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The Energy Principle of Coal and Gas Outbursts: Experimentally Evaluating the Role of Gas Desorption

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Abstract

Outburst energy is a major factor influencing coal and gas outbursts, albeit its estimation is difficult owing to the lack of amenable means for quantification of gas desorption. In the past decades, determining the mechanism of outbursts is one of the most challenging issues in rock mechanics. In this study, a triaxial coal and gas outburst simulation system was employed to perform simulated experiments using He (to rule out the influence from gas ad-desorption), N2, and CO2. This facilitated understanding of the energy principle underlying the said outbursts and evaluation of the effects of gas desorption on outburst development. Results of this study indicate that outburst energy and energy consumption are influenced by several factors, including outburst pressure, outburst intensity, ejection distance, and particle size of ejected coal. Among these, gas desorption demonstrates the greatest influence when performing controlled tests (using He). Considering the effects of gas desorption, the total outburst energy can be increased by 1.35–2.95 times, thereby causing an enormous increase in the destructive potential of outbursts. Additionally, values of the coal crushing and transport energies can be enhanced by the order of 118.9–206.6% and 157.8–406.6%, respectively, thereby resulting in a stronger conveying capacity of outburst coal–gas flow along with severe coal fragmentation. A further analysis of the energy distribution indicated that in the development stage, gas desorbed from coal acts as the force driving coal transport, whereas free gas energy is mainly consumed during coal crushing. Findings of this study highlight the importance of quantifying contributions of coal gas towards effective interpretation of outburst-causing mechanisms.

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Abbreviations

A 1 :

Elastic energy of coal (J)

E 1 :

Elastic energy of unit coal mass (J/m3)

M L :

Mass of coal loaded in chamber (kg)

W 2 :

Energy consumption of crushed coal (J)

E :

Elastic modulus (MPa)

P 1 :

Gas pressure in coal seam (MPa)

V t :

Total volume of outburst gas (m3)

E s f , E s d :

Energy contributions of adsorbed gas and free gas (J/m3)

d i :

Average particle size of crushed coal in a certain particle-size range (mm)

d m :

Average particle size of crushed coal (mm)

m :

Mass of drop weight, \(m = 2.4 kg\)

h 0 :

Impact height, \({h}_{0} = 0.6 m\)

G :

Total mass of coal sample in drop weight test, \(G = 0.05 kg\)

ρ a :

Density of gas flow after separation of gas and solid phases (kg/m3)

W 3 * :

Remaining kinetic energy of gas (J)

L E :

Equivalent distance of coal ejection (m)

M E :

Mass of ejected coal (kg)

ξ :

Gas compression factor, ξ = 1

T 1 :

Temperature of the isothermal adsorption test (K)

V L :

Volume of coal loaded in the experimental chamber (\({\mathrm{m}}^{3}\)),\({V}_{L}=0.015625 {\mathrm{m}}^{3}\)

V in :

Volume of gas input to the experimental chamber (m3/t)

A s :

Gas expansion energy (J)

E s :

Gas expansion energy of unit coal mass (J/m3)

W 1 :

Energy consumption of outburst coal transport (J)

W 3 :

Other energy consumption (J)

µ:

Poisson's ratio

P 0 :

Atmospheric pressure (MPa)

γ n :

Adiabatic coefficient, \({\gamma }_{n}=1.31\)

V f , V d :

Volume of free gas and adsorbed gas participating in outburst (m3)

γ i :

Mass percentage of crushed coal in a certain particle-size range (%)

W c :

Crushing energy in drop weight test (J)

g :

Acceleration of gravity, \(g = 9.8 m/{s}^{2}\)

n :

Number of impacts

R i :

Scale factor

h :

Characteristic height dimension of ejected coal, \(h=0.6 \mathrm{m}\)

σ x, σ y, σ z :

Triaxial loading pressures (MPa)

V d max :

Theoretical maximum value of \({V}_{d}\) (m3)

ν a :

Critical blockage velocity (m/s)

E t,:

Total outburst energy (J)

T, T 0 :

Temperatures of the gas before and after the outburst (K)

E s max :

Theoretical maximum gas expansion energy (J)

As f, A s d :

Expansion energy of free gas and desorbed gas (J)

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2017XKZD01), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51874294) and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Coal Methane and Fire Control, Ministry of Education, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, China

    Yang Lei, Yuanping Cheng, Qingyi Tu & Yixuan Li

  2. School of Safety Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, Jiangsu, China

    Yang Lei, Yuanping Cheng, Qingyi Tu & Yixuan Li

  3. National Engineering Research Center for Coal and Gas Control, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, Jiangsu, China

    Yang Lei, Yuanping Cheng, Qingyi Tu & Yixuan Li

  4. School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia

    Ting Ren

  5. Mine Safety Technology Branch, China Coal Research Institute, Beijing, 100013, China

    Longyong Shu

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  1. Yang Lei
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Correspondence to Yuanping Cheng.

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Lei, Y., Cheng, Y., Ren, T. et al. The Energy Principle of Coal and Gas Outbursts: Experimentally Evaluating the Role of Gas Desorption. Rock Mech Rock Eng 54, 11–30 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-020-02246-5

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