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. 2019 Aug 8;9(42):24627-24637.
doi: 10.1039/c9ra04416g. eCollection 2019 Aug 2.

Experimental data revealing explosion characteristics of methane, air, and coal mixtures

Jun Deng  1   2 , Jiao Qu  1   2 , Qiu-Hong Wang  1   2 , Yang Xiao  1   2 , Yu-Chi Cheng  3 , Chi-Min Shu  3
Affiliations

Experimental data revealing explosion characteristics of methane, air, and coal mixtures

Jun Deng et al. RSC Adv. .

Abstract

Whenever air and gases mix with pulverised coal, explosions are possible. Such explosions constitute a primary category of safety concerns during coal bed methane mining. This study investigated the explosion parameters and characteristics of methane-air-coal dust mixtures by using an XKWB-1 sealed explosion system. Maximum explosion pressure (P max), maximum explosion pressure rise rate (dP/dt)max, and explosion index (K) were recorded and calculated. Findings showed that relative to the maximum explosion pressure of an air-methane gas mix P max-G, that of a gas-dust mixture P max-GD was elevated when a 7.0 vol% methane-air mixture coexisted with 500.0 g m-3 of coal dust in the explosion. P max-GD decreased as C G increased and increased as V ad increased for a methane-air-coal dust mixture. Both P max-GD and (dP/dt)max-GD increased first, but were diminished with an increase in C D. The C opt values of five coal samples of HC, KZD, DFS, TC, and YMZ were 400.0, 500.0, 500.0, 500.0, and 600.0 g m-3, respectively. Based on the coal dust explosion pathways, the effects of coal dust volatility on the explosion characteristics were analysed. Finally, with respect to 7.0 vol% methane, the data showed that the explosion index of a gas K g was consistently lower than the explosion index of a gas-dust mixture K m; that is, K g < K m.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. XKWB-1 sealed explosion system.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Particle size distribution of the five coal samples.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. SEM images of the five coal samples. (a) HC, (b) KZD, (c) DFS, (d) TC, and (e) YMZ.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. P ex–t curves of the methane explosion recorded by the XKWB-1 sealed explosion system.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5. P max-G and (dP/dt)max-G of methane–air mixtures with different methane concentrations.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6. P max-GD of methane–air mixture explosions when mixed with five coal dusts.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7. Effects of coal dust volatility on methane–air–coal dust mixture explosions.
Fig. 8
Fig. 8. Schematic diagram of the coal dust explosion pathways.
Fig. 9
Fig. 9. P max-GD and (dP/dt)max-GD of 7.0 vol% methane–air–coal dust mixture versus different coal dust concentrations.
Fig. 10
Fig. 10. Explosion index of 7.0 vol% methane–air and 7.0 vol% methane–air–coal dust mixtures versus coal dust concentrations.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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