Due to the coal-forming environment and geological structure, the existence of hard gangue layers in coal seams has a serious impact on coal mining, and it is often difficult to effectively break the hard gangue layers by conventional rock-breaking means, which leads to mining difficulties, energy efficiency decline, increased safety costs and environmental pollution in large mining height. In this paper, comprehensive research methods such as theoretical analysis, laboratory tests, numerical simulation and field tests are used to carry out the study of the overall crushing mechanism of thick hard sandstone gangue layers of fully mechanized coal seam running through long working faces. By studying the physical and mechanical properties of three types of sandstones of gangue layers, the mechanical characteristics of CO2 coupling fracturing materials, the fracture evolution law and strength degradation relationship of CO2-water-rock coupling sandstone during fracturing, reveal the fracture initiation and expansion evolution law of CO2-water-rock coupling sandstone gangue, and analyze the influencing factors of CO2 coupling fracturing of sandstone gangue layers. The main conclusions obtained are as follows:
(1) The brittleness coefficients of the three types of rock samples calculated based on the stress-strain curve method and the mineral composition method are all greater than 50%, which are suitable for fracturing stimulation.The pores of siltstone, fine-grained sandstone and coarse-grained sandstone are mainly closed and poorly connected. The pore size distribution ranges from 1.1 to 129 nm, 1.5 to 238 nm and 1.1 to 257 nm, and the average pore sizes are 10.93 nm, 8.5 nm and 12.35 nm, respectively. The effective porosity measured by NMR was 0.92%, 3.11% and 2.05%, respectively. According to the variation law of pH value of CO2-H2O system with temperature and pressure, the CO2 coupling fracturing fluid system was constructed. Compared with pure water, the surface tension and contact angle of CO2 coupling fracturing fluid with gangue rock sample are greatly reduced, which shows stronger pore wettability.
(2) The CO2-water-rock coupling interaction causes mechanical damage to the rock mass. The coupling fracturing fluid (CW-8) with a CO2 mass fraction of 8% is the most acidic and has the most significant weakening effect on the strength of the rock samples. The decrease of temperature and increase of pore pressure lead to the increase of CO2 solubility in water, the decrease of pH value and increase of acidity of CO2 coupling fracturing fluid, which intensifies the chemical damage effect of coupling fracturing fluid on rock mass and decreases the tensile strength. Compared with temperature and pore pressure, the time of CO2-water-rock coupling interaction has a more significant weakening effect on the tensile strength of rock samples, and the longer the action time, the greater the reduction of tensile strength.
(3) After CO2-water-rock coupling interaction, the minerals in the pores are dissolved, the number of pores increases, and the pore size becomes larger, the fractal dimension of pores increases after the coupling interaction of three types of gangue rock samples, the complexity of pores increases, the specific surface area of rock samples decreases, the pore volume increases, and the micropores transform to medium and large pores. The total porosity, effective porosity and permeability calculated by the Coates model after the coupling interaction of the three types of sandstone samples measured by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) increased significantly. The shape of pores and fissures changed from closed to open, t the pore openness increases, and the pores and microscopic fissures intersected and penetrated to increase the seepage channel of water. The CT images of three kinds of sandstone samples were segmented by double thresholds to identify the pores, fissures, matrix and mineral distribution areas inside the rock samples, and realize the three-dimensional reconstruction of the internal structure of the rock samples before and after the coupling action. According to the equivalent sphere model and the fractal geometry theory, After the CO2-water-rock coupling effect was obtained, the pore and fracture volume fractions of siltstone, fine-grained sandstone and coarse-grained sandstone increased by 1.71%, 1.96% and 0.19%, respectively, and the mineral volume fraction decreased by 0.44%, 0.58% and 0.28%, respectively, the fractal dimension of pores and fractures increases while the fractal dimension of minerals decreases.
(4) Based on the characteristics of fracturing fluid, a calculation model of CO2 coupling fracturing initiation pressure considering the pressurization rate is established, and the influence of the properties and action time of the coupled fracturing fluid on the circumferential stress distribution of the borehole are analyzed. The -type crack propagation criterion (tensile failure) and the tensile-shear and compression-shear composite fracture propagation criterion were constructed and their influencing factors were analyzed. Using the self-developed multi-field and multi-phase coupled fracturing test system, a similar simulation test of clear water and CO2 coupling fracturing was carried out on the gangue sample,and found that the fracture pressure of rock samples fractured with CW-8 was the smallest and the time to reach the fracture pressure was the longest, and analyzed the permeability deformation characteristics of the fracturing process.
(5) The interaction relationship among the temperature field (T), seepage field (H), stress field (M) and chemical field (C) of CO2 coupling fracturing was clarified, and the THMC fully coupled model of CO2 coupling fracturing in the gangue layer was constructed. The solid mechanics and PDE modules in Comsol Mutiphysics are used to solve the problem, and the physical characteristics such as fracturing damage evolution, damage 3D effect, elastic modulus and permeability change laws are compared and analyzed, and the rock breaking effect of CO2 coupling fracturing is verified.
(6) Taking the two typical working faces of 112201 first mining and 112204 intelligent excavation in Xiaobaodang mining area as the industrial test base, the fracturing process parameters are designed and field tests are carried out, and the applicability of the technology in crushing and softening the hard gangue layer at the working face is verified by the indexes of safety, effectiveness, efficiency and benefit.