.(2) The strain energy input, accumulation is dependent on roadway deformation, the strain energy dissipation is relied on plastic zone area and disturbed effects, and strain energy release density is the difference among the three. The function of energyabsorbing rock bolts and props play a key role to mitigate strain energy release density and amount, especially in coal extraction condition, with a peak density value from 4×10^(4) to 1×10^(4)J/m^(3), and amount value from 3.57×10^(8) to 1.90×10^(6)J.(3) When mining is advanced in small steps, the strain energy accumulation is dominated. While in a large step, the released energy is dominant, thus a more dynamic hazards proneness. The energy-absorbing rock bolt and prop can reduce three times strain energy release amount, thus reducing the dynamic hazards. The results suggest that energy-absorbing props and rock bolts can effectively reduce the strain energy in the coal and rock masses, and prevent rock bursts and other hazards.The numerical model developed in this study can also be used to optimize the design of energyabsorbing props and rock bolts for specific mining conditions.

Experimental and theoretical investigation on mechanisms performance of the rock-coal-bolt(RCB)composite system

For coal mines,rock,coal,and rock bolt are the critical constituent materials for surrounding rock in the underground engineering.The stability of the“rock-coal-bolt”(RCB)composite system is affected by the structure and fracture of the coal-rock mass.More rock bolts installed on the rock,more complex condition of the engineering stress environment will be(tensile-shear composite stress is principal).In this paper,experimental analysis and theoretical verification were performed on the RCB composite system with different angles.The results revealed that the failure of the rock-coal(RC)composite specimen was caused by tensile and shear cracks.After anchoring,the reinforcement body formed inside the composite system limits the area where the crack could occur in the specimen.Specifically,shearing damage occurred only around the bolt,and the stress-strain curve presented a better post-peak mechanical property.The mechanical mechanism of the bolt under the combined action of tension and shear stress was analyzed.Additionally,a rock-coal-bolt tensile-shear mechanical(RCBTSM)model was established.The relationship(similar to the exponential function)between the bolt tensile-shear stress and the angle was obtained.Moreover,the influences of the dilatancy angle and bolt diameter of the RCB composite system were also considered and analyzed.Most of the bolts are subjected to the tensile-shearing action in the post-peak stage.The implications of these results for engineering practice indicated that the bolts of the RCB composite system should be prevented from entering the limit shearing state early.

Formation and distribution of coal measure source rocks in the Eocene Pinghu Formation in the Pinghu Slope of the Xihu Depression,East China Sea Shelf Basin

The Xihu Depression in the East China Sea Shelf Basin is a large petroliferous sedimentary depression,in which oil and gas reservoirs were mainly discovered in the Pinghu Slope and the central inversion zone.The oil-gas source correlation in the Xihu Depression was analyzed by hydrocarbon generating thermal simulation data via gold-tube pyrolysis experiments.The results indicated that the oil and gas in the Xihu Depression were mainly derived from coal measure source rocks of the Eocene Pinghu Formation.Therefore,the identification of coal seams is extremely crucial for evaluating coal measure source rocks in the Pinghu Formation in the Xihu Depression.Geochemical and petrological characterization pointed to input of terrigenous organic matter and redox conditions of the depositional environment as factors that govern the ability of the coal measure source rocks in hydrocarbon generation in the Xihu Depression.In this regard,the sedimentary organic facies in the Pinghu Formation were classified into four predominantly terrigenous and one mixed-source subfacies,which all varied in carbon and hydrogen content.The coal measure source rocks in the carbon-and hydrogen-rich tidal flat-lagoon exhibited the highest hydrocarbon generation potential,whereas the mudstone in the neritic facies was the poorest in its hydrocarbon yield.These results suggested that the coal measure source rocks in the Pinghu Formation likely developed in the Hangzhou Slope and the Tiantai Slope,both representing promising sources for oil and gas exploration.

Systematic principles of surrounding rock control in longwall mining within thick coal seams

Effective surrounding rock control is a prerequisite for realizing safe mining in underground coal mines.In the past three decades, longwall top-coal caving mining(LTCC) and single pass large height longwall mining(SPLL) found expanded usage in extracting thick coal seams in China. The two mining methods lead to large void space left behind the working face, which increases the difficulty in ground control.Longwall face failure is a common problem in both LTCC and SPLL mining. Such failure is conventionally attributed to low strength and high fracture intensity of the coal seam. However, the stiffness of main components included in the surrounding rock system also greatly influences longwall face stability.Correspondingly, surrounding rock system is developed for LTCC and SPLL faces in this paper. The conditions for simultaneous balance of roof structure and longwall face are put forward by taking the stiffness of coal seam, roof strata and hydraulic support into account. The safety factor of the longwall face is defined as the ratio between the ultimate bearing capacity and actual load imposed on the coal wall.The influences provided by coal strength, coal stiffness, roof stiffness, and hydraulic support stiffness,as well as the movement of roof structure are analyzed. Finally, the key elements dominating longwall face stability are identified for improving surrounding rock control effectiveness in LTCC and SPLL faces.

Failure characteristics of three-body model composed of rock and coal with different strength and stiffness

Four different types of three-body model composed of rock and coal with different strength and stiffness were established in order to study the failure characteristics of compound model such as roof-coal-floor. Through stress analysis of the element with variable strength and stiffness extracted from the strong-weak interface, the tri-axial compressive strength of the weak body and strong body near the interface as well as the areas away from the contact surface was found. Then, on the basis of three-dimensional fast Lagrangian method of continua and strain softening constitutive model composed of Coulomb-Mohr shear failure with tensile cut-off, stress and strain relationship of the four three-body combined models were analyzed under different confining pressures by numerical simulation. Finally, the different features of local shear zones and plastic failure areas of the four different models and their development trend with increasing confining pressure were discussed. The results show that additional stresses are derived due to the lateral deformation constraints near the strong-weak interface area, which results in the strength increasing in weak body and strength decreasing in strong body. The weakly consolidated soft rock and coal cementation exhibit significant strain softening behavior and bear compound tension-shear failure under uni-axial compression. With the increase of confining pressure, the tensile failure disappears from the model, and the failure type of composed model changes to local shear failure with different number of shearing bands and plastic failure zones. This work shows important guiding significance for the mechanism study of seismic, rock burst, and coal bump.

Effects of thermal treatment on physical and mechanical characteristics of coal rock

To study the physical and mechanical properties of coal rock after treatment at different temperatures under impact loading, dynamic compression experiments were conducted by using a split Hopkinson pressure bar(SHPB). The stress–strain curves of specimens under impact loading were obtained, and then four indexes affected by temperature were analyzed in the experiment: the longitudinal wave velocity, elastic modulus, peak stress and peak strain. Among these indexes, the elastic modulus was utilized to express the specimens' damage characteristics. The results show that the stress–strain curves under impact loading lack the stage of micro-fissure closure and the slope of the elastic deformation stage is higher than that under static loading. Due to the dynamic loading effect, the peak stress increases while peak strain decreases. The dynamic mechanical properties of coal rock show obvious temperature effects. The longitudinal wave velocity, elastic modulus and peak stress all decrease to different extents with increasing temperature, while the peak strain increases continuously. During the whole heating process, the thermal damage value continues to increase linearly, which indicates that the internal structure of coal rock is gradually damaged by high temperature.

Coal–rock interface detection on the basis of image texture features

Based on the stability and inequality of texture features between coal and rock,this study used the digital image analysis technique to propose a coal–rock interface detection method.By using gray level co-occurrence matrix,twenty-two texture features were extracted from the images of coal and rock.Data dimension of the feature space reduced to four by feature selection,which was according to a separability criterion based on inter-class mean difference and within-class scatter.The experimental results show that the optimized features were effective in improving the separability of the samples and reducing the time complexity of the algorithm.In the optimized low-dimensional feature space,the coal–rock classifer was set up using the fsher discriminant method.Using the 10-fold cross-validation technique,the performance of the classifer was evaluated,and an average recognition rate of 94.12%was obtained.The results of comparative experiments show that the identifcation performance of the proposed method was superior to the texture description method based on gray histogram and gradient histogram.

Characteristics of acoustic emission signals in damp cracking coal rocks

A uniaxial load experiment on coal rocks at different stress rates was carried out, based on the characteristics of acoustic emission (AE) signals in cracking coal rocks, decomposition, de-noising and reconstruction for the AE signals through wavelet packet transform for solving the current problems created by the presence of noise in AE signals and the existing problems in AE signal processing. The results show that the various characteristics of AE signals in coal rocks cracking under different situations can be clearly reflected, after the AE signals are de-noised by the wavelet packet. Compared to dry coal rocks, the number of AE occurrences in damp coal rocks was significantly reduced, as well as the average amplitude. The number of AE occurrences in damp and dry coal rocks clearly increased with increases in the loading rate, but the largest amplitude of the AE signals in damp coal rocks has been reduced. There is no clear evidence of change in dry coal rocks.

Energy dissipation of coal and rock during damage and failure process based on EMR

The physical and mechanical change processes of coal and rock are closely related to energy transformation,and the destruction and failure of coal and rock is an instability phenomena driven by energy change.However,the energy change of large-scale coal rock in the mine site is hardly calculated accurately,making it difficult to monitor coal-rock systematic failure and collapse from the perspective of energy.By the energy dissipation EMR monitoring system,we studied the damage and failure of coal and rock with bursting liability from the energy dissipation point using the geophysical method-EMR,and explored the energy dissipation characteristics during uniaxial compression and their main influencing factors.The results show that under displacement-control loading mode,there are 2 types of energy dissipation trends for both coal and rock with bursting liability.The type Ⅰ trend is a steady increase one during the whole process,therein,the energy dissipation of rock samples is accelerated at the peak load.The type Ⅱ trend energy is a W-shaped fluctuating one containing 6 stages.Under load-control loading mode,there is one energy dissipation trend of shock downward-steady rise.Besides that,rock samples also present a trend of 4 stages.The energy dissipation characteristics of coal and rockduring loading failure process can be used as effective criteria to assess whether they are in a stable or destructive stage.The factors influencing energy dissipation in the loading failure process of coal and rock mainly include strength,homogeneity,and energy input efficiency.

Creep characteristics of coal and rock investigated by nanoindentation

In coal mining industry,with the depth growing of coal mines,the creep behaviours of coal and rock can extensively affect the mining safety,coalbed methane recovery and geo-sequestration.To acquire a better insight into their creep characteristics,an efficient and robust researching technique,nanoindentation,was applied to investigate the creep performances of coal and rock samples obtained from two coal mines in the east of China.Creep characteristics were reflected by evaluating the curves of creep depth versus creep time of nanoindentation tests during the load-holding period at the peak load of 30 mN.These curves can be divided into two stages:transient stage and steady stage;and the time of load-holding period of 5 s,which is the dividing point between two stages,can efficiently avoid the influence of creep displacement on the unloading curves.The exponential function can perfectly fit creep curves and Kelvin model can be used to calculate the rheological parameters of coal and rock samples.Calculated results yield values for the creep modulus and viscosity terms of coal and rock.This study also settled a particular emphasis on the selection of the positions of indentations to obtain the rheological properties of mineralogical constituents in heterogonous coal and rock samples and their elastic aftereffect.

The study of acoustic emission (AE) forecasting coal and rock disaster technique

Introduced the coal and rock AE propagation rule,wave guide fixing technics onAE sensors,and AE forecasting coal and rock disaster on the scene and so on,The coaland rock AE propagation rule that follows the exponent attenuation function on different AEfrequencies,different quality factors and different propagation distances were analyzedand deduced by theory,numerical simulation,and by actual experiment.Consequently,itwas deduced that the coal and rock AE propagation rule follows the exponent attenuationfunction.Based on the correlative theory of wave dynamics and AE sensor,the AE waveguide propagation mechanical model on the sensor fixing manner is found,and the relationsof displacement and speed and acceleration between the AE signal source and theAE signal receiving terminal are presented.The effect of the AE sensor fixing manners oncoal and rock surfaces,coal and rock bottoms and wave guides were studied by actualexperiment.For the results,the effect of the AE sensor fixing manner on wave guides isbetter than on coal and rock surfaces,and was equivalent to the fixing manner on coal androck bottoms.Based on the above study results,actual coal and rock dynamistic disasterswere successfully forecasted.

Damage characteristics and catastrophic failure mechanism of coal rock induced by gas adsorption under compression

To reveal the damage characteristics and catastrophic failure mechanism of coal rock caused by gas adsorption,physical tests and theoretical methods are employed.The results show that adsorption swelling can damage coal rock,which can be distinguished by fractal dimension.A fitting relationship between the adsorption damage and fractal dimension is proposed by experimental testing and theoretical analysis.High gas adsorption pressure proves to be the dominant factor that leads to coal failure softening and gas outburst disasters.Three main parameters concerning adsorption damage include the change rate of released energy density,the transition difference in the post-peak acoustic emission(AE)b value and the change rate of cumulative AE energy.Results show that all the three parameters present a step-type decreasing change with the increase in fractal dimension,and the fractal dimension shows a linear relationship within the same failure mode.Finally,a method is proposed to evaluate coal rock disaster transformation,based on the aforementioned three main parameters of adsorption damage.

Correlation of electromagnetic radiation emitted from coal or rock to supporting resistance

More accurate forecasting of rock burst might be possible from observations of electromagnetic radiation emitted in the mine.We analyzed experimental observations and field data from the Muchengjian coal mine to study the relationship between electromagnetic radiation signal intensity and stress during the fracturing of coal, or rock, and samples under load.The results show that the signal intensity is positively correlated with stress.In addition, we investigated the change in the electromagnetic radiation intensity, the supporting resistance in a real coal mine environment, and the coal or rock stress in the mining area.The data analysis indicates that:1) electromagnetic radiation intensity can accurately reflect the distribution of stress in the mining area;and, 2) there is a correlation between electromagnetic radiation intensity and supporting resistance.The research has some practical guiding significance for rock burst forecasting and for the prevention of accidents in coal mines.

Research on attenuation characteristic of sound wave in coal or rock body

In order to using power sound wave increase permeability of coal, rules of attenuation of sound wave in coal should be studied. In this paper, characteristic and mechanism of attenuation of sound wave in coal was researched according to acoustic theory and attenuation coefficients was estimated by acoustic parameter of coal. The research results show that the main attenuation mechanism of sound wave in coal is absorption attenuation and scattering attenuation. The absorption attenuation includes viscous absorption, thermal conduction absorption and relaxation absorption. Attenuation coefficient of sound wave in gaseous coal is 38.5 Np/m. Researches on attenuation characteristic of sound wave will provide the theoretical basis for power sound wave improving permeability of coal and accelerating desorption of coal bed gas.

Application of wavelet packet decomposition and its energy spectrum on the coal-rock interface identification

The theory and method of wavelet packet decomposition and its energy spectrum dealing with the coal rock Interface Identification are presented in the paper. The characteristic frequency band of the coal rock signal could be identified by wavelet packet decomposition and its energy spectrum conveniently, at the same time, quantification analysis were performed. The result demonstrates that this method is more advantageous and of practical value than traditional Fourier analysis method.

Theory and test research on permeability of coal and rock body influenced by mining

Stress distribution rules and deformation and failure properties of coal and rockbodies influenced by mining were analyzed.Experimental research on permeability of coaland rock samples under different loading conditions was finished in the laboratory.In-situmeasurement of coal permeability influenced by actual mining was done as well.Theoryanalysis show that permeability varied with damage development of coal and rock understress,and the influence of fissure on permeability was greatest.Laboratory results showthat under different loading conditions permeability was different and it varied with stress,which indicated that permeability was directly related to the loading process.In-situ testsshowed that permeability is related to abutment stress to some degree.The above resultsmay be referenced to gas prevention and drainage.

Effects of caving–mining ratio on the coal and waste rocks gangue flows and the amount of cyclically caved coal in fully mechanized mining of super-thick coal seams

Aimed at determining the appropriate caving–mining ratio for fully mechanized mining of 20 m thick coal seam, this research investigated the effects of caving–mining ratio on the flow fields of coal and waste rocks, amount of cyclically caved coal and top coal loss by means of numerical modeling. The research was based on the geological conditions of panel 8102 in Tashan coal mine. The results indicated the loose coal and waste rocks formed an elliptical zone around the drawpoint. The ellipse enlarged with decreasing caving–mining ratio. And its long axis inclined to the gob gradually became vertical and facilitating the caving and recovery of top coal. The top coal loss showed a cyclical variation; and the loss cycle was shortened with the decreasing in caving–mining ratio. Moreover, the mean squared error(MSE) of the amount of cyclically caved coal went up with increasing caving–mining ratio, indicating a growing imbalance of amount of cyclically caved coal, which could impede the coordinated mining and caving operations. Finally it was found that a caving–mining ratio of 1:2.51 should be reasonable for the conditions.

Removal of noises from electromagnetic radiation of coal or rock with EEMD-adaptive morphological filter

The electromagnetic radiation （EMR） signal collected by monitoring system during coal or rock dynamic disaster may be interferred easily by electromagnetic noises in mines. The noises have a direct influence on the recognition and analysis of the EMR signal features during the disaster. With the aim of removing these noises, an ensemble empirical mode decomposition （EEMD） adaptive morphological filter was proposed. From the result of the simulation and the experiment, it is shown that the method can restrain the random noise and white Gaussian noise mixed with EMR signal effectively. The filter is highly useful for improving the robustness of the coal or rock dynamic disaster monitoring system.