Quantitative Characteristics of Energy Evolution of Gas-Bearing Coal Under Cyclic Loading and its Action Mechanisms on Coal and Gas Outburst

It is very important and effective to characterize the failure mechanism of coal and rock materials from the perspective of energy. Energy dissipation and release are important causes of rock mass failure. To qualitatively and quantitatively characterize the energy evolution process of gas-bearing coal and the energy evolution mechanisms of coal and gas outburst, experimental studies were conducted on gas-bearing coal under different stress paths. The research results demonstrate that the energy evolution of gas-bearing coal has nonlinear characteristics and that the energy density is a quadratic function of stress. The total energy density is mainly stored as elastic energy density and is unrelated to loading paths. According to the distribution characteristics of abutment pressures in a stope, the energy distribution can be divided into an energy dissipation and release zone, an increasing-energy zone, and a stable energy storage zone. During coal mining, abutment pressure in front of the coal wall is an important factor causing energy accumulation, and the stress concentration area is a key area to prevent and control dynamic disasters of coal and rock masses. Furthermore, based on the principle of energy conservation, this study established an energy balance model for coal and gas outburst and derived energy criteria for coal and gas outburst. When Upsilon > 1, there is a risk of coal seams have outburst. If Upsilon = 1, the system is in a state of limit equilibrium, and mining disturbances could trigger outburst.

Automated summary

Characterizing the failure mechanism of coal and rock materials from the perspective of energy is crucial. The energy evolution of gas-bearing coal has nonlinear characteristics, with total energy mainly stored as elastic energy density. The energy distribution in a stope can be divided into an energy dissipation and release zone, an increasing-energy zone, and a stable energy storage zone.