Laboratorial Investigation of Coal Fire Extinguishing and Re-burning Risk in Underground Coal Mines.

Abstract

The extinguishing and re-burning of the closed fire area in an underground coal mine were investigated by laboratory-scale physical simulation. Temperatures in the center of the fire source were recorded, and the typical cooling process was observed to include the rapid cooling stage (900–400 °C) and dilatory cooling stage (400–100 °C). With the increase of coal mass from 20 to 80 kg, the rate of cooling decreases and the time required for fire extinguishing increases by 69.5%–193.2%. At temperatures ranging between 500 and 100 °C, yields of CO and H2 show strong correlation with the attenuation of the coal fire, and the trend in the yield of H2 might be used as the optimal indicator considering the different amounts of coal. A significant difference appears in the concentration of H2 released by samples of different dosages of coal in the early stage of cooling, especially when the temperature exceeds 200 °C. During the extinguishing process, micropores in coal fused into mesopores and macropores, while the content of O-containing groups fluctuated significantly. Variations of elemental C and O also indirectly reflect the combustion state in the fire cooling. Taking the experimental reactor as a physical model, the time required for the fire area from closure to safe re-opening is deduced, that is, t = Cm ln (T1 – T∞)/(T2 – T∞ ). The calculated results were compared with the changes in measured temperatures, providing a theoretical foundation for the re-opening prediction of mine fire areas.