Prediction of coal structure using particle size characteristics of coalbed methane well cuttings

Severely deformed coal seams barely deliver satisfactory gas production. This research was undertaken to develop a new method to predict the positions of deformed coals for a horizontal CBM well. Firstly, the drilling cuttings of different structure coals were collected from a coal mine and compared. In light of the varying cuttings characteristics for different structure coals, the coal structure of the horizontally drilled coal seam was predicted. And the feasibility of this prediction method was discussed. The result shows that exogenetic fractures have an important influence on the deformation of coal seams. The hardness coefficient of coal decreases with the deformation degree in the order of primary structural, cataclastic and fragmented coal. And the expanding-ratio of gas drainage holes and the average particle size of cuttings increase with the increase of the deformation degree. The particle size distribution of coal cuttings for the three types of coals is distinctive from each other. Based on the particle size distribution of cuttings from X-2 well in a coal seam, six sections of fragmented coal which are unsuitable for perforating are predicted. This method may benefit the optimization of perforation and fracturing of a horizontal CBM well in the study area.

Preparation and properties of a new cutting pick of coal shearers

Reliability and wear resistance of cutting picks play a significant role in coal mine exploitation with coal shearers.Tool bit separation,blade breaking,severe erosion of the cutting body and fatigue fractures are the main reasons for failure of cutting picks.We carried out carburization on a 30CrMnMo alloy to synthesize a new cutting pick material with improved mechanical properties and high wear resistance.The results indicated that carburization can effectively strengthen the surface of the 30CrMnMo alloy by forming a thick carburized layer and thus significantly improve the surface hardness and wear resistance.In addition,the excellent toughness of 30CrMnMo alloy as a substrate of cutting picks can prevent brittle ruptures and fatigue fractures under high impact stress conditions.The significant decrease in both frictional coefficient and rate of erosion of this carburized 30CrMnMo alloy suggests that this alloy is a potential material for cutting picks of coal shearers after rational carburization.

DISASTER ANALYSIS AND COUNTERMEASURES OF LAND SUBSIDENCE CAUSED BY COAL CUTTING IN CHINA

In recent years, many coal-producing countries have paid great atte ntion to the land subsidence caused by coal cutting. In China, because of the de nse population in coalfield areas, the land subsidence hazard is more serious. A fter a brief analysis on the mechanism of land subsidence, this paper gives a co mprehensive and systematical account on all kinds of hazards caused by the land subsidence in China. The study shows that land subsidence has endangered land, b uildings, traffic and communication lines, dykes and dams. It also causes damage to ecological and social environment. In order to lessen the hazard of land sub sidence, preventive measures should be taken to reduce the collapse amount, such as extraction with stowing, banded mining system, succession and coordination m ining system, or high-pressure mudflow between rock strata. Measures of reinfor cing or moving certain buildings should also be taken to reduce the destructive degree. In order to harness the subsidence land and bring them under control for farming, measures should be taken such as filling with spoil or fine breeze, ex cavating the deeper and covering the shallower land.

Prediction method for risks of coal and gas outbursts based on spatial chaos theory using gas desorption index of drill cuttings

Based on the evolution of geological dynamics and spatial chaos theory, we proposed the advanced prediction an advanced prediction method of a gas desorption index of drill cuttings to predict coal and gas outbursts. We investigated and verified the prediction method by a spatial series data of a gas desorption index of drill cuttings obtained from the 113112 coal roadway at the Shitai Mine. Our experimental results show that the spatial distribution of the gas desorption index of drill cuttings has some chaotic charac- teristics, which implies that the risk of coal and gas outbursts can be predicted by spatial chaos theory. We also found that a proper amount of sample data needs to be chosen in order to ensure the accuracy and practical maneuverability of prediction. The relative prediction error is small when the prediction pace is chosen carefully. In our experiments, it turned out that the optimum number of sample points is 80 and the optimum prediction pace 30. The corresponding advanced prediction pace basically meets the requirements of engineering applications.

Study on Vibration Cutting Mechanism of Bit for Ultrahard Coal Seam

This paper researches the vibration cuttiug mechanism for ultrahard coal seam by means of a selfmade test rig in the laboratory, when cutting tool was vibrating relatively to the coal specimen A new coal cutting method-vibration coal cutting method,was advanced’ The influence on main cutting force and unit energy consumption was investigated by changing the paramaters of vibratiou and cutting.The test data show that the vibration cutting method can reduce significantly the main cutting force and unit energy consumption at given vibration waveform and cutting object.

Numerical simulation of coal wall cutting and lump coal formation in a fully mechanized mining face

It is difficult to accurately calculate the lump coal rate in a fully mechanized mining face.Therefore,a numerical simulation of the coal wall cutting process,which revealed the crack expansion,development,evolution in the coal body and the corresponding lump coal formation mechanism,was performed in PFC2D.Moreover,a correlation was established between the cutting force and lump coal formation,and a statistical analysis method was proposed to determine the lump coal rate.The following conclusions are drawn from the results:(1)Based on a soft ball model,a coal wall cutting model is established.By setting the roller parameters based on linear bonding and simulating the roller cutting process of the coal body,the coal wall cutting process is effectively simulated,and accurate lump coal rate statistics are provided.(2)Under the cutting stress,the coal body in the working face underwent three stages—microfracture generation,fracture expansion,and fracture penetration—to form lump coal,in which the fracture direction is orthogonal to the cutting pressure chain.Within a certain range from the roller,as the cutting depth of the roller increased,the number of new fractures in the coal body first increases and then stabilizes.(3)Under the cutting stress,the fractured coal body is locally compressed,thereby forming a compact core.The formation and destruction of the compact core causes fluctuations in the cutting force.The fluctuation amplitude is positively related to the coal mass.(4)Because the simulation does not consider secondary damage in the coal,the simulated lump coal rate is larger than the actual lump coal rate in the working face;this deviation is mainly concentrated in large lump coal with a diameter greater than 300 mm.

Evaluation of roof cutting by directionally single cracking technique in automatic roadway formation for thick coal seam mining

Automatic roadway formation by roof cutting is a sustainable nonpillar mining method that has the potential to increase coal recovery,reduce roadway excavation and improve mining safety.In this method,roof cutting is the key process for stress relief,which significantly affects the stability of the formed roadway.This paper presents a directionally single cracking(DSC)technique for roof cutting with considerations of rock properties.The mechanism of the DSC technique was investi-gated by explicit finite element analyses.The DSC technique and roof cutting parameters were evaluated by discrete element simulation and field experiment.On this basis,the optimized DSC technique was tested in the field.The results indicate that the DSC technique could effectively control the blast-induced stress distribution and crack propagation in the roof rock,thus,achieve directionally single cracking on the roadway roof.The DsC technique for roof cutting with optimized parameters could effectively reduce the deformation and improve the stability of the formed roadway.Field engineering application verified the feasibility and effectiveness of the evaluated DSC technique for roof cutting.

Reliability analysis of the velocity matching of coal cutting and caving in fully mechanized top-coal caving face

The matching relationship between coal cutting and caving in fully mechanized top-coal caving face is analyzed in detail from the angle of reliability. The coupling equation of reliability is established correspondingly, and the mathematical equation of the coefficient of velocity matching of coal cutting and caving is obtained, which meets a certain reliability demand for making the working procedure of coal caving not influence coal cutting of coal-cutter. The results show that the relationship between the coefficient of the velocity matching and the reliability of coal cutting and caving system is linear on the whole when R <0.9. It is pointed out that different numerical value should be selected for different coal face according to different demand for reliability.

IMPACT COAL CUTTING AND TESTING

The paper analyses the stress characteristics in longwall face and its interaction with impact coal cutting, and puts forward the operation method for impact coal cotting. Similar material to the coal in particular mine was used to simulate the coal mass. Impact coal breaking test was performed on the test rig. The traveling pattern of the impact stress wave in coal and the dynamic response of impact parameters on coal property is analyzed.

Groundwater impact of open cut coal mine and an assessment methodology:A case study in NSW

Large scale open cut coal mining operations have significant impacts to groundwater in surrounding areas in both active and post-mining phases. The prediction of water inflows into a surface mine excavation is one of the many components involved in mine design phase. Groundwater performance also reacts to mining activities from the operational, economic and safety implications perspective. Under NSW planning legislation, as part of the comprehensive risk assessment, a groundwater impact assessment has to be conducted for a coal project to predict and mitigate the impacts in consideration of the government requirements. In this paper, the groundwater assessment modelling of mine pits was discussed in predicting of groundwater inflows and reviewing analytical and numerical approaches. A methodology of groundwater impact assessment for an open cut mine in NSW with a three-dimensional groundwater flow model Modflow Surfact demonstrated its functions in simulating the project's impacts on the groundwater regime. The key findings with mitigations are discussed and recommended in the paper to reduce impacts on groundwater and fulfil regulation requirements in NSW.

Model test of the cutting properties of a shearer drum

According to similarity theory, we carried out a dimensional analysis of the shearer drum correlation parameters and built similarity criteria. Based on these, similarity models of shearer drums were developed. Simultaneously, based on an estab- lished cutting testbed of the coal and rock, cutting tests of different pick arrangements of the drum models were carried out, where the compressive strength of the analogous cutting material was 2.48 MPa and the drum rotary speed 67.5 r/min. The variance, the mean values, maxima and mean maxima of the torque load were analyzed for different type drum models. Moreover, the relation-ships between the type of pick arrangements and the cutting lump coal percentage were studied. The results indicate that the load fluctuation of the sequence drum is larger than that of the punnett square drum in the cutting process and the lump coal percentage and economic benefits of the sequence drum are inferior to the punnett square drum. We conclude that the punnett square drum is superior to the sequence drum.

Ground pressure law of fully mechanized large cutting height face in extremely-soft thick seam and stability control in tip-to-face area

When stepped coal getting technology was applied to high seam mining working face, with field observations the following aspects of working face were analyzed based on the inherent conditions of extremely soft thick seam mined by Liangbei Mine, such as the brokenness and activity law of rock seam in the working face, the law of load-bearing of its supports, and the instability character of coal or rock in tip-to-face area. The following are the major laws. Pressure intensity of roof in high seam mining with extremely soft thick seam is stronger than one in slicing and sublevel-caving as a whole. But the greater crushing deformation of coal side makes pressure intensity of roof in the middle of working face be equivalent to one in sublevel-caving. In the middle of working face the roof brokenness has less dynamic load effect than roof brokenness in the two ends of working face. The brokenness instability of distinct pace of roof brings several load-bearings to supports. In condition of extremely soft thick seam, the ratio of resistance increment of supports in two ends of working face is obviously greater than that of supports in the middle. Most sloughing in coal side is triangular slop sloughing caused by shear slipping in high seam mining with extremely soft thick seam. Ultrahigh mining is the major reason for roof fall. Instability of coal or rock in tip-to-face area can be controlled effectively with the methods such as improving setting load of supports, mining along roof by reinforcing floor and protecting the immediate roof in time, and so on.

Research on Reliability of Desorption Indexes of Drilling Cuttings(K_(1)andΔh_(2)):A Case-Based on Pingdingshan Mining Region,China

To accurately predict the risk of coal and gas outburst and evaluate the reliability of desorption indexes of drilling cuttings(K_(1) andΔh_(2))in No.16 coal seam of Pingmei No.12 coal mine,two sets of coal samples were selected from the target coal seams for proximate analyses,methane adsorption/desorption tests,and desorption indexes of drilling cuttings tests.The results indicated that the desorption volume in the initial stage of desorption is large,and increases slowly in the later stage.The methane desorption volume of PMD1 and PMD2 coal samples accounts for 15.14%-18.09%and 15.72%-18.17%respectively in the first 1 min,and 43.92%-48.55%and 41.87%-52.25%respectively in the first 10 min in the 120 min desorption tests.Both K_(1) andΔh_(2) present power function relationships with methane pressure.Similarly,the power function relationships also can be found between the initial desorption characteristics(Q1 and Q4-5)and the methane pressure.Finally,the average relative error between the measured value and the calculated value of Q1 based on K_(1) is less than that of Q4-5 based onΔh_(2),which indicates that K_(1) is a more reliable index thanΔh_(2) to predict the risk of coal and gas outburst in the No.16 coal seam of Pingmei No.12 coal mine.

综采面无线采煤机截煤跟踪降尘系统的设计

为了有效地解决现有综采面采煤机截煤跟踪降尘系统各设备间由于有线连接的安装难度大、线路易扯断、维护繁琐等问题,设计了一种基于无线通信的采煤机截煤跟踪喷雾系统。阐述了系统的总体结构,介绍了采煤机定位发射器和定位接收器的设计原理,重点介绍了喷雾控制箱的硬件设计、软件设计以及低功耗设计过程。通过在实验室搭建模拟系统,进行了喷雾功能实验,结果表明:该系统各设备之间采用无线通信,减少了中间的线路连接,安装及维护简单,系统能够按照设定的系统喷雾参数,控制电动球阀的开启和关闭,实现采煤机滚筒附近的喷雾降尘。

考虑齿圈柔性的采煤机截割部行星传动动态特性研究

为研究均质煤层及夹矸煤层2种煤体工况下的采煤机截割部行星传动系统响应特点,综合考虑各构件的支撑刚度、轮齿啮合刚度及齿圈柔性等因素,建立了截割部行星传动平移-扭转耦合动力学模型。分别分析了刚性/柔性齿圈行星传动系统在2种煤体工况下的太阳轮与行星轮啮合力波动变化特点、行星架输出转速变化规律以及太阳轮中心浮动轨迹曲线。研究发现柔性齿圈状态下,太阳轮与行星轮啮合力幅值呈长周期波动变化,均质煤层工况下的齿圈柔性改善了两轮的啮合力状态且对行星架输出转速波动具有一定的稳定作用,研究成果可为传动系统的设计提供一定的理论指导作用。

Methods applied in Australian industry to evaluate coal mine slope stability

Strata failure is a principal hazard in open cut coal mining as it has the potential to cause multiple fatalities.Prior to the excavation of any slope,a geotechnical assessment should review the likely slope performance,including the risk of slope failure.Controls to manage this risk to an acceptable level should accompany the geotechnical analysis.A survey of 43 practising geotechnical engineers indicated that kinematic and 2D limit equilibrium analyses were the methods most commonly applied to analyse excavated slope stability.While these methods are well established and widely applied in the broad rock engineering disciplines(e.g.civil,hard rock),a recent review of over 60 slope failures suggests these methods have limited suitability for modelling the complex failure mechanisms observed in excavated coal mine slopes.Kinematic techniques do not adequately capture the rock mass component of excavated slope failure and do not provide a geospatial location of potential failure,while 2D limit equilibrium techniques do not adequately capture the 3D mechanisms of excavated slope failures.Methods which do consider the 3D mechanisms of slope failure are summarized for industry consideration and application.

Classification performance of model coal mill classifiers with swirling and non-swirling inlets

The classification performance of model coal mill classifiers with different bottom incoming flow inlets was experimentally and numerically studied.The flow field adjacent to two neighboring impeller blades was measured using the particle image velocimetry technique.The results showed that the flow field adjacent to two neighboring blades with the swirling inlet was significantly different from that with the non-swirling inlet.With the swirling inlet,there was a vortex located between two neighboring blades,while with the nonswirling inlet,the vortex was attached to the blade tip.The vorticity of the vortex with the non-swirling inlet was much lower than that with the swirling inlet.The classifier with the non-swirling inlet demonstrated a larger cut size than that with the swirling inlet when the impeller was stationary(~0 r·min-1).As the impeller rotational speed increased,the cut size of the cases with non-swirling and swirling inlets both decreased,and the one with the non-swirling inlet decreased more dramatically.The values of the cut size of the two classifiers were close to each other at a high impeller rotational speed(≥120 r·min-1).The overall separation efficiency of the classifier with the non-swirling inlet was lower than that with the swirling inlet,and monotonically increased as the impeller rotational speed increased.With the swirling inlet,the overall separation efficiency first increased with the impeller rotational speed and then decreased when the rotational speed was above 120 r·min-1,and the variation trend of the separation efficiency was more moderate.As the initial particle concentration increased,the cut sizes of both swirling and non-swirling inlet cases decreased first and then barely changed.At a low initial particle concentration(b 0.04 kg·m-3),the classifier with the swirling inlet had a larger cut size than that with the non-swirling inlet.

New risk assessment methodology for coal mine excavated slopes

This paper presents a new risk assessment methodology for coal mine excavated slopes. This new empirical-statistical slope.stability assessment m. ethodology （SSAM! is intended for use by geotechnical engineers at both the design review and operational stages of a mine＇s life to categonse the risk of an excavated coal mine slope. A likelihood of failure is determined using a new slope stability classification system for excavated coal mine slopes developed using a database of 119 intact and failed case studies sourced from open cut coal mines in Australia. Consequence of failure is based on slope height and stand-off distance at the toe of the excavated slope. Results are presented in a new risk matrix, with slope risk being divided into low, medium and high categories. The SSAM is put forward as a new risk assess- ment methodology to assess the potential for, and consequence of, excavated coal mine slope failure. Unlike existing classification systems, assumptions about the likely failure mode or mechanism are not required. Instead, the SSAM applies an approach which compares the conditions present within the exca- vated slope face, with the known past performance of slopes with similar geotechnical and geometrical conditions, to estimate the slope＇s propensity for failure. The SSAM is novel in that it considers the depo- sitional history of strata in an excavated slope and how this sequence affects slope stability. It is further novel in that it does not require explicit measurements of intact rock, rock mass and/or defect strength to rapidly calculate a slope＇s likelihood of failure and overall risk. Ratings can be determined entirely from visual observations of the excavated slope face. The new SSAM is designed to be used in conjunction with existing slope stability assessment tools.

Factors affecting thin coal seam shearer drum coal-loading performance by a model test method

To solve the problem of a low coal-loading rate being exhibited by the drum shearer on Chinese thin coal seams,systematic tests and research were performed to study the pivotal factors’influences on drum coal-loading rate using a model test method.The effects of the drum hub diameter,cutting depth,vane helix angle,drum rotation speed and hauling speed on drum coal-loading rate were determined under circumstances of coal-loading with drum ejection and pushing modes,and reasons for these phenomena were analyzed.The results indicate that the influence of the drum cutting depth on the drum coal-loading rate is the most significant.The parameters of hub diameter,drum rotation speed and hauling speed can influence the drum coal-loading rate by cutting the coals’filling rate in the drum.The parameters of vane helix angle and drum rotation speed can influence drum coal-loading rates by influencing the ratio of cutting coals’tangential and axial speed in the drum.The coal-loading rate with drum ejection is clearly higher than that observed with drum pushing.Research in this study can provide support to design the drum structure and select drum operational parameters for a thin coal seam shearer.

智能采煤机器人关键技术

采煤机是综采工作面的核心装备,研发智能采煤机器人是实现综采工作面智能化的关键。综合分析当前采煤机机器人化研究进程中的传感检测、位姿控制、速度控制、截割轨迹规划与跟踪控制等技术的研究现状,提出研发智能采煤机器人必须破解的“智能感知、位姿控制、速度控制、截割轨迹规划与跟踪控制、位-姿-速协同控制”五大关键技术,并给出解决方案。针对智能感知问题,提出了构建智能感知系统思路,给出了智能采煤机器人智能感知系统的架构,实现对运行状态、位姿、环境等全面感知,为智能采煤机器人安全、可靠运行提供保障;针对位姿控制问题,提出了智能PID位姿控制思路,给出了改进遗传算法的PID位姿控制方法,实现了智能采煤机器人位姿精准控制;针对速度控制问题,提出了融合“力-电”异构数据的截割载荷测量思路,给出了基于神经网络算法的截割载荷测量方法,实现了截割载荷的精准测量;提出牵引与截割速度自适应控制思路,给出了人工智能算法牵引与截割速度决策方法和滑模自抗扰控制的牵引与截割速度控制方法,实现了智能采煤机器人速度精准自适应控制;针对截割轨迹规划与跟踪控制问题,提出了截割轨迹精准规划思路,给出了融合地质数据和历史截割数据的截割轨迹规划模型,实现了截割轨迹的精准规划;提出了截割轨迹精准跟踪控制思路,给出了智能插补算法的截割轨迹跟踪控制方法,实现了智能采煤机器人截割轨迹高精度规划与精准跟踪控制;针对“位-姿-速”协同控制问题,提出了“位-姿-速”协同控制参数智能优化思路,给出了基于多系统互约束的改进粒子群“位-姿-速”协同控制参数优化方法,实现了智能采煤机器人智能高效作业。深入研究五大关键技术破解思路,有利于加快推动研发高性能、高效率、高可靠的智能采煤机器人。