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Saturation characteristics of water and capillary pressure are important for hydrofracturing or water flooding, which is widely adopted in dust suppression, methane displacement, and gas and coal outburst elimination. In this paper, we have studied the water saturation characteristics of coal samples with different coal ranks and their effect on capillary pressure. It was found that the isothermal adsorption of water vapor from coal samples can be divided into three processes: monolayer adsorption, multilayer adsorption, and capillary condensation. The dent isothermal adsorption model can well describe water vapor adsorption of coal samples, indicating water molecules were first adsorbed on the first‐order adsorption site of pore surfaces at low relative humidity and then on the second‐order adsorption site with increasing relative humidity. An obvious hysteresis occurred in the process of water imbibition and drainage. A capillary pressure of ~325 MPa or even larger was required to displace the water from the coal. Besides, micro‐ and mesopores play a more important role in capillary pressure. The capillary pressure of coal samples was positively correlated with wettability at lower water saturation, but it is not significant at higher capillary pressures. Therefore, the article's results provide a new direction for solving the water‐locking effect in coal seams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gas outbursts pose a significant threat in the mining of deep low‐permeability coal seams. As mining depth increases, there is a rise in coal and gas dynamic disasters, rendering the gas outburst prevention technology from shallow mining areas unsuitable for deep coal seam exploitation. Addressing the challenges posed by deep, highly gassy coal seams, this study introduces a gas outburst prevention technology integrating destressing in the close distance underlying roadway with gas drainage. The article investigates the relevant technical parameters and assesses the feasibility of this approach. First, it establishes destressing model for the underlying roadway to derive an analytical solution for stress distribution in the coal seam. Second, appropriate technical parameters are designed considering the seepage characteristics of gas in the coal seam. Finally, the gas drainage technical scheme is implemented at Qujiang coal mine to verify its on‐site effectiveness. Field test results indicate an increase in gas permeability within the coal seam following destressing in the underlying roadway, accompanied by significant improvements in the efficiency of gas drainage and the advancement speed of the coal roadway. Specifically, the driving speed of the coal roadway has escalated from 40 m/month to 150 m/month. These outcomes demonstrate the potential of this technology as a promising approach for preventing gas outbursts in the challenging context of deep, low‐permeability coal seams, facilitating swift coal roadway excavation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]