Focus Energy Determination of Mining Microseisms Using Residual Seismic Wave Attenuation in Deep Coal Mining

Based on the energy attenuation characteristics of residual wave in deep rock, a method was developed to determine the microseismic focus energy. Differential energy loss in infinitesimal spreading distance is logically deduced, upon which energy attenuation equation was established. With a logarithmic transformation, a linear relation of the residual seismic energy with distance is formulated. Its intercept was used to determine the microseismic focus energy. The result is compared with that determined by the energy density method. The reliability of the determined focus energy and the impact of the built-in velocity threshold on the residual wave energy computation are discussed. Meanwhile, the energy absorption coefficient used for representing the absorption characteristics of the rock medium in the mining region under study is also clarified. Key findings show that the microseismic focus energy confirmed by the residual wave attenuation is reliable. The result’s accuracy is quite high, especially for the events in deep rock with great homogeneity. The developed focus energy computation method is closely dependent on the integrity of waveform, accuracy of repositioning, and reliability of effective components extraction. The new method has been shown to be effective and practical.