Research Progress of Coal Damage under Unsteady Load in China

Coalbed methane mining, suppression of coal dust, and elimination of dynamic disasters are closely related to the expansion of coal body cracks and internal damage. Understanding the expansion mechanism of pore-cracks is critical to investigate coal body damage. In this study, research from 2016 to 2021 conducted on the coal damage mechanism in China was sorted and the progress in this field was analysed to systematically investigate coal body damage. Critical topics of research in this field in recent years were identified, and load types were classified into static and dynamic loads. Dynamic loads with obvious characteristics and considerable damage-increasing effects were classified into impacting, cyclic, pulsating, and other dynamic load types. The current load-generating devices, various detection techniques and methods, research results, and the future research directions under various load types were discussed. The current coal damage research is primarily based on macrocharacteristic analysis and the stage characteristics of characterisation variables. The use of scanning electron microscopy, computerised tomography three-dimensional reconstruction technology, and acoustic emission technology can reveal the pore propagation mechanism at the micro level.

OpenFOAM solver of the methane behaviour near the coal mine tunnelling face and its application

The methane near a tunnelling face seriously affects production safety in coal mines. A model considering methane seepage, adsorption, desorption and coal damage processes was established in this research. The open field operation and manipulation (OpenFOAM) solver was compiled to numerically solve the established model. The model is validated against data published in a previous theoretical study. The solver was used to investigate the effect of different parameters on methane emission regularity. This solver demonstrates that the effects of the original stress, coal cohesion and coal internal friction angle on the methane emission rate are limited, but their effects on the width of the fractured zone and effective stress are great. The effects of the initial methane pressure and coal adsorption parameters on the methane emission rate are also notable, but their effects on the width of the fractured zone and effective stress are limited.

FRACTALS AND CHAOS CHARACTERISTICS OF ACOUSTIC EMISSION ENERGY ABOUT GAS-BEARING COAL DURING LOADED FAILURE

To study the damage evolution mechanism of gas-bearing coal and formation causes of acoustic emission signals during this process, the loaded experiments of gas-bearing coal were performed, and acoustic emission (AE) data radiated in this process were collected. Based on the multifractal theory, the causes of AE were explored in various loaded phases. The results showed that at the low stress stage, the fractures close and the friction/slip could cause low-energy acoustic emission events, and the multifractal spectrum had a smaller width. By contrast, at the high stress stage, the cracks expand, penetrate, and rupture, which would lead to AE events with the release of high energy, reflecting an increase in the width of the multifractal spectrum. At the initial loading stage, the time-varying multifractal spectrum was characterized by a chaotic behavior, but as the loading progressed, it gradually became orderly. In the elastic stage, coal experienced elastic deformation without damage, the ratio of strong and weak AE signals was almost the same, and both [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] were close to 0. In the plastic fracture stage, coal body consumed huge amounts of energy and suffered fracture. This also caused the coal body to radiate a large amount of AE signals. An analysis of these signals indicated that strong signals dominated and showed an increasing trend, and [Formula: see text] was less than 0 and continued to decrease. The time-varying multifractal characteristics reveal the formation mechanism of AE signals from gas-bearing coal, which contributes to improve our understanding of the mechanism of gas-bearing coal damage.