Experimental Study on Reynolds Number Evolution of Gas-Filled Coal

Abstract

The flow state of gas in coals is very complicated. We should pay attention to whether the permeability calculated by Darcy’s law is in accordance with the actual situation. We conducted an experiment on coal permeability and deformation under fixing confining pressure and increasing axial stress conditions. The objective is to investigate the variation of Reynolds number Re. In this study, the dynamic evolution of the Reynolds number is calculated under the relevant assumptions. The Reynolds number increases with an increase in the axial stress. In addition, the larger the value of initial Reynolds numbers, the greater the value of Re in the postpeak, and the possibility of nonlinear flow state is higher. Further, if the mass density (ρ) and fluid viscosity (μ) are constant, the decrease in the amplitudes of the flow rate is less than the increase in the equivalent diameter of the seepage path. Moreover, the tensile stress generated around the pores and fractures parallel or nearly parallel to the axial stress direction with increase in the axial stress results in an increase in the Reynolds numbers and equivalent diameter of the seepage path increase due to the development, expansion, and penetration of the cracks.