A general solution and approximation for the diffusion of gas in a spherical coal sample

The square root relationship of gas release in the early stage of desorption is widely used to provide a simple and fast estimation of the lost gas in coal mines. However, questions arise as to how the relationship was theoretically derived, what are the assumptions and applicable conditions and how large the error will be. In this paper, the analytical solutions of gas concentration and fractional gas loss for the diffusion of gas in a spherical coal sample were given with detailed mathematical derivations based on the diffusion equation. The analytical solutions were approximated in case of small values of time and the error analyses associated with the approximation were also undertaken. The results indicate that the square root relationship of gas release is the first term of the approximation, and care must be taken in using the square root relationship as a significant error might be introduced with increase in the lost time and decrease in effective diameter of a spherical coal sample.

Experimental study on the type change of liquid flow in broken coal samples

A test system of the permeability of broken coal samples mainly consists of a CMT5305 electronic universal test machine, crushed rock compaction containing cylinder and a self-designed seepage circuit, which is composed of a gear pump, a reversing valve, a relief valve and other components. By using the steady penetration method, the permeability and non-Darcy flow β factor of broken coal samples under five different porosity levels were measured, the grain diameters of the coal samples were selected as 2.5-5 mm, 5-10 mm, 10-15 mm, 15-20 mm, 20-25 mm and 2.5-25 ram, respectively. After measuring the permeability under each porosity, the overfall pressure of the relief valve continuously increased until the coal sample was broken down. In this way, the flow type of liquid inside the broken coal samples changed from seepage to pipe flow. The correlation between breakdown pressure gradient （BPG） and porosity was analyzed, and the BPG was compared with the pressure gradient when seepage instability occurred. The results show that, ①the non-Darcy flow β factor was negative before broken coal samples with six kinds of diameters were broken down; ②the BPG of coal samples with a grain size of 2.5-25 mm was lower than that of the others; ③ the BPG of coal samples with a single diameter under the same porosity increased as the grain size increased; ④ the BPG could be fitted by an exponential function with porosity, and the exponent decreased as the grain size increased for coal samples with a single diameter; ⑤ the BPG was slightly less than the seepage instability pressure gradient. The change in liquid flow type from seepage to pipe flow could be regarded as the performance of the seepage instability.

Gas diffusion in a cylindrical coal sample – A general solution,approximation and error analyses

The analytical mathematical solutions of gas concentration and fractional gas loss for the diffusion of gas in a cylindrical coal sample were given with detailed mathematical derivations by assuming that the diffusion of gas through the coal matrix is concentration gradient-driven and obeys the Fick’s Second Law of Diffusion.The analytical solutions were approximated in case of small values of time and the error analyses associated with the approximation were also undertaken.The results indicate that the square root relationship of gas release in the early stage of desorption,which is widely used to provide a simple and fast estimation of the lost gas,is the first term of the approximation,and care must be taken in using the square root relationship as a significant error might be introduced with increase in the lost time and decrease in effective diameter of a cylindrical coal sample.

bStudy on constitutive relationship of coal based on conventional triaxial compression test

Constitutive relationship of coal under triaxial compression must be determined during solving the theoretical calculation and numerical simulation about coal body failure. This paper carried out conventional triaxial compression test on No.3 coal of Baodian Colliery using MTS815.03 servo-controlled rock mechanical test system. The results indicate that the failure process of coal can be divided into 5 stages： densification stage, apparent linear elastic deformation stage, accelerated inelastic deformation stage, fracture and developing stage and plasticity flow stage. Combined with the test results, the constitutive relationship model of coal can be simplified as the four segments of straight line model of elastic-plastic hardening-plastic softening-residual perfectly plastic. Through fitting calculation of test data, the segmented constitutive equation of coal can be obtained.

Thermo-chemical conversion of coal samples under high temperature

Exhaustion of profitable coal resources makes for need of innovation including underground coal gasification(UCG).One of the most important problems of UCG is evaluation of the combustion area in underground coal seams.Physicochemical parameters of coal,in a whole,and coal mineral substance are changed under heating and combusting.Thermo-chemical conversion of coal mineral components has an effect on magnetic characteristics of coal seam and can be used for real-time control of combusting area.To this guessing check laboratory experiments have been made as an activity of the Far Eastern Federal University.Our investigation based on a theoretical analysis and laboratory simulation tests.Typical results of the laboratory experiments are presented below.Under heating coal thermo-chemical magnetization is forming.Coal's magnetic parameters varieties from anti-ferromagnetiсto ferromagnetic.Anti-ferromagnetic pyrite and siderite presented into coal mass is transformed into magnetic hematite and magnetite under heating.Therefore,geomagnetic is expected to be a useful geophysical tool to for evaluation of combustion volume and its migration for underground coal gasification.