Abstract:
To investigate the evolution mechanism of floor water inrush and its corresponding electrical monitoring response characteristics in mining-affected coal seams, this study develops a seepage-stress-damage multi-field coupling model for unsaturated rocks considering electrical field properties, based on damage mechanics theory, Richards' unsaturated seepage equation, and the two-phase Archie’s law. The model is solved using COMSOL Multiphysics finite element software. Its effectiveness in simulating fluid-driven fracturing processes of unsaturated rocks is verified through numerical examples. Furthermore, the model is applied to a working face of a coal mine to analyze floor failure characteristics under different water pressure conditions. The results indicate that: under an aquifer water pressure of 3 MPa, no water inrush channel forms in the floor, and the damage depth is basically consistent with field borehole detection results; when 120 m of mining is completed under a water pressure of 4 MPa, water inrush channels connecting the confined aquifer and the gob are formed on both sides of the gob, with simulation results consistent with the judgment conclusions of the water inrush coefficient method. Simultaneously, a forward modeling and imaging calculation model of apparent resistivity during the mining process based on the Wenner
α array is established, and the apparent resistivity change rate is introduced as a dynamic identification index. This model can effectively identify the high-resistance characteristics of mining-induced damage zones and the low-resistance characteristics of water-conducting channels, and timely capture water inrush precursor information such as the upward expansion of low-resistance zones, retraction of high-resistance zones, abnormal zones with negative apparent resistivity change rates, and abnormal drops in electrode supply voltage. This study deepens the dynamic understanding of the electrical field response mechanism during the water inrush evolution process, addresses the deficiencies of traditional models in coupling unsaturated seepage with electrical fields, and provides a reference basis for the analysis of floor water inrush mechanisms and monitoring and early-warning research for mining-affected coal seams.