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Hydraulic fracturing is extensively utilized for the prevention and control of gas outbursts and rockbursts in the deep sections of coal mines. The determination of fracturing construction parameters based on the coal seam conditions and stress environments merits further investigation. This paper constructs a damage analysis model for coal under hydraulic loads, factoring in the influence of the intermediate principal stress, grounded in the octahedron strength theory analysis approach. It deduces the theoretical analytical equation for the damage distribution of a coal medium subjected to small-flow-rate hydraulic fracturing in underground coal mines. Laboratory experiments yielded the mechanical parameters of coal in the study area and facilitated the fitting of the intermediate principal stress coefficient. Leveraging these datasets, the study probes into the interaction between hydraulic loads and damage radius under assorted influence ranges, porosity, far-field crustal stresses, and brittle damage coefficients. The findings underscore that hydraulic load escalates exponentially with the damage radius. Within the variable range of geological conditions in the test area, the effects of varying influence range, porosity level, far-field stress, and brittle damage coefficient on the outcomes intensify one by one; a larger hydraulic load diminishes the impact of far-field stress variations on the damage radius, inversely to the influence range, porosity, and brittle damage. The damage radius derived through the gas pressure reduction method in field applications corroborates the theoretical calculations, affirming the precision of the theoretical model. These findings render pivotal guidance for the design and efficacy assessment of small-scale hydraulic fracturing in underground coal mines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

To study the effects of gas hydrates on the prevention and control of coal and gas protrusions, this paper reports the results of acoustic emission experiments on coal bodies containing gas hydrates with different saturation levels. The results showed that few acoustic emission events were generated in the elasticity stages of coal bodies containing gas hydrates, and the first sudden increase in the number of ringing counts generally occurred before and after the yielding point. Additionally, the acoustic emission events in the yielding stage were more active, and the cumulative number of ringing counts increased faster. The peak ringing counts appeared around the damage point, and a small number of acoustic emission events were still generated after destruction of the coal samples. The cumulative ringing counts decreased linearly with increasing saturation. The effect of saturation on the cumulative ringing counts in the elasticity stage of the gas hydrate-containing coal samples was small, but the difference between the cumulative ringing counts in the yielding stage and those in the destruction stage was larger. The total cumulative ringing counts and the cumulative ringing counts during each stage for the gas hydrate-containing coal samples decreased with increasing enclosure pressure. The energy and amplitude of the loading process were consistent with the trend for the ringing counts. The acoustic emission ringing counts of gas-containing coals were greater than those of gas hydrate-containing coals in the yielding and destructing stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous increase of mining depth, coal and gas outburst poses a significant threat to mining safety. Conducting research on the mechanisms of coal and gas outbursts contributes to understanding the evolutionary process of such incidents, thus enabling accurate prediction and prevention of coal and gas outbursts during mining operations. This paper has developed a comprehensive visual experimental system that is specifically tailored to simulate diverse coal body conditions, ground stress and gas pressures. By monitoring and analyzing the real-time progression of coal fissures during the outburst process, we can obtain valuable insights into the evolution and mechanisms of coal and gas outbursts. Additionally, this study introduces a method to determine the critical threshold for predicting coal and gas outbursts, and the critical gas pressure threshold for Jiulishan Coal Mine (Jiaozuo City, Henan Province, China) is established at 0.6 MPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mining-induced disturbance to stress fields can lead to many engineering disasters such as rock bursts, roadway collapses, and coal and gas outbursts. The evolution characteristic of abutment pressure during the mining process is of great significance for prevention of engineering disasters. Based on a case study of No.12526E Panel in Xieqiao coalmine of Huainan mining area in China, this paper investigated the evolution characteristic of abutment pressure during the retreat mining process. A field measurement was performed using three-dimensional (3D) pressure sensor, and the abutment pressure was continuously monitored during the mining process. The monitoring results indicate that the abutment pressure curve can be divided into strong interference area and weak interference area. Further, the evolution characteristics of abutment pressure during the retreat mining process were simulated using a 3D discrete-element program. Periodic caving characteristics of rock strata were obtained, and the major causes of stress concentration and the bearing stress inflection point were analyzed. With the periodic caving of the overlying strata, the stress inflection point appears, and fracture cracks are generated and hinder stress recovery. Finally, the detailed dynamic evolution process of the abutment pressure as well as the deformation and caving characteristics of the overlying strata of the No.12526E Panel were analyzed. The coal and rock near the mined-out area undergo a sharp stress concentration and reduction, which would lead to damage to the rock mass near the mined-out area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outburst of coal and gas is a major hazard in underground coal mining where coal seam gas content/pressure is high. A cone‐shaped cavity is often observed in the coal seam after bursting, implying the likely mechanical structure being formed during outburst propagation. Although the mechanism for outburst initiation and propagation is very complex, mining‐induced fracturing and damage of the coal material is an essential component. This paper investigates the mechanical conditions that are essential to initiate fractures around a spherical cavity, a simplified form of the cone‐shaped outburst cavity. The cavity is assumed to be situated in an infinite isotropic homogeneous elastic body under internal gas pressure and far‐field hydrostatic compressive stresses as a further simplification for analytical investigation. The analytical conditions under which circumferential and radial fractures can initiate around the cavity are formulated, based on extensional strain criterion for fracture initiation. Low internal pressure on the cavity surface and high far‐field compression lead to circumferential fractures. In contrast, high internal pressure and low far‐field compression lead to radial fractures. Subsequent numerical simulations with FRACOD3D and FRACOD, the 3D and 2D in‐house fracture simulation codes, were carried out to investigate fracture patterns around a cavity and inclusion. The simulation results confirmed the analytical results, including fracture shapes and the size of fractured zone. These results provide a new angle to understand the complex mechanism of outbursts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal and gas outbursts are anthropogenic hazards that can be divided into four stages: preparation, occurrence, development, and termination. Studying the influence of gas on coal damage and energy changes during the formation of outbursts is highly important for investigating the entire hazard. In this paper, laboratory experiments were performed on samples. The energy changes and failure mechanism of coal under different gas pressures were revealed, and a seepage model was established based on compressibility and adsorption to investigate gas-induced coal damage. The results demonstrated that gas pressure caused initial damage within the coal, resulting in nonlinear deformation and strength deterioration of the coal. Gas-induced damage affected the energy evolution mechanism of coal under loading, as pressure caused the premature release of energy at the tips of internal microcracks and reduced the ability to accumulate energy. These changes increased the proportion of dissipative energy under unstable conditions. The combined acoustic emission (AE) parameters—rising angle (RA) and average frequency (AF)—were used to study the fracture mode of gas-containing coal. As the gas pressure increased from 0 to 4 MPa, the RA–AF distribution pattern changed from tensile failure to tensile–shear composite failure, with the proportion of shear cracks increasing from 0.30% to 25.44%. As the complexity of the crack network increased, the randomness of crack propagation increased, and the fracture surface roughness parameters, arithmetic mean height S a , root mean square height S q , and maximum height S z increased by 90.33%, 94.02%, and 81.70%, respectively. These findings could contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanism of coal and gas outbursts and guide for predicting and preventing these hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal and gas outburst is a type of coal mine dynamic disaster with complex causes and serious consequences. In China, the number and scale of outburst disasters are among the highest in the world. It is an inevitable stage for outburst that the mechanical instability of the combination of intact coal and tectonic coal (CICTC) in strata. The dip angle of the interface has an important influence on the instability of CICTC-containing gas. To further understand the instability process of CICTC, the uncoordinated deformation of CICTC was defined. According to this, three strain conditions were delimited. The variations of stress under three strain conditions were analyzed, the expressions of additional interfacial stress were established. Then, based on the Mohr–Coulomb criterion, the strength characteristics and failure forms were analyzed. It was found that the dip angle deflects the principal stress in the interface, and the influences of additional stresses on the value of principal stress are opposite. These two reasons make the principal stress state and instability process of the combination complicated. Finally, combined with actual parameters, the instability processes of CICTC under different stress paths and buried depths were studied. It can be found that the failures of CICTC under different stress paths were concentrated appearing in the tectonic coal body, intact coal interface, and tectonic coal interface. With the increase of buried depth, the initial maximum principal stress increases and the reduction from additional stresses to the strength of intact coal interface enhances, which makes the combination damage easily and the failure form change. The research results in this paper can provide a theoretical basis to prevent and control the outburst of the combination containing gas considering the dip angle of the interface. Highlights: The uncoordinated deformation of combination considering the dip angle was first defined. The expressions of additional interfacial stress of combination considering the dip angle were established The influences of different stress paths and buried depths for the instability of combination were discussed quantificationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development and selection of fuzzy variable weight vector and its application on fuzzy comprehensive decision-making (FCDM) are studied in detail in this paper. Firstly, a parameter contained variable weight vector is developed based on the definition of variable weight vector, and then further extended to obtain the fuzzy variable weight vector. Its capability on weights changing can be adjusted by changing the parameter. In order to make the fuzzy variable weight vector for different changes of states to be selected and applied easily, the concept of fuzzy dispersion degree, which can be used to measure the balance of decision factors' states, is proposed; And then the concept of fuzzy average relative adjustment degree, which can be used to measure the capability of fuzzy variable weight vector on weight changing, is also proposed. Based on the concepts of fuzzy dispersion degree and fuzzy average relative adjustment degree, relationship between the weight changing capability of the developed fuzzy variable weight vector and the parameters it contains is analyzed. With consideration of keeping balance among states, steps on selecting fuzzy variable weight vector with its corresponding capability on weight changing are presented. Based on the fuzzy combined weighting method, a FCDM model with fuzzy variable weight is developed. The fuzzy structured element is used to express fuzzy numbers and fuzzy operations in the model. An analytical algorithm of the FCDM model based on the fuzzy structured element is presented. The developed model was then applied on evaluating and predicting for coal and gas outburst of coal mining panels. The research finding provides an alternative way for fuzzy operations and determination of weights in other fuzzy analysis models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mine gas drainage is an important work in high gas outburst coal mines. How to improve the gas drainage concentration and drainage volume has always been the direction of exploration by coal mine technicians. In this paper, the experiment and field test of displacing CH4 with liquid CO2 were carried out. In the process of low temperature liquid CO2 phase transformation, a low stress and high permeability pressure relief area is formed in the coal and rock mass, so as to accelerate the free state of primary gas in coal and realize the intensified gas extraction of low-permeability coal seams. The results show that CH4 concentration and displacement efficiency in the displacement flow decrease at a greater rate and then stabilize; the cumulative CH4 displacement volume increases rapidly and stabilizes after reaching the critical time; the average concentration of gas drainage from single hole increases from 27.2% to 53.2%, and the gas drainage purity increases 2.3 times from 0.018 m3/min to 0.041 m3/min. The technology is simple to operate, does not produce high temperature and open flame, has the advantages of economy, safety, high efficiency and so on, it can be popularized and applied in gas mines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigated the effects of gas pressure, in-situ stress, and coal strength on coal and gas outbursts (CGO) based on the laboratory CGO experimental data. Based on the hypothesis of the comprehensive of CGO, the single-factor control variable method was used to analyze and evaluate the relative outburst intensity, the characteristics of outburst holes, the distribution of pulverized coal, the drops of outburst gas pressure, and the pulverized coal density under different outbursts experimental condition. The improved CGO energy equation and instability criterion are proposed as a direction to study the occurrence of CGO as an energy evolution direction. Furthermore, the results shows that the initial outburst gas pressure was 0.45 MPa during the experimental conditions of in-situ stress was 5 MPa, and the coal strength was 0.24 MPa. The gas pressure is directly proportional to the relative outburst intensity, while the in-situ stress and coal strength are inversely proportional to the relative outburst intensity. After the CGO occurred, the outburst coal always show spallation and pulverization characteristics. The results highlight that the gas pressure plays a key role in pulverizing and throwing out the pulverized coal, and the in-situ stress mainly plays a role in destroying the coal, and the coal strength plays a resistance role during the CGO occurs. It is also found that pulverized coal particles size less than 0.28 mm can be used to represent the distribution pattern of the total weight of outburst pulverized coal particles in the different outburst interval. These results clearly illustrate that using effective methods to control gas pressure, in-situ stress, and coal strength has an important role in preventing and controlling CGO on coal mining sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The haulage roadway of the F15-22080 working face, No.8 mine is situated within a special non-uniform stress zone. In this area, the extraction-boreholes drilling process frequently triggers coal and gas outburst. Against this background, this study systematically conducted high-pressure gas adsorption experiments and high-pressure gas desorption experiments on coal samples collected from different stress zones and obtained their adsorption/desorption characteristics. Subsequently, coal pore structure characteristics at various scales were investigated by employing scanning electron microscopy, low-pressure N2 adsorption and low-pressure CO2 adsorption techniques and fractal analysis to assess the impact of varying stress levels. On this basis, a comprehensive analysis was carried out to explore the connections between stress, pore structure, adsorption/desorption traits, and the risk of outburst. The results indicate that, with increasing stress, the Protodyakonov coefficient f and the Langmuir pressure PL decrease, while the index of diffusion initial velocity of coal gas Δp and the Langmuir volume VL increase. The desorption amount and rate of gas also increase significantly. The total pore volume and specific surface area of micropores increase, while those of mesopores and macropores show an overall decreasing trend. The surface fractal dimension DF1 increases by 9%, the spatial fractal dimension DF2 decreases by 5.2%, and the volume fractal dimension DSIE increases by 1%. The induced stress leads to a decrease in the abundance of macropores and mesopores, with concurrent increase in micropores. The VL exhibits a linear increase with the DSIE, whereas the PL demonstrates a linear decrease with it. The initial desorption rate rises with the reduction of the DF2 and the increase of the DSIE. The influence of superimposed-stress on outburst stems from alterations in pore structure and adsorption–desorption capabilities. Simultaneously, it collectively heightened the outburst risk by increasing the gas pressure gradient and weakening the strength of the coal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coal and gas outburst and rockburst coupling disaster is becoming increasingly serious due to deep mining. To clarify the mechanism inducing the outburst–rockburst coupling disaster, a true triaxial single-sided unloading mechanical test was conducted with the aid of a true triaxial solid–thermal–gas coupling test device, an industrial computed tomography (CT) system, and an acoustic emission system. Through this test, the mechanical characteristics, meso crushing characteristics, and acoustic characteristics in the disaster formation process were obtained. Additionally, the outburst–rockburst coupling instability disaster law was verified by numerical simulation. The results demonstrated that the stress unloading degree of the coal body was negatively correlated with the initial gas pressure in the outburst–rockburst coupling disaster. The time domain parameter count and energy of acoustic emission exhibited a "bimodal" distribution pattern in the instability stage. The rockburst would occur when the peak value was in a "low-count and high-energy" state, while coal and gas outburst would occur when the peak value was in a "high-count and low-energy" state. The meso slice revealed that gas degradation promoted the development of microcracks in the coal body, and the penetration of cracks resulted in the main cracks of structural instability during rockburst. The coal and gas outburst was mainly attributed to the "cross" shear failure pattern of the coal body. These research findings may lay a foundation for the effective prevention and control of outburst–rockburst coupling disasters. [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]

The coalbed methane energy resources waste, environmental pollution and miner's health remain challenging problems in worldwide mining operations accompanied by coal-gas outbursts; thus, the safe and efficient yield of these resources plays a vital role in the world's energy market. The tectonic coal development is a significant geological feature of coal and gas outburst sites, and the study of coal and gas outburst mechanism should be based on more precise geological occurrence characteristics. In this paper, the geological characteristics of coal and gas outburst sites were analyzed. The failure law of coal body under the stratified occurrence of tectonic coal and raw coal seam with different thickness was studied. The mechanical equilibrium equation of non-synchronous deformation of tectonic coal and raw coal was constructed, the initiation criterion of coal and gas outburst was established based on the support body model, and a case study was carried out. The results show that with the thickness increase of the tectonic coal seam, the peak displacement of the driving face increases. The outburst start-up and development of coal and gas outburst, coal and gas extrusion outburst and coal and gas collapse outburst were deeply analyzed, as well as the internal reasons of the occurrence of coal-gas outburst portent are explained, based on the support body model. The development process from the start to the end of coal and gas outburst is revealed, and a new perspective is proposed for the prevention and control of coal and gas outburst: improving the strength of support body is also of great significance for the prevention and control of coal and gas outburst. • Asynchronous deformation induced coal-gas outburst mechanism. • The initiation criterion of coal and gas outburst was established. • The start and development process of the three types outburst were revealed. • New theoretical method and direction into dynamic disaster monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing common challenges such as limited indicators, poor adaptability, and imprecise modeling in gas pre-warning systems for driving faces, this study proposes a hybrid predictive and pre-warning model grounded in time-series analysis. The aim is to tackle the effects of broad application across diverse mines and insufficient data on warning accuracy. Firstly, we introduce an adaptive normalization (AN) model for standardizing gas sequence data, prioritizing recent information to better capture the time-series characteristics of gas readings. Coupled with the Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) model, AN demonstrates superior forecasting performance compared to other standardization techniques. Next, Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD) is used for feature extraction, guiding the selection of the Variational Mode Decomposition (VMD) order. Minimal decomposition errors validate the efficacy of this approach. Furthermore, enhancements to the transformer framework are made to manage non-linearities, overcome gradient vanishing, and effectively analyze long time-series sequences. To boost versatility across different mining scenarios, the Optuna framework facilitates multiparameter optimization, with xgbRegressor employed for accurate error assessment. Predictive outputs are benchmarked against Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN), GRU, Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), and Bidirectional LSTM (BiLSTM), where the hybrid model achieves an R-squared value of 0.980975 and a Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 0.000149, highlighting its top performance. To cope with data scarcity, bootstrapping is applied to estimate the confidence intervals of the hybrid model. Dimensional analysis aids in creating real-time, relative gas emission metrics, while persistent anomaly detection monitors sudden time-series spikes, enabling unsupervised early alerts for gas bursts. This model demonstrates strong predictive prowess and effective pre-warning capabilities, offering technological reinforcement for advancing intelligent coal mine operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work discussed the results from tests conducted to study the desorption and outburst characteristics of soft and hard coal under different gas conditions. The research found that gas type has a greater influence on the outburst and desorption characteristics of soft coal. Triaxial compression failure can improve the desorption rate of coal specimens, and the gas desorption rate of hard coal is more affected by triaxial compression failure. In the outburst experiments, the greater the test gas pressure, the greater the crush degree of the coal specimen, and the proportion of small-sized coal powder (<0.1 mm) increases but gradually stabilizes. Moreover, the acoustic emission (AE) signals during the outburst process were recorded, and the evolution law of gas pressure in the outburst carven was also analyzed. Finally, the changes in AE signals and gas pressure could be used to predict the damage and destruction characteristics of coal specimens well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magma intrusion has an important influence on the physical and mechanical properties of coal and rock. In the area of magma intrusion, disasters such as gas outburst are prone to occur. Revealing its invasion law will be conducive to disaster management and energy development. For this purpose, changes in industrial analysis components of coal, mineral composition, major oxides, trace elements, and rare earth elements of coal under the thermal metamorphism of magma intrusion were analyzed. It is found that the moisture and volatile matter contents of the thermally affected coals in the mining face are generally lower than that of normal coals, while moisture and volatile matter contents are reduced towards to the magma intrusion contact. For example, the moisture and volatile matter of coal sample M01 decreased by 64.6% and 38.6% respectively compared with coal sample M05. During magma intrusion, some minerals remain on the surface of the coal body, resulting in changes in the mineral composition of the coal body. The decrease in carbon atom net spacing, the increase in crystallite aggregation and ductility, and aromaticity in thermally affected coals have a positive impact on the improvement of coal metamorphism. Due to the influences of magmatic intrusion, the variation rules of major oxides in coal are different, and the closer to the magmatic intrusion zone, the easier the major oxides are to be depleted. However, magma intrusion will not lead to the loss of all major oxides in thermally affected coals, such as content of CaO is 54.8%, which is higher than that of coal not affected by magmatic hydrothermal fluid. Most of the trace elements in the thermally affected coals of the No. 9 coal seam are depleted. The contents of rare earth elements are low on the whole coalbasis, with an average of 29.48 μg/g, and the distribution pattern towards to magmatic intrusion shows a wide and gentle "V" curve with left high and right low, showing the characteristics of enrichment of light rare earth elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study numerically examines the evolution of the stress and displacement fields of rock sur-rounding an oblique normal fault in the longwall working face of a mine. The aim is to determine the law of activation of an abnormal geological body containing coal and rock mass and to provide timely warnings of geological hazards, such as coal and gas bursts, rock bursts, and flooding during coal mining. A high-precision microseismic monitoring system was used to monitor the activation of and damage to the rock surrounding the mine. The results of numerical simulations coupled with those of microseismic monitoring showed that the coal and rock mass near the fault and goaf was situated in an area of high stress, with a high frequency and energy of microseismic events, wherein changes in the displacement of the roof were more significant when the working face was pushed to the fault layer. The combined analysis provides information on the activation of rock surrounding the coal mine and can be used to provide early warnings of mining accidents. The results provide a reference for the safe mining of the working face and technical guidance for the design parameters of pressure relief holes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 1 Stress distribution was recalculated by stress-softening and prominent dilatancy. • 2 Gas-bearing coal under impact loading was a compaction followed by ruin process. • 3 Measures principles were mainly aimed at fracture and stress-concentration areas. • 4 Preliminary goal-reaching parameter based on principles was proposed and applied. As the increasing demand for coal and the depletion of shallow coal resources, the tendency of coal mining in China is progressively shifting to deeper areas, which brings about a circumstance where the frequency and intensity of coal and gas outburst accidents have further deteriorated. Nowadays, there are many outburst prevention measures being applied on site, while this disaster still occurs from time to time. Therefore, to better improve the preventing outcome of them, this paper came forward with some principles, based on the mechanical theory of deep mining and damage evolution procedure concerning coal containing gas underneath the impact load. The primary conclusions were as follows: the stresses, strains, and associated widths in the three areas, namely fracture area, plastic area, and elastic area, in front of the working face were recalculated by considering stress-softening and dilatancy of coal mass. The damage evolution of gas-bearing coal mass under impact loading was displayed in the LS-DYNA numerical simulation as a process of compaction followed by destruction. The proposed principles could be split into two perspectives, one for the fracture area, specifically, to minimize the descending of the coal mass's strength in this area; another for the stress-concentration zone, namely, to abate the thrust due to extrusion and deformation, on the coal body which was located in the front area. According to those principles, a preliminary goal-reaching parameter was proposed and it was implemented for the evaluation of advanced drilling. The results will cooperate to rationalize the design and layout of local outburst prevention measures, thereby enhancing the efficiency of control and ameliorating the deteriorating scenario of outburst disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's coal mines have to extend to greater depths for the exploitation of more mineral resources, and they have suffered catastrophic mining-induced disasters, such as rockbursts, water inrushes, coal and gas outbursts, and roof fall accidents. The microseismic monitoring technique is a practical tool for mine safety management, which is extensively utilized in many Chinese coal mines. Microcracks of coal/rock masses are recorded as microseismicities in the field, and the potential mining-induced instabilities can be assessed by in-depth analysis of the microseismic parameters. This study provides a state-of-the-art review of the achievements and developments of the microseismic monitoring technique in coal mines. It also presents some prospects for improving the location accuracy of microseismicity, efficient and intelligent processing of the microseismic data, comprehensive assessment of coal/rock instabilities, and development of new microseismic monitoring equipment. This study is valuable for mine safety management and may contribute to improving the deep mining production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The finite difference model and particle flow model were constructed to reproduce the process of coal and gas outburst in front of the tunnel. The reliability of the particle flow model was verified by studying the internal stress, gas pressure, and related parameters of gas and coal two-phase flow. Then the process of coal and gas outburst is described from a microscopic perspective. The results show that the particle flow numerical model of coal and gas outburst is in line with reality and can intuitively and conveniently monitor relevant parameters; The concentrated stress caused by excavation of tunnels can reach 1.2 times the in-situ stress; High stress causes the adhesion between coal particles to break down, which is the main reason for the initiation of coal and gas outbursts; The intermittent breakthrough of gas on the coal particle collection that blocks the release channel has caused pulsating characteristics of coal and gas outbursts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal and gas outburst is a dynamic disaster that poses a significant threat to coal mines. Energy analysis is an effective tool for understanding the mechanisms behind such outburst. The energy sources and dissipation during outbursts were explored using a multifunctional test system, and the energy transformation relationship was analyzed based on experimental results. Based on these, the crushing mechanism of outburst coal was further investigated. The results show that the adsorbed gas does not all participate in the work during an outburst. Thus, an effective desorption ratio was introduced to characterize quantitatively the percentage of volume of adsorbed gas involved in an outburst. The effective desorption ratios were calculated and found to be in the range of 5.07–13.36% under the test conditions and were primarily related to gas pressure and exhibited an exponential growth relationship. The energy of outbursts generally comes from gas expansion energy, which is 52.7 times that of the elastic strain energy. The gas expansion energy consists of adsorbed gas energy and free gas energy and accounts for 81.6–91.0% of the gas expansion energy, and it is the main energy source for continuous coal fragmentation and transport. The energy conversion of an outburst mainly occurs among gas expansion energy, coal crushing, and transport energy. The energy dissipation under high gas pressure conditions was found to be dominated by crushing energy, whereas under low gas pressure conditions, it was dominated by transport energy. The involvement of ground stress increased the breakage rate of the coal by 23%, whereas the breakage rate of the coal constantly increased with increase in gas pressure. The spatial distributions of the coal mass and crushing power in the roadway were consistent; however, the energy required in the initial stage of coal crushing was significantly larger than that in the middle and final stages. The release and consumption of energy during an outburst are processes of rapid decay from strong to weak. Finally, the processes of preparation, initiation, development, and termination of outbursts are described completely from the perspective of energy evolution, and the roles of ground stress and gas (free gas and adsorbed gas) during outbursts are clarified. The results provide reference ideas and theoretical basis for the accurate identification, effective prevention, and control of coal and gas outbursts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gas contained in coal plays a crucial role in triggering coal and gas outbursts. During an outburst, a large quantity of gas originally absorbed by coal is released from pulverized coal. The role this part of the gas plays in the process of coal and gas outbursts has not been clearly elucidated yet. Therefore, investigating the changes in gas desorption rate from coal particles of different sizes could provide some meaningful insights into the outburst process and improve our understanding of the outburst mechanism. First, combining the diffusivity of coal of different particle sizes and the distribution function of broken coal, we present a gas desorption model for fragmented gas-bearing coal that can quantify gas desorption from coal particles within a certain range of size. Second, the gas desorption rate ratio is defined as the ratio of the gas desorption rate from coal being crushed to that from coal before breaking. The desorption rate ratio is mainly determined by the desorption index (γ) and the granularity distribution index (α). Within the limit range of coal particle sizes, the ratio of effective diffusion coefficient for coal particles with different sizes is directly proportional to the reciprocal of the ratio of particle sizes. Under uniform particle size conditions before and after fragmentation, the gas desorption rate ratio is the square root of the reciprocal of the effective diffusion coefficient. The gas desorption model quantitatively elucidates the accelerated desorption of adsorbed gas in coal during the continuous fragmentation process of coal during an outburst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]