Evaluation of the damages of permeability and effective porosity of tectonically deformed coals

Abstract

A high rank coal was tested in terms of loading and unloading to characterize changes in the permeability and effective porosity of tectonically deformed coals. The coal sample, an anthracite, is subdivided into four types according to its structure, namely, the primary structure coal, cataclastic coal (the weakest deformation coal), granulated coal (the moderate deformation coal), and mylonitic coal (the intensest deformation coal); the latter three types are considered to be tectonic deformation coals. Permeability of tectonically deformed coals shows a negative exponential relation to stress. The intenser the structural deformation in coal is, the lower the permeability. Two evaluation parameters, namely, loss rate m (0.8318–0.9476) and damage rate n (0.447–0.6556), which are related to changes in permeability, increase with increasing structural deformation in coal. The cleat compressibility factor declines with increasing difference in effective stress and increases with increasing structural deformation in coal. This study proposes a calculation method for evaluating the porosity damage. Similar to the loss ratio and damage rate, this parameter (η) increases with increasing structural deformation in coal and reveals the relationship between the porosity damage and the structural deformation in coal.