Coalbed gas extraction is an important means of exploiting and utilizing gas resources, as well as a means of preventing coal mine disasters. In view of the low gas extraction rate from coalbeds with high gas content and low permeability, a method of improving permeability through deep-hole cumulative blasting is applied to develop initial directional fractures using a jet flow. Under the action of the blasting stress wave and detonation gas wedge, the fractures extend over a large range within the coal, thereby improving coalbed permeability. This study focuses on the criteria of cumulative blasting-induced coalbed fracturing based on a literature review of the penetration effect of cumulative blasting. On this basis, we summarize the coal fracturing zone, crack extension process, and the key technologies of charging and hole sealing for cumulative blasting. In addition, the latest research progress in the optimization of field test drilling and blasting parameters for cumulative blasting is introduced. Research findings indicate that the permeability improvement mechanism of cumulative blasting could be further enhanced, and the technology and technical equipment are in urgent need of improvement. Finally, development trends in the cumulative blasting permeability improvement technique are identified.
The wettability of porous media is of major interest in a broad range of natural and engineering applications. The wettability of a fluid on a solid surface is usually evaluated by the contact angle between them. While in situ local contact angle measurements are complicated by the topology of porous media, which can make it difficult to use traditional methods, recent advances in microfocused X-ray computed tomography (micro-CT) and image processing techniques have made it possible to measure contact angles on the scale of the pore sizes in such media. However, the effects of ionic strength, CO phase, and flow pattern (drainage or imbibition) on pore-scale contact angle distribution are still not clear and have not been reported in detail in previous studies. In this study, we employed a micro-CT scanner for in situ investigation of local contact angles in a CO-brine-sand system under various conditions. The effects of ionic strength, CO phase, and flow pattern on the local contact-angle distribution were examined in detail. The results showed that the local contact angles vary over a wide range as a result of the interaction of surface contaminants, roughness, pore topology, and capillarity. The wettability of a porous surface could thus slowly weaken with increasing ionic strength, and the average contact angle could significantly increase when gaseous CO (gCO) turns into supercritical CO (scCO). Contact angle hysteresis also occurred between drainage and imbibition procedures, and the hysteresis was more significant under gCO condition.
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