Variation in gas drainage rate from a coal seam during mining

Gas flow patterns during draining of gas from a coal seam during mining are discussed. The coal seam is treated as a dual medium with both pores and cracks. The seepage, diffusion, and desorption processes are treated using a gas flow equation that describes flow around drill holes. MATLAB is used to solve the differential equations. The permeability tracer test results from a mined coal seam are used to study the variation in gas drainage from a coal seam during mining. The results show that mining can increase the permeability of a coal seam, which then increases the gas drainage. There are inflection points in this variation over time. A close relationship between this variation and the rate of change in coal seam permeability is observed. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of China University of Mining & Technology.