Optimal coal discharge of hydraulic cutting inside coal seams for stimulating gas production: A case study in Pingmei coalfield

• Hydraulic cutting technology can increase permeability and stimulate gas production.
• Hydraulic cutting styles inside boreholes and the optimal coal discharge were studied.
• Cutting cylinder is the most suitable style for soft gassy coal seams.
• The optimal relative borehole radius is between 0.3 m and 0.4 m in Pingmei coalfield.

The low permeability of coal seams is the primary difficulty for gas production. Hydraulic cutting is one of the most effective technologies for increasing permeability and stimulating gas production. This paper investigates the hydraulic cutting styles in boreholes and the optimal equivalent borehole diameter after discharging the pulverized coal particles. This paper introduces the hydraulic cutting equipment and cutting styles and determines that the cutting cylinder is the most suitable style for a soft coal seam that is prone to gas outburst. The numerical simulation suggests that the radius of the stress-relaxed range increases quickly when the equivalent borehole radius is small, and the rate slows when the borehole radius becomes large. Then the result was verified by a field experiment in Pingmei coalfield. The gas drainage flowrate and stress-relaxed range greatly increased after initially outputting 2 tons of coal from the borehole, whereas the second outputting 2 tons of coal did not appreciably increase the stress-relaxed range and the flowrate. Too much or too little coal discharge is not optimal, and the borehole radius is recommend to be between 0.3 m and 0.4 m after the hydraulic cutting considering the pros and cons in Pingmei coalfield. The results are helpful for the engineering application of the hydraulic cutting technology, for increasing coal seam permeability, and for stimulating gas production. The method for finding the optimal coal discharge in this paper is also helpful for other coal mines.