Permeability is the most crucial property of coal in
relation to
coalbed methane production and CO2 sequestration. Due to
coal’s anisotropic structure and mechanical properties, its
permeability exhibits strong anisotropy. The main factors controlling
coal permeability evolution are effective stress, anisotropic swelling/shrinkage
near fracture surfaces (internal swelling/shrinkage), and gas rarefaction
effects. Combined impacts of the above mechanisms make coal permeability
evolution complex and difficult to predict. In this study, we establish
a fully anisotropic coal permeability model incorporating stress sensitivity,
anisotropic internal swelling/shrinkage, and gas rarefaction effects.
Specifically, a mechanical-property-based internal swelling model
is established to link up anisotropic internal swelling/shrinkage
with mechanical anisotropy using the energy balance theory. A Knudsen-number-based
model is utilized to describe gas rarefactions effects. The comparison
with coal anisotropic swelling data and anisotropic permeability evolution
data demonstrates the permeability model’s reliability. Results
show that anisotropic internal swelling/shrinkage mainly determines
the overall shape of permeability curves, the evolution trend, the
range of permeability change in all directions, and the anisotropy
level during evolution. It partially or totally offsets the permeability
change caused by effective stress variation under certain stress conditions.
Effective stress variation starts to dominate permeability evolution
when the variation exceeds a certain value. Permeability increment/reduction
caused by the gas rarefaction phenomenon enhancement/weakening is
dependent on fracture (pore) pressure and aperture, but its influence
on permeability is not as strong as that of anisotropic internal swelling/shrinkage.
Anisotropic internal swelling/shrinkage and the gas rarefaction phenomenon
show a synergistic influence on anisotropic permeability evolution
with fracture (pore) pressure changing. The permeability model is
applicable for different permeability measurement conditions.