Carboniferous Rock Mass Permeability Studies In
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Use of the permeability test of Carboniferous rocks in the underground coal mines located in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin Iwona Augustyniak1, Katarzyna Niedbalska1, Przemysław Bukowski1 1Central Mining Institute, Laboratory of Mining and Environmental Hydrogeology, Plac Gwarków 1, 40-166 Katowice, Poland, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Abstract Carboniferous rock permeability tests can be used both for documenting hydrogeological and gas conditions, as well as for predicting the possibility of pre- exploitation demethanation of seams and rock mass surrounding mining excavations. The article describes the research process of rarely performed non-destructive profiling of permeability of hard rocks in different directions (x, y, z) using a PDPK- 400 permeameter created by Micrometrics. The solution can be applied in mining hydrogeology, and in particular in the assessment of the water hazard in mines located close to reservoirs in flooded mine, evaluation of water filtration through safety pillars and in determining zones with increased permeability, among others for the migration of mine gases to demethanize the deposits, e.g. through holes from the surface. Keywords: permeability, hydrogeological properties, USCB, rock mass, rocks Introduction methane out of flooded excavations). Mining Extraction of hard coal generates various exploitation carried out at ever greater depths interdependent hydrogeological phenomena. records lower values of water inflow to mine The restructuring of hard coal mining workings, but increases methane emission conducted since 1990 in USCB have led to the from coal seams, which is associated with abandoning of some mines and coexistence known regularities in the geological structure of active and flooded mines. Mining activity of USCB and variability of porosity. The negatively affects on water environment and methane capture in the CBM, CMM and results in drainage of aquifers and discharge AMM process is increasingly difficult to plan of large amounts of contaminated minewater due to the constantly decreasing porosity and to surface watercourses. Lack of activities permeability of rocks in the vertical profile. aimed at dewatering of mine workings of The difficulty in determining the conditions decommissioned mines causes them to be of water and gas circulation in mining filled by the water from the natural inflow. The excavations and rock mass and the difficulty in water level in the flooded excavations increases establishing plans for draining the rock mass gradually until a hydrodynamic equilibrium is and its demethanation is often caused by the obtained with the aquifers in the surrounding lack of knowledge of the variability of the rock Carboniferous rock mass. Conditions for the and rock mass permeability distribution in the formation of hydrodynamic equilibrium may vertical profile. occur in border regions with active mines The permeability of rocks is relatively as a result of filtration of water that leaks or rarely investigated in mining hydrogeology escapes from the decommissioned mine’s in the areas of hard coal mines. The tests reservoirs to the workings of an active mine. are carried out on rock material taken from In the area between the flooded and active mine workings as solid samples or on cores mines, there are conditions for hazards related from holes made at the bottom of the mine. to the flow and accumulation of water and Commonly used methods of researching gases in the rock mass. This may determine hard rocks include specially prepared rock the possibility of a water hazard (disruption samples, tested in one direction, generally in a of the safety and effect pillars) and methane direction parallel to the axis of the core sample hazard in active mines and surfaces (pushing and perpendicular to the stratification. Such Wolkersdorfer, Ch.; Khayrulina, E.; Polyakova, S.; Bogush, A. (Editors) 559 IMWA 2019 “Mine Water: Technological and Ecological Challenges” standard tests allow obtaining the test result a wide measurement range from 0.001 mD at least by an order of magnitude smaller to 30 D. The time of determination of the than in the case of a test made perpendicular permeability at one measuring point varies to the core axis and parallel to the bedding from 2 to 35 seconds. The permeameter of rocks. The test result is obtained in a time- enables testing of drill cores of various consuming manner and after preparation diameters, but not less than 2.5 cm, and of any of the core and selection of test samples. In length of the drill core tested in measuring addition, it replicates the filtration process, cycles from 2.5 cm to 3 m in one measuring which is closer to the inter-layer filtration cycle. It conducts measurements in an process. The research process of profiling extremely precise, fast and efficient manner, the filtration coefficient in the direction giving the possibility of non-destructive perpendicular to the axis of the core sample, profiling of permeability of drilling cores in i.e. parallel to the stratification using the the direction of parallel flow to the stagnation. PDPK-400 device created by Micrometric, is The device also allows to conduct tests of described below. permeability on individual samples (2.5-20 Characteristics of the test method cm) cut out from the core or on rectangular with the application of PDPK-400 cube samples used in geomechanical studies with height or thickness below 20 cm. Then permeameter the measurements are made in three planes, The PDPK-400 permeameter is used for perpendicular to the axis of the sample in non-destructive drill core permeability the XY system and parallel to the axis in the profiling. This device gives the possibility of Z-system (photo 1B), i.e. in a parallel and precise measurement of the permeability of perpendicular direction to the strangulation. one-meter rock samples cut from the core The device is fully integrated with the perpendicular to its axis, in two planes, in control unit equipped with the PROPERM the XY system (photo 1A). The markings are software, giving the possibility of the carried out using gases, mainly nitrogen class current registration of the test. Based on the 5.0 or 6.0. The device allows to determine the obtained data, it is possible to create graphs heterogeneity of samples thanks to the tested of variability of permeability as a function filtration properties, in order to identify the of depth, taking into account the entire ranges of high and low permeability of the lithostratigraphic profile of drilled layers and examined rock layers. The device is equipped determination of fragments with increased with a built-in sensor that indicates the exact and reduced permeability. location of the measurement sites, and also The principle of measuring permeability has the option of selecting any interval of the is to determine the time curve of nitrogen core to be tested and planning frequency of pressure drop in the main tank, which measurements.The test is carried out with is connected to the probe injecting the Photo 1. PDPK-400 permeameter A – profiling of permeability on rock cores; B – testing of individual rock samples 560 Wolkersdorfer, Ch.; Khayrulina, E.; Polyakova, S.; Bogush, A. (Editors) IMWA 2019 “Mine Water: Technological and Ecological Challenges” medium into the sample under test. The • CSS from 5.0 10-9 m/s to 3.3 10-4 m/s, permeameter allows measurements of • MS from 9.6 10-10 m/s to 5.0 10-4 m/s, sample permeability including corrections • USSS from 4.0ˑ 10-11 m/s to 2.5ˑ 10-5 m/s, for the gas slip effect (Klinkenberg • PS from 8.5 ˑ10-9 m/s to 8.4 10-6ˑ m/s. correction), so that even at low speeds, In the north-easternˑ part of theˑ USCB, the gas flowing through the porous rock permeability studiesˑ give the ˑopportunity behaves in accordance with Darcy’s law. to assess the inflows, flows and filtration of In the case of samples where intense water (the course of the study should reflect gas flows occur in fissures with high the flow directions perpendicular to the core permeability and small width, linear axis, i.e. parallel to the rock stratification). flow velocities are characterized by high For gas, these studies are of less importance. values. Under these conditions, the flow The permeability of rocks examined in the becomes turbulent and there is additional direction perpendicular to the stratification flow resistance due to inertia effects. becomes more important in the case of Permeability measurements performed by assessing the vulnerability of groundwater the PDPK 400 can therefore also be carried to contaminants (Bukowski, Bromek, out under conditions of high inertia of the Augustyniak 2006). It can also be a relevant sample, even with relatively low differences element in the assessment of the common in applied pressures. Hence, the analysis hazard associated with the accumulation includes the Forchheimer correction. The and pushing of mine gases from mining inertial resistance virtually disappears for excavations of abandoned mines, as a result samples with a permeability <0.1 mD for of flooding. This part of the basin is located initial pressures <10 psig. in the hydrogeologically exposed subregion, where the Carboniferous rock mass is not Possibilities of application of effectively isolated, and thus it is easily permeability in mining recharged into the infiltration water from the Permeability is an important parameter surface and shallow deposits of aquifers that describing fluid filtration processes (gas, build the deposit overburden. The flooding water). In the area of USCB, the inflow of Carboniferous forms is mainly related to intensity and chemical composition of the occurrence of the complex of the Cracow water entering active and abandoned mines and Upper Silesian Sandstone Series, in depend on the degree of the Carboniferous which permeable compositions predominate hydrogeological structure “opening” and (Figure 1).