Insight into the Creep Damage Evolution in Water-Immersed Coal Pillars: Experiment and Numerical Model Investigation

Xueliang Li, Sihai Yi (), Zheng Chen, Qingbiao Guo, Xiangjun Cai, Xin Guo and Haiyang Yi
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Xueliang Li: Beijing Tianma Intelligent Control Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing 101399, China
Sihai Yi: School of Safety Engineering, North China Institute of Science and Technology, Langfang 065201, China
Zheng Chen: School of Mine Safety, North China Institute of Science and Technology, Langfang 065201, China
Qingbiao Guo: School of Geomatics, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China
Xiangjun Cai: Kailuan Energy Chemical Co., Ltd., Tangshan 063100, China
Xin Guo: The Urban and Rural Planning Service Center of Yuncheng County, Heze 274799, China
Haiyang Yi: School of Mine Safety, North China Institute of Science and Technology, Langfang 065201, China

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 13, 1-15

Abstract: Coal mine underground reservoirs play a significant role in energy utilization while also contributing to energy security. Prolonged immersion in mine water reduces the long-term strength of coal, subsequently leading to continuous creep damage in coal pillars. This manifests as the propagation of damage, ultimately resulting in instability, which affects their load-bearing capacity and impermeability. A multi-faceted approach involving laboratory experiments, similar model tests, and numerical simulations was employed to investigate the mechanical properties of water-immersed coal and the continuous creep damage process in coal pillars. Key findings reveal that water immersion significantly diminishes the long-term strength of coal; for example, initial instantaneous strain rose from 0.16% (non-immersed) to 0.25% (8-week immersion), with final creep strain reaching 1.15% versus 0.78%, respectively. The combined modeling methods effectively replicated the creep damage process, demonstrating that when concentrated stress exceeds the reduced long-term strength of coal, damage propagates toward the center of the pillar, forming continuous creep damage extending approximately 3.8 m within 7 years. This study contributes to our understanding of the creep damage mechanism in coal pillars and supports the long-term stability evaluation of CMURs.

Keywords: coal pillar; underground water reservoir; damage propagation; similar model; creep damage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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