The mechanism and field test of permeability improvement by hydraulic flushing in three-soft and single coal seam

Hydraulic flushing is the most effective way for high-efficient extraction in three-soft coal seam. In this paper, the mechanism was studied by laboratory experiment, theoretical analysis and field test for pressure relief and permeability improvement in three-soft coal seam after hydraulic flushing. The coupling experiment of stress and strain-coal structure-permeability revealed the evolution of permeability along with the change of the structure and stress, and found that permeability of soft coal was improved on a large scale after pressure relief. Based on Hoek-Brown criterion theory, the numerical simulation results show that the relief range increased significantly after hydraulic flushing in coal. The hydraulic flushing tests using self-developed machine for gas drainage borehole in 21141 floor drainage tunnel of Daping Mine shows, the machine made hydraulic flushing more secure and efficient, and made it possible to repair the old drainage borehole. The field tests fully tested the reliability of the equipment and the accuracy of the above theoretical analysis, and improved the extraction efficiency significantly.