Variation features of unfrozen water content of water-saturated coal under low freezing temperature

Pore-scale physics of ice melting within unconsolidated porous media revealed by non-destructive magnetic resonance characterization

Melting of ice in porous media widely exists in energy and environment applications as well as extraterrestrial water resource utilization. In order to characterize the ice-water phase transition within complicated opaque porous media, we employ the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and imaging (MRI) approaches. Transient distributions of transverse relaxation time T2 from NMR enable us to reveal the substantial role of inherent throat and pore confinements in ice melting among porous media. More importantly, the increase in minimum T2 provides new findings on how the confinement between ice crystal and particle surface evolves inside the pore. For porous media with negligible gravity effect, both the changes in NMR-determined melting rate and our theoretical analysis of melting front confirm that conduction is the dominant heat transfer mode. The evolution of mushy melting front and 3D spatial distribution of water content are directly visualized by a stack of temporal cross-section images from MRI, in consistency with the corresponding NMR results. For heterogeneous porous media like lunar regolith simulant, the T2 distribution shows two distinct pore size distributions with different pore-scale melting dynamics, and its maximum T2 keeps increasing till the end of melting process instead of reaching steady in homogeneous porous media.

Assessment of Unfrozen Water Content in Copper Bentonites Using the 1H NMR Technique: Optimization, the Method's Limitation, and Comparative Analysis with DSC

Studies on changes in unfrozen water content in copper bentonite from Slovakia were conducted using both differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods. The aims of this study were to 1. optimize the method for determining changes in unfrozen water content using the 1H NMR technique in model bentonites based on the DSC results; 2. analyze the relationship between unfrozen water content, as determined via DSC and the optimized NMR technique, and the physicochemical parameters of bentonites; and 3. identify the limitations in determining changes in unfrozen water content using the 1H NMR technique in relation to copper-contaminated bentonites. The results obtained using the optimized NMR method applied to the model bentonites correlated well with the DSC results. The unfrozen water content in the Cu-contaminated bentonites was 2-18% lower after NMR compared to the DSC results, likely due to the mobility of copper ions and their paramagnetic properties. Statistically significant differences in unfrozen water content between the DSC and NMR methods were observed, depending on molar concentration, copper ion concentration, and temperature, confirmed via Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Calorimetric studies are recommended for investigating unfrozen water content changes in contaminated clays. Further NMR research could identify metals influencing free induction decay signals under varying physicochemical conditions.

Investigation of the acoustic emission and fractal characteristics of coal with varying water contents during uniaxial compression failure

To investigate the effect of water on the mechanical properties and acoustic emission (AE) characteristics of coal in the failure and deformation processes. Coal samples of different content were subjected to uniaxial compression tests and AE signals were monitored. The characteristics of the AE signals were further analyzed using fractal analysis. The results show that saturated coal samples have substantially reduced mechanical properties such as uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), dissipation energy, peak stress, and elastic modulus. Under loading, stress-strain curves are characterized by five distinct stages: (1) compaction; (2) linear elastic; (3) crack stable propagation; (4) crack accelerating propagation; and (5) post-peak and residual stages. Using phase-space theory, a novel Grassberger Procaccia (GP) algorithm was utilized to find the AE fractal characteristics of coal samples in different stages. It is significant to note that AE energy does not exhibit fractal characteristics in either the first or second stages. Contrary to the first two stages, the third stage showed obvious fractal characteristics. Fractal analysis of AE time sequences indicates that fractal dimension values change as stress increases, indicating the initiation of complex microcracks in coal. In the fourth stage, the fractal dimension rapidly declines as the strength reaches its limit, indicating the occurrence of macrocracks. However, fractal dimensions continued to decrease further or increased slightly in the fifth stage. Consequently, the coal begins to collapse, potentially resulting in a disaster and failure. It is, therefore, possible to accurately predict coal and rock dynamic failures and microcrack mechanisms by observing the subsequent sudden drop in the correlation dimension of the AE signals in response to different stages of loading.

Effect of Liquid Nitrogen Freeze-Thaw Cycles on Pore Structure Development and Mechanical Properties of Coal

To improve the mining efficiency of coalbed methane, liquid nitrogen freeze-thawing experiments were performed to improve coal seam permeability and to study its influence on coal pore structure development and mechanical properties. Mechanical properties and nuclear magnetic resonance tests of coal samples were performed with 0, 5, 10, and 15 freeze-thaw cycles of liquid nitrogen. The results show that the number of freeze-thaw cycles caused the change of uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus of coal, and the change effect decreased significantly after 11-15 freeze-thaw cycles. Between 0 and 5 freeze-thaw cycles, the base growth rate of the transverse relaxation time T ₂ spectral area of the full pore of coal is 44.1%, and that of the transverse relaxation time T ₂ spectral area of adsorption pore is 71.5%. After 6-10 freeze-thaw cycles, the fixed base growth rate of the transverse relaxation time T ₂ spectral area of the full hole of coal is 269.0%, and the chain growth rate is 156.2%. In this stage, the chain growth rate of the transverse relaxation time T ₂ spectral area of the seepage hole is 198.4%, which is mainly the growth of seepage hole volume. After 11-15 freeze-thaw cycles, the chain growth rate of the full pore of coal transverse relaxation time T ₂ spectrum area is 20.1%, the chain growth rate of adsorption pore is 4.8%, the chain growth rate of seepage pore is 22.2%, and the growth rate of the pore volume is greatly reduced. Comparing the changes of pore and coal mechanical properties in different pore sizes, it can be seen that the change of adsorption pore volume has a greater impact on coal mechanical properties.

The Temperature Field Evolution and Water Migration Law of Coal under Low-Temperature Freezing Conditions

This study examines the evolution law of the coal temperature field under low-temperature freezing conditions. The temperature inside coal samples with different water contents was measured in real-time at several measurement points in different locations inside the sample under the condition of low-temperature medium (liquid nitrogen) freezing. The temperature change curve was then used to analyse the laws of temperature propagation and the movement of the freezing front of the coal, which revealed the mechanism of internal water migration in the coal under low-temperature freezing conditions. The results indicate that the greater the water content of the coal sample, the greater the temperature propagation rate. The reasons for this are the phase change of ice and water inside the coal during the freezing process; the increase in the contact area of the ice and coal matrix caused by the volume expansion; and the joint action of the two. The process of the movement of the freezing front is due to the greater adsorption force of the ice lens than that of the coal matrix. Thus, the water molecules adsorbed in the unfrozen area of the coal matrix migrate towards the freezing front and form a new ice lens. Considering the temperature gradient and water content of the coal samples, Darcy's permeation equation and water migration equation for the inside of the coal under freezing conditions were derived, and the segregation potential and matrix potential were analysed. The obtained theoretical and experimental results were found to be consistent. The higher the water content of the coal samples, the smaller the matrix potential for the hindrance of water migration. Furthermore, the larger the temperature gradient, the larger the segregation potential, and the faster the water migration rate.