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Thermal stimulation is a supplementary technique for enhancing gas recovery from coalbed methane (CBM) reservoirs that has received considerable attention worldwide. Investigating gas and heat transfer in coal seams during thermally enhanced CBM recovery is of great significance for predicting gas production and optimizing the extraction method. Gas diffusion in the coal matrix and coupled multiphysics are two of the most important aspects when analyzing gas migration and heat transport. However, previous studies either neglected the nonlinear diffusion process of gas or only assumed that the diffusion coefficient varies with production time. However, considerable experimental results indicate that the gas diffusion coefficient is not only determined by time but also by temperature, which strongly impacts multifield interaction during gas recovery. Thus, prior diffusion models and coupled models must be modified. In this paper, a time-and-temperature-dependent gas diffusion model is established based on fractal theory and experimental data. The proposed diffusion model is embedded into the coupled thermal-hydro-mechanical model to comprehensively describe the behavior of coal deformation, gas migration, and heat transport during CBM recovery. Additionally, both new diffusion model and coupled model were validated with experimental results or field test data, showing that these developed models are applicable for modeling long-term gas diffusion and gas production. Finally, the coupled model was implemented into COMSOL Multiphysics software, and a series of numerical simulations were conducted. The calculation results showed that heat injection could promote gas desorption and diffusion in the matrix while inhabiting gas flow in fractures near the injection well. Gas dynamic diffusion could inhabit gas migration in both matrix system and fracture system at a later production stage. This also means that ignoring the gas nonlinear diffusion process leads to a severe overestimation of coal permeability and gas production.

Due to inappropriate mining practices, water-conducting fracture zones can develop in an aquifer, not only destroying the surface-water environment but also causing water inrush, even hurting or killing workers. To avoid such disasters, investigating and simulating the evolution mechanism of water-conducting fractures are becoming a research focus in mining engineering, especially regarding the organisation and development of fractures. Our work mainly involved the design of low-strength analogous materials and the simulation of fracture evolution for weak-roof problems in shallow seam mining based on a self-built experimental hydromechanical coupling system. The experimental results show that the vertical stress in the roof increases first as the working face approaches and finally decreases to near its initial value as the working face passes. The relationship between fracture depth and coal-seam excavation distance is obviously nonlinear. The leakage velocity of surface water remains stable in the early stage of excavation and increases when the fracture develops through the main aquifuge. The maximum fracture depth is 76.18 m for the Yili coal mine with weak roofs and shallow coal seams. In addition, we numerically simulated and verified the evolution patterns with the FLAC3D platform. The simulated fracture depth of the Yili coal mine agreed with the in situ borehole observation very well and was more accurate than the output of the empirical formula. Our work provides new methods and relevant data for research on the evolution of water-conducting fractures in weak roofs during shallow seam mining.

As a complex two-phase flow in naturally fractured coal formations, the prediction and analysis of CBM production remain challenging. This study presents a discrete fracture approach to modeling coalbed methane (CBM) and water flow in fractured coal reservoirs, particularly the influence of fracture orientation, fracture density, gravity, and fracture skeleton on fluid transport. The discrete fracture model is first verified by two water-flooding cases with multi- and single-fracture configurations. The verified model is then used to simulate CBM production from a discrete fractured reservoir using four different fracture patterns. The results indicate that fluid behavior is significantly affected by orientation, density, and fracture connectivity. Finally, several cases are performed to investigate the influence of gravity and fracture skeleton. The simulation results show that gas migrates upwards to the top reservoir during fluid extraction owing to buoyancy and the connected fracture skeleton plays a dominant role in fluid transport and methane production efficiency. Overall, the developed discrete fracture model provides a powerful tool to study two-phase flow in fractured coal reservoirs.

CO2 sequestration in coal seam has proved to be an effective way for reducing air pollution caused by greenhouse gases. A study on the rules of fluid transfer and reliability of CO2 storage during gas injection is necessary for the engineering application. However, the clarification of multifield coupling in long-term CO2 sequestration is the difficulty to solve the aforementioned problem. Previous investigations on the coupled model for CO2 storage in coal seam were not exactly comprehensive; for example, the multiphase flow in the fracture and the nonlinear behavior of gas diffusion were generally neglected. In this paper, a new multistage pore model of the coal matrix and the corresponding dynamic diffusion model were adopted. Meanwhile, the CO2-induced coal softening and the CO2-water two-phase flow in coal fracture were also taken into account. Subsequently, all the mentioned mechanisms and interactions were embedded into the coupled hydromechanical model, and this new fully coupled model was well verified by a set of experimental data. Additionally, through the model application for long-term CO2 sequestration, we found that the stored CO2 molecules are mainly in an adsorbed state at the early injection stage, while with the continuous injection of gas, the stored CO2 molecules are mainly in a free state. Finally, the roles of multiphase flow and gas dynamic diffusion on fluid transfer and coal behavior were analyzed. The results showed that the impact of multiphase flow is principally embodied in the area adjacent to the injection well and the coal seam with lower initial water saturation is more reliable for CO2 sequestration, while the impact of gas dynamic diffusion is principally embodied in the area far away from the injection well, and it is safer for CO2 sequestration in coal seam with greater attenuation coefficient of CO2 diffusion.