“…The production potential of the coal and shale layers is most sensitive to fracture permeability, which depends on the fracture spacing, fracture aperture, and relative fluid saturation. In comparatively weak coals, significant dynamic changes in the fracture permeability can also occur with gas production as a result of matrix shrinkage (i.e., fracture dilation), due to gas desorption, as well as matrix swelling (i.e., fracture compaction) with increasing stress, due to reservoir pressure depletion ([4] [5]). Understanding the dynamic changes in coal fracture permeability requires knowledge of the mechanical properties and the volumetric strain associated with gas desorption.…”