Applicability of surface directional wells for upper Silesia Basin coal seams? drainage ahead of mining

Methods of exploitation drainage, which is presently applied in polish hard coal mines in Upper Silesian Coal Basin (Poland), are not effective enough, high risk of methane hazard can be observed, and production capacity of the mining plant is not fully used. Methane hazard, which may occur during planned coal exploitation, is presented in this paper. Following parameters are taken into consideration in the forecasts: coal extraction parameters, geological and mining conditions, deposit’s methane saturation degree and impact of coal exploitation on the degasification coefficient of the seams, which are under the influence of relaxation zone. This paper presents the results of the analysis aiming to verify applicability of drainage ahead of mining of the coal seams by using surface directional wells. Based on the collected data (coal seams’ structural maps, profiles of the exploratory wells, geological cross-sections), the lab tests of drilling cores and direct wells’ tests, static model of the deposit was constructed and suitable grid of directional wells from the surface was designed. Comparison of forecasted methane emission volume between the two methods is investigated. The results indicated the necessity of performing appropriate deposit’s stimulations in order to increase effectiveness of drainage ahead of mining.     

自燃煤层下行通风防火技术与展望

对我国回采工作面下行通风技术的应用状况以及下行通风对采空区煤炭自燃的抑制作用的研究工作进行了阐述，提出了回采工作而下行通风时采空区自热，点的自消原理，并论述了自燃煤层下行通风防火技术的推广应用前景。     

Numerical Simulation Study of Goaf Methane Drainage and Spontaneous Combustion Coupling

In order to study the coupling problem between methane drainage and spontaneous combustion of residual coal in the collapsed zone after mining ignitable coal seams with high methane, we have analyzed the effects of different methane drainage modes on spontaneous combustion of residual coal through numerical simulation.The results show that deep and large flux methane drainage modes increases the air leakage from work faces to the goaf and formed new spontaneous combustion zones induced by drainage near vents, which increases the risk of self-ignition of coal-reducing the self-ignition period and enlarging the scale of self-ignition.The spontaneous upstream combustion oxidation of the main fire zone can be suppressed when both drainage and nitrogen injection were adopted.Our research results provide an effective technical measure and theoretical basis to determine the best methane drainage scheme and drainage parameters.     

Method for prevention and control of spontaneous combustion of coal seam and its application in mining field

Spontaneous combustion of coal seam has been and continues to be a big problem in coal mines. It could pose great threat to the safety of the whole mine and all miners, especially when it occurs in or nearby coal mines. Besides, environment of area surrounded mines during combustion can be threatened where large amount of toxic gases including CO_2, CO, SO_2 and H_2S can be leased by fire in mine. Hence, it is important and significant for scholars to study the controlling and preventing of the coal seam fire. In this paper, the complicated reasons for the occurrence and development of spontaneous combustion in coal seam are analysed and different models under various air leakage situations are built as well. Based on the model and approximately calculation, the difficulty of fire extinguishment in coal seam is pointed out as the difficulty and poor effect to remove the large amount of heat released. Detailed measurements about backfilling and case analyses are also provided on the basis of the recent ten years' practice of controlling spontaneous combustion in coal seams in China. A technical fire prevention and control method has been concluded as five steps including detection, prevention, sealing, injection and pressure adjustment. However, various backfill materials require different application and environmental factors, so in this paper, analyses and discussion about the effect and engineering application of prevention of spontaneous combustion are provided according to different backfilling technologies and methods. Once the aforementioned fire prevention can be widely applied and regulated in mines, green mining will be achievable concerning mine fire prevention and control.     

煤炭经济可采储量的确定方法及评价模型

煤炭经济可采储量是矿井设计和生产的基础，在提出市场经济条件下确定经济可采储量方法的基础上，对我国煤炭经济可采储量的计算方法、评价的数学模型进行了研究，导出了实用的评价公式．结合开滦矿区对不同地质条件下的主要开采煤层进行财务和国民经济评价，得出了主采煤层的最小经济可采厚度．     

Geotechnical considerations for concurrent pillar recovery in close-distance multiple seams

Room-and-pillar mining with pillar recovery has historically been associated with more than 25% of all ground fall fatalities in underground coal mines in the United States.The risk of ground falls during pillar recovery increases in multiple-seam mining conditions.The hazards associated with pillar recovery in multiple-seam mining include roof cutters, roof falls, rib rolls, coal outbursts, and floor heave.When pillar recovery is planned in multiple seams, it is critical to properly design the mining sequence and panel layout to minimize potential seam interaction.This paper addresses geotechnical considerations for concurrent pillar recovery in two coal seams with 21 m of interburden under about 305 m of depth of cover.The study finds that, for interburden thickness of 21 m, the multiple-seam mining influence zone in the lower seam is directly under the barrier pillar within about 30 m from the gob edge of the upper seam.The peak stress in the interburden transfers down at an angle of approximately 20°away from the gob, and the entries and crosscuts in the influence zone are subjected to elevated stress during development and retreat.The study also suggests that, for full pillar recovery in close-distance multiple-seam scenarios,it is optimal to superimpose the gobs in both seams, but it is not necessary to superimpose the pillars.If the entries and/or crosscuts in the lower seam are developed outside the gob line of the upper seam,additional roof and rib support needs to be considered to account for the elevated stress in the multiple-seam influence zone.     

The influence of mining factors on seismic activity during longwall mining of a coal seam

In this article an attempt to determine the influence of mining factors on the seismic activity during the longwall mining of the upper layer of coal seam no. 405/2 in one of the Polish hard coal mines in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin was conducted. Two longwall panels were mined in analogous geological conditions and based on the same mining system and technology. However, there was significant difference with regards to the mining factors, which was reflected in the observed seismic activity. Some tools used in mining seismology were applied to illustrate the aforementioned influence of mining factors, e.g. the frequency-energy distribution, the frequency-magnitude distribution, the 2 D distribution of released seismic energy, the relationship between released seismic energy and the volume of mined coal, the Benioff strain release, and the Gutenberg-Richter(GR) b coefficient distribution(b is the proportion between high and low energy tremors). Concerning the Benioff strain release, a new solution, based on the slope of a fitted line in a moving time window, is proposed.     

Scale of seismic and rock burst hazard in the Silesian companies in Poland

Presently the seismic and rock burst hazard appears still to be important in most of hard coal mines in Poland. Recently, there was a significant increase of seismic activity of the Silesian rock massive, when compared with the previous years. In the period 1999-2008 the hard coal mines experienced 34 rock bursts. The causes of rockburst occurrence are presented based on the analysis of the rockbursts occurring in the Polish hard coal mines. The scale of the rockburst hazard has been characterized with respect to the mining and geological conditions of the existing exploitation. Of the factors influencing the state of rockburst hazard, the most essential one is considered the depth interval ranging from 600 m to 900 m. The basic factors that promote the rockburst occurrence are as follows: seismogenic strata, edges and remnants, goaf, faults, pillars and excessive paneling.     

Analysis of underground fires in Polish hard coal mines

In the period of the first twenty years after World War II the number of fires in Polish hard coal mines reached annually the value of several thousands of cases. About 80% of fires constituted spontaneous fires. Investigations into the development of new methods of fire hazard prediction and implementation of new methods and means of fire prevention as well as the introduction of prohibition concerning the use of products manufactured of combustible organic materials in underground mine workings re-duced considerably the hazard of underground fire rise. The worked out at the Central Mining Institute (GIG) new method of un-derground fire prediction allows the correct selection of fire prevention means. The introduction into common use of fire-resistant conveyor belts, the main factor giving rise to spontaneous fires, and methods of assessment of their fire resistance eliminated prac-tically the fire hazard. These activities contributed in an efficient way to the reduction of the number of underground fires to a sa-tisfactory level.     

Strata movement and stress evolution when mining two overlapping panels affected by hard stratum

Mining causes stress redistribution and stratum movement. In this paper, a numerical model was built according to the geological conditions in the 12 th coal mine in Pingdingshan city to study the strata movement and the evolution of stress when mining two overlapping longwall panels, named panels#14 and #15. The strata close to the mined panel move directly towards the gob, while the strata that are farther away swing back and forth during the mining process. The directed movement and swinging can break the transverse boreholes for gas extraction; a surface borehole should not be within the range of directional movement. The stress evolution suggested that the mining of the lower panel #15 after the upper panel #14 would further increase the de-stressed range, while the stress concentration around the mined panel would be increased. Hard strata usually carry a greater stress than adjacent rocks and soft coal seams. The stress in a hard stratum increases greatly, and the stress decreases greatly in the coal seams below the hard stratum. This study supplies a reference for similar coal mines and is useful for determining the de-stressed range and transverse borehole arrangement for gas extraction.     

Review of preventive and constructive measures for coal mine explosions: An Indian perspectiveOA

Firedamp and coal dust explosion constitute a lion’s share in mine accidents in a global mining scenario.This paper reports a list of mine explosion disasters since last two decades, a critical review of the different prevention and constructive measures, and its recent development to avoid firedamp and coal dust explosion. Preventive legislation in core coal-producing countries, viz. China, USA, Australia, South Africa, and India related to firedamp and coal dust explosion are critically analys...     

Application of HEMS cooling technology in deep mine heat hazard control

This paper mainly deals with the present situation, characteristics, and countermeasures of cooling in deep mines. Given existing problems in coal mines, a HEMS cooling technology is proposed and has been successfully applied in some mines. Be-cause of long-term exploitation, shallow buried coal seams have become exhausted and most coal mines have had to exploit deep buried coal seams. With the increase in mining depth, the temperature of the surrounding rock also increases, resulting in ever increasing risks of heat hazard during mining operations. At present, coal mines in China can be divided into three groups, i.e., normal temperature mines, middle-to-high temperature mines and high temperature mines, based on our investigation into high temperature coal mines in four provinces and on in-situ studies of several typical mines. The principle of HEMS is to extract cold energy from mine water inrush. Based on the characteristics of strata temperature field and on differences in the amounts of mine water inrush in the Xuzhou mining area, we proposed three models for controlling heat hazard in deep mines: 1) the Jiahe model with a moderate source of cold energy; 2) the Sanhejian model with a shortage of source of cold energy and a geothermal anomaly and 3) the Zhangshuanglou model with plenty of source of cold energy. The cooling process of HEMS applied in deep coal mine are as follows: 1) extract cold energy from mine water inrush to cool working faces; 2) use the heat extracted by HEMS to supply heat to buildings and bath water to replace the use of a boiler, a useful energy saving and environmental protection measure. HEMS has been applied in the Jiahe and Sanhejian coal mines in Xuzhou, which enabled the temperature and humidity at the working faces to be well controlled.     

Comprehensive evaluation of water-inrush risk from coal floors

Lower groups of coal seams are presently being mined in the Yanzhou coal mining area. We need to evaluate the risk from water-inrush from coal floors in order to have safe production in the lower groups of coal seams in mines, Based on a systematic collection of hydrogeological data and some data from mined working faces in these lower groups, we evaluated the factors affecting water-inrush from coal floors of the area by a method of dimensionless analysis. We obtained the order of the factors affecting water-inrush from coal floors and recalculated data on depths of destroyed floors by multiple linear regression analysis and obtained new empirical formulas. We also analyzed the water-inrush coefficient of mined working faces of the lower groups of coal seams and improved the evaluation standard of the water-inrush coefficient method. Finally, we made a comprehensive evaluation of water-inrush risks from coal floors by using the water-inrush coefficient method and a fuzzy clustering method. The evaluation results provide a solid foundation for preventing and controlling the damage caused by water of an Ordovician limestone aquifer in the lower group of coal seams in the mines of Yanzhou. It provides also important guidelines for lower groups of coal seams in other coal mines.     

Classification of conditions for short-wall continuous mechanical mining in shallowly buried coal seam with thin bedrock

The room and pillar method is usually used to extract coal from shallowly buried seams with thin bedrock. This results in a very low production efficiency and in a low degree of extraction. In recent years short-wall continuous mechanical mining has been extensively used in many situations except shallowly buried coal seams with thin bedrock. The principles governing movement of the overlying strata above the 2.<,2. coal seam were deduced from in-situ experience, laboratory data, calculations and computer simulations. The thicknesses of the bedrock in the Shendong Coal Field where the coal is shallowly buried are classified into 5 types: <10 m, 10-15 m, 15-25 m, 25-35 m and >35 m, which was done using fuzzy clustering results. A series of reasonable,relative parameters in each category have been calculated and analyzed. One proposed way to perform short-wall continuous mechanical mining in shallowly buried coal seams is given. This is significant for coal mines with similar geological conditions.     

软煤应变强度硬化冲击灾变

煤与瓦斯突出软煤层不具冲击倾向性,但在深部开采中却发生了软煤层冲击灾变动力现象.为探索软煤冲击灾变的成因,通过文献研究和工程案例实证分析,证明了软煤层冲击灾变现象的客观存在;通过煤样无侧限单轴压缩试验和冲击倾向性测定,得知试验煤样无冲击倾向性,极限载荷后单调应变强度软化;模拟工程背景现场与掘进工作面和采煤工作面中部相同的边界约束和加载条件,开展单自由度边界承压试验,考察灾变全程应力、应变、声发射特征,研究软煤冲击灾变机理.结果表明:单自由度边界条件下加载,3个煤样均出现应变强度软化-硬化-灾变过程,甚至反复软化-硬化;经应变强度硬化,灾变前煤样抗压强度均超过冲击倾向性的阈值条件;定义了应变强度软化、应变强度硬化系数,灾变前应变强度硬化系数分别为1. 26,1. 53,2. 25,应变强度硬化程度比较显著;软煤在单自由度约束条件下承压,应变硬化达到煤样冲击破坏强度条件时,可发生类似硬煤的冲击灾变,合理解释了现场软煤层冲击灾变的成因.深部高应力条件下,煤与瓦斯突出软煤掘进和开采,要对应变强度硬化导致煤层冲击灾变引起重视;工程上,这种冲击灾变的强度一般不高,但其可诱导煤与瓦斯突出或瓦斯异常涌出,危害性很高.     

Reservoir reconstruction technologies for coalbed methane recovery in deep and multiple seams

Multiple coal seams widely develop in the deep Chinese coal-bearing strata. Ground in situ stress and coal seam gas pressure increase continuously with the increase of the mining depth, and coal and gas outburst disasters become increasingly severe. When the coal is very deep, the gas content and pressure will elevate and thus coal seams tends to outburst-prone seams. The safety and economics of exploited firstmined coal seams are tremendously restricted. Meanwhile, the multiple seams occurrence conditions resulted in different methane pressure systems in the coal-bearing strata, which made the reservoir reconstruction of coal difficult. Given the characteristics of low saturation, low permeability, strong anisotropy and soft coal of Chinese coal seams, a single hydraulic fracturing surface well for reservoir reconstruction to pre-drain the coalbed methane(CBM) of multiple seams concurrently under the different gas pressure systems has not yet gained any breakthroughs. Based on analyses of the main features of deep CBM reservoirs in China, current gas control methods and the existing challenges in deep and multiple seams, we proposed a new technology for deep CBM reservoir reconstruction to realize simultaneous high-efficiency coal mining and gas extraction. In particular, we determined the first-mined seam according to the principles of effectiveness and economics, and used hydraulic fracturing surface well to reconstruct the first-mined seam which enlarges the selection range of the first-mined seam. During the process of mining first-mined seam, adjacent coal seams could be reconstructed under the mining effect which promoted high-efficiency pressure relief gas extraction by using spatial and comprehensive gas drainage methods(combination of underground and ground CBM extraction methods). A typical integrated reservoir reconstruction technology, ‘‘One well for triple use", was detailed introduced and successfully applied in the Luling coal mine. The application showed that the proposed technology could effectively promote coal mining safety and simultaneously high-efficiency gas extraction.     

Improved TARP development based upon mine specific data

The trigger action response plans(TARPs) are inherent to managing the multiple hazards such as: high gas content with multiple coal seams, high spontaneous combustion(sponcom) propensity, heat and ventilation. TARPs aim to provide assurance and guidance when the situation deviates from the original plan or there is a change conditions that could be hazardous. Over the years, learnings from various incidents has continuously required the coal operations to re-visit the TARP trigger values that were based on historic data or based on guidance values from the industry. In most cases, the background to the basis of TARP statistical data, viz., average, maximum, hourly, daily for the monitoring or sampling location is also unknown. Introduction of real-time monitoring devices to monitor the gases and airflows has provided greater understanding of the hazard scenarios and their controls. This paper analyses the carbon monoxide data from operating longwall mines and compares these with the historic trigger values to understand the changes and determine improvement opportunities while setting trigger levels in the TARPs.As an example of setting trigger values, those used in during the sealing of a panel are explored in terms of setting values based upon the sampling location and the level of risk. It is envisaged that the learning's shared herein would further enhance the understanding and management of multiple hazards in Australian coal mines.     

Determination of coal mine mechanization using fuzzy logic

Two of the most important tasks in coal mines are to improve efficiency and to increase production besides keeping safety constantly in mind. In order to obtain these goals, mine mechanization is required. Mine mechanization needs high levels of investment and should therefore be studied carefully before final decisions about mechanization are made. When analysizing the potential for mechanization the following, rather imprecise, factors should be considered: seam inclination and thickness, geologi-cal disturbances, seam floor conditions, roof conditions, water at the working face and the extension of seams. In our study we have used fuzzy logic, membership functions and created fuzzy rule - based methods and to considered the ultimate objective: mechanization of mining. As a case study, the mechanization of the Takht coal seams in Iran was investigated. The results show a high potential for mechanization in most of the Takht coal seams.     

预报煤炭自燃的CO指标气体临界值研究

CO气体作为预报煤炭自燃的指标气体在煤矿中已被广泛使用,但有些矿井回采面上隅角始终存在CO气体,甚至超出矿业安全规定的临界指标,特别是在综采或综放工作面这一现象更明显,尽管采取多种防灭火措施,只能使CO气体涌出量减少而不能消除CO的产生,为了解其原因,在实验室做了不同煤种低温氧化实验,通过实验发现有些煤种在常温氧化条件下就会出现CO气体,甚至出现的CO量还很大,且随着煤的氧化时间的延长,产生CO气体强度在降低。为了及时准确、可靠预报煤炭自然发火,合理选择CO指标气体临界值是关键。利用多阀气相色谱仪检测常温条件下不同煤种氧化放出的CO气体量,对合理的CO指标气体的临界值进行了研究,确定不同情况下CO的临界值。     

岱庄煤矿近距离煤层微量元素赋存特征研究

煤矿开采的主要对象是煤层,煤层对比清楚与否,直接影响煤矿安全生产和经济效益.岱庄煤矿3上1、3上及3下煤层相距较近,区分不明显,容易造成采掘巷道串层现象.对岱庄煤矿可采煤层中微量元素赋存特征开展研究,掌握不同煤层中微量元素的赋存状况,可很好地判断岱庄煤矿煤层层位,能有效避免地质构造等因素造成近距离煤层采掘串层现象,对合理设计开采方案和采掘进度有重大意义,从而为岱庄煤矿安全、高效生产提供科学依据和保障.