Research on outburst gas pressure dynamics and water-injected coal damage

Abstract

Coal and gas outbursts are complex dynamic disasters closely associated with gas pressure dynamics and coal damage. An experimental system was established to investigate the effects of water injection on coal particles. The experiments utilized helium (He) and carbon dioxide (CO2) gases, at initial pressures ranging from 0.25 to 1.0 MPa and water injection periods ranging from 0 to 12 days, to measure gas pressure variation, particle size distribution, equivalent diameter, and newly generated surface area. The results indicated that outburst gas pressure follows a power-law decay, with He decaying more rapidly than CO2. Elevated gas pressure and adsorptivity intensified coal particle damage: each 0.25 MPa rise in pressure increased the new surface area by 1.02 times for He and 1.28 times for CO2, with the CO2's surface area being 5.03–5.20 times larger than that of He. Water injection mitigated the damage caused by adsorptive gases; as the injection time increased, the new surface area initially decreased and then increased, with the least damage at 6 days. For every 3 day increase in the water injection time, the average surface area of He-fractured coal increases by 0.69 times. A gas pressure decay model and a coal damage model considering pressure differential tension, gas adsorption expansion, and adsorption-induced strain were developed and validated against experimental results. These findings provide theoretical insights into coal and gas outbursts.