Temperature field distribution of burnt surrounding rock in UCG stope

Abstract

In order to study temperature field distribution in burnt surrounding rock and to determine ranges of burnt surrounding rock, coal-wall coking cycle and heat influence in the underground coal gasification (UCG) stope, based on the Laplace transform and inversion formula, we studied the temperature analytical solution of one-dimensional unsteady heat conduction for multi-layer overlying strata under the first and the forth kinds of boundary conditions, and we also carried out a numerical simulation of two-dimensional unsteady heat conduction by the COMSOL multiphysics. The results show that when the boundary temperature of surrounding rock has a linear decrease because of a directional movement of heat source in the UCG flame working face, the temperature in surrounding rock increases first and then decreases with time, the peak of temperature curve decreases gradually and its position moves inside surrounding rock from the boundary. In the surrounding rock of UCG stope, there is an envelope curve of temperature curve clusters. We analyzed the influence of thermophysical parameters on envelope curves and put forward to take envelope curve as the calculation basis for ranges of burnt surrounding rock, coal-wall coking cycle and heat influence. Finally, the concrete numerical values are given by determining those judgement standards and temperature thresholds, which basically tally with the field geophysical prospecting results. Keywords: Underground coal gasification (UCG), Temperature distribution, Laplace transform, Envelope curve, Burnt surrounding rock, Coking cycle