Comparative experimental study of methods to predict outburst risk when uncovering coal in crosscuts

Abstract Currently, there are many methods to predict outburst risk when uncovering coal in crosscuts. When used, these prediction methods produce inconsistent prediction results. Consequently, engineers at the mining site are often at a loss on how to proceed. In the present studies, in the hope of addressing this problem, 23 different types of coal samples from 12 mines in five coal-producing provinces in China were collected to conduct 46 outburst simulation experiments in the laboratory under carbon dioxide and nitrogen conditions. In addition, coal seams under conditions identical to the outburst simulation experiments were fabricated, and various methods to predict outburst risk when uncovering coal in crosscuts were comparatively investigated. Furthermore, the accuracy of various outburst prediction methods was determined. Finally, the cause for the erroneous predictions generated using each index was theoretically analyzed. The research results provide a basis for selecting methods to predict outburst risk when uncovering coal in crosscuts at mining sites.