International Journal of Mining Science and Technology xxx (2018) xxx–xxx

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International Journal of Mining Science and Technology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijmst

Hydraulic drill hole reaming technology with large flow and draining of
coal mine gas
Li Dingqi
School of Energy Science and Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo 454001, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper takes Zhaozhuang mine in Shanxi province as an example to study the technology of hydraulic
Received 4 June 2017 reaming drill hole for improving the gas extraction. The influence of the physical properties of coal seam
Received in revised form 2 April 2018 on the hydraulic reaming drill holes and the draining of coal mine gas were analyzed and discussed for
Accepted 5 June 2018
different coal structure areas, and the following conclusions were made. Hydraulic drill hole reaming has
Available online xxxx
had a positive impact in Zhaozhuang Mine, and can improve the efficiency of gas extraction to different
degrees. The water jet pressure used in hydraulic drill hole reaming mainly depends on the structure of
Keywords:
the coal. When the coal seam basically becomes integrated, the critical water jet pressure increases, the
Coal seam with low permeability
Gas extraction
discharge becomes relatively easy to achieve, the blocking effect on the gas extraction decreases, and the
Coal physical parameters gas extraction significantly increases after the reaming process. When the coal seam is broken, the critical
Water jet water jet pressure decreases, the discharge becomes difficult to achieve, the blocking effect on the gas
Permeability improvement extraction becomes obvious, and the gas extraction changes slightly after reaming.
Ó 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of China University of Mining & Technology. This is an open
access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction ing, hydraulic flushing, hydraulic reaming, and hydraulic slotting

The permeability of coal seam is low in most areas in China, and
coalbed methane exploration on the ground and through under-
ground mine gas extraction becomes difficult [1,2]. China is one
of the biggest coal-producing countries in the world, but the effi-
ciency of its coal gas extraction process is low, causing much
higher gas emissions than in other countries. In China, coal mine
gas emissions accounted for 41% of the world’s total gas emission
in 2005 [3,4]. At the same time, China has also become one of
the countries most affected by coal mine gas disasters [5]. With
an increase in mining depth, the in-situ stress and content of the
coal bed gas are increasing, but the permeability of coal seam decli-
nes, and the extraction of coal mine gas and the control of gas dis-
asters are more difficult to achieve. Coalmine gas is a type of
greenhouse gas, and is dangerous in underground. However,
through improvements in coal seam permeability, and the effi-
ciency of gas extraction and utilization, this type of harmful green-
house can be turned into a clean energy source [6].
A significant amount of research by scholars at home and
abroad has been conducted to increase the permeability of coal
seam, including mining protective layer, deep hole blasting, thin
sub-layer mining, high-pressure gas fracturing, hydraulic fractur-
E-mail address: lidingqi@hpu.edu.cn
[7–14]. Hydraulic flushing, hydraulic reaming and hydraulic slot-
ting can improve the permeability of coal seam using a water
jet. For a coal seam under the danger of a coal and gas outburst,
a water jet is normally used in a floor rock roadway and cross layer
drill hole, whereas for a coal seam without the danger of a coal
and gas outburst, a water jet can also be used in a coal seam road-
way or in a drill hole along the coal seam [15–17]. The coal mines
in many areas of China face the danger of coal and gas outbursts,
and to avoid such outbursts, a water jet is used in the floor rock
roadway and cross layer drill hole. Hydraulic flushing is usually
used for soft coal with the danger of a coal and gas outburst.
Hydraulic flushing reduces the in-situ stress and improves the per-
meability of the coal seam by causing a small-scale coal and gas
outburst with a water jet in the cross layer drill hole. During
hydraulic fracturing, hydraulic reaming and slotting are more suit-
able for some relatively hard coal seam. At present, the water flow
used in hydraulic reaming and slotting is slight, and thus a slag
discharge is difficult to achieve when using these methods in oily
and broken coal seam. In this case, a large flow and medium pres-
sure are more suitable for hydraulic reaming and slag discharge,
thereby improving the working efficiency of a water jet. Therefore,
using the coal mining area of Zhaozhuang as an example, the influ-
ence of the physical properties of the coal seam on a hydraulic
reaming drill hole and the draining of coal mine gas is studied
and discussed in this paper.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmst.2018.06.003
2095-2686/Ó 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of China University of Mining & Technology.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Please cite this article in press as: Li D. Hydraulic drill hole reaming technology with large flow and draining of coal mine gas. Int J Min Sci Technol (2018),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmst.2018.06.003
2 D. Li / International Journal of Mining Science and Technology xxx (2018) xxx–xxx

2. Test on hydraulic reaming

2.1. Test sites

The Zhaozhuang Coal Mine is an extremely large, and it belongs

to Jincheng Anthracite Mining Group Co., Ltd., China. The design
production capacity of the Zhaozhuang Coal Mine is 8 Mt/a. The
mine is located in the southeastern part of the Qinshui coalfield,
53 km south from Jincheng city. #3 coal seam is the main mining
coal seam, the thickness of which ranges from 0 to 6.35 m, or
4.69 m on average. As a whole, the permeability of the coal seam
in the Zhaozhuang Coal Mine is poor, the attenuation of the gas Fig. 1. Coal sample from test site No. 1.
flow is fast, and gas extraction is difficult to achieve. The regional
differences in the gas bearing are obvious. The gas content of the
first panel of #3 coal seam is 6.99 to 12.73 m3/t, the permeability
coefficient is 0.21 to 0.46 m3/MPa2 d, the original gas pressure is
0.06–0.71 MPa, the gas flow per 100 m drill hole is 0.0005–
0.0039 m3/min
hm, and the gas flow attenuation coefficient of a
drill hole is 0.14–0.39 d 1. Two sites were used to test the hydrau-
lic reaming. Test site No. 1 is in the return air roadway in the north
wing of seam #3, and test site No. 2 is in the floor rock roadway of
13091. Coal samples were obtained from three different sub-layers
of #3 coal seam, and the physical parameters were measured. The
average values of the measured physical parameters are shown in
Table 1. The coal seam on test site No. 1 is relatively integrated, and
the coal seam on test site No. 2 is broken. The structures of the coal Fig. 2. Coal sample from test site No. 2.
samples from test site No. 1 and test site No. 2 are shown in Figs. 1
and 2.
connected with a sealed rotary joint is 25 mm. A quick connector
and U-shape oblique key are used to connect the water pipe, pres-
2.2. Test equipment sure pump, and rotary joint.

The technology used in hydraulic drill hole reaming can
improve the diameter and gas drainage of a drill hole when using
a high-pressure water jet. The hydraulic reaming system greatly
influences the effect of hydraulic drill hole reaming. The hydraulic
reaming system includes a rig, sealed drill pipes, drill bit, high-
pressure pump, tank, sealed rotary joint, high-pressure control
valve, high-pressure nozzle, prevention device, and a gas and water
separation device.
(1) Rig used for testing
The type of rig used for testing is a ZDY—4200LPS, which is a
common rig used in coal mines with a wide speed range and a
large torque, meeting the demands of drilling and hydraulic ream-
ing. A drill pipe with a diameter of 73 mm and a drill bit with a
diameter of 133 mm were used to match the rig.
(2) High-pressure water pipe
A high-pressure water pipe is connected with a pressure pump,
sealed rotary joint, and sealed drill pipes. And it is an important
part of high-pressure water transport over long distances. A
high-pressure water pipe is made of rubber and steel wire and
has a rated pressure of 40 MPa. The outer diameter of the high-
pressure water pipe connected with the pressure pump is 38
mm, and the outer diameter of the high-pressure water pipe
(3) Sealed drill pipe
The structure of the sealed drill pipe was optimized to improve
the strength and sealability of the sealed drill pipe. For the seal, a
parallel section used was added in a conical joint, and a rubber ring
was embedded in the joint’s inner wall. In Fig. 3, conical joint with
a screw thread is used to connect the drill pipe, the parallel section
is used for the seal, and the rubber ring is used for the seal. Com-
pared with an ordinary sealed drill pipe, this type of sealed drill
pipe has a greater connection strength, better sealability, and
longer service life.
(4) Jet device
The jet device is the key part of a hydraulic reaming system. It
greatly influences the effect of the hydraulic striping and slagging
in a drill hole. During the tests, the jet device was improved
through the addition of two or three nozzles to the back of the
jet device to strengthen the discharge of the coal cinder. In Fig. 4,
conical joint with a screw thread is used to connect the drill pipe
and bit, the parallel section is used for the seal, the rubber ring is
used for the seal, the nozzles are used for the slagging, and the noz-
zles used to strip the coal from the drill hole wall. The number and
diameter of the nozzles are designed for different flows used in a
slag discharge. When the structure of the coal seam is integrated
and the coal has greater hardness, a higher water pressure and

Table 1
Physical parameters of coal seam at the test sites.

Test Bulk modulus Shear modulus Strength of extension Internal friction angle Cohesion Firmness Type of deformed
site (GPa) (GPa) (MPa) (°) (MPa) coefficient coal
No. 1 1.65 0.75 0.13 20.0 1.57 0.65 III
No. 2 1.52 0.56 0.11 18.8 0.52 0.50 Ⅱ

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Table 2
Test parameters for site No. 1.

Drill hole number Quality of discharge (t) Jet pressure Jet flow
(MPa) (L/min)
1 5.4 25 260
2 8.6 30 320
Fig. 3. Structure of sealed drill pipe.
3 0.2 10 108
4 0.2 15 162
5 13 30 320
6 16 30 320
7 10 30 320
8 16 30 320
9 0.8 20 216
10 12 30 320

Fig. 4. Structure of jet device.
lower water flow are needed. In this case, only the nozzles used to
strip coal from a drill hole wall are utilized.
(5) High-pressure pump
An emulsion pump, a BRW400/37, was used as the high-
pressure pump for the testing. The rated flow is 400 L/min, and
the rated pressure is 37 MPa. A rectangle water tank was con-
nected with an emulsion pump, and used to store water. The
length, width, and height of the tank are 2.45, 1.45, and 1.4 m,
respectively, and the volume is 2.5 m3.
2.3. Test at site No. 1
(1) Location of site No. 1
Site No. 1 was within the range of 100 m near connection road-
way #8 in the return air roadway in the north wing of #3 coal
seam. The thickness of the coal seam is 5–6 m, and the dip angle
is 1°–3°. The width of the return air roadway is 5.5 m, the height
is 4.334 m, and the largest ventilation air flow is 192 m3/s. The dis-
tance between the return air roadway and coal seam is 32–37 m.
The cross section area of the return air roadway is large, as is the
ventilation air flow, and no obstructions are present in the neigh-
borhood, which provides favorable conditions for the test.
(2) Test parameters
Drill holes were drilled in site No. 1, and as Fig. 5 shows, ten drill
holes were drilled, with a spacing between the adjacent drill holes
of 10 m, dip angle of 60°, azimuth angle of 0°, and drill hole diam-
eter of 133 mm. To obtain a suitable water pressure for the jet, #3,
#4, #9, #1, and #2 drill holes were hydraulically reamed with dif-
ferent water pressures, and #3 and #4 drill holes were hydrauli-
cally reamed with a water pressure of 10 and 15 MPa,
respectively. In addition, the discharge of coal cinder during the
test was about 0.2 t. #9 drill hole was hydraulically reamed with
water pressure of 20 MPa, and the discharge of the coal cinder dur-
ing the test was about 0.8 t. #1 drill hole was hydraulically reamed
with water pressure of 25 MPa, and the discharge of the coal cinder
during the test was about 5.4 t. The other drill holes were hydrauli-
cally reamed with water pressure of 30 MPa, and the discharge of
the coal cinder during the test was no less than 8 t for each drill
hole. According to the quantity of coal cinder discharge and the
corresponding water pressure, the suitable water pressure for the
jet is 25–30 MPa. The test parameters are shown in Table 2. The
particle size of the coal cinder was relatively uniform, generally
less than 10 mm, and the slag discharge was relatively easy to
achieve during the test.
(3) Data of gas extraction
As the quality of the coal cinder discharge is relatively large, #1,
#2, #5, #6, #7, #8, and #10 drill holes were used to analyze the
effect of gas extraction after hydraulic reaming. The data on the
gas extraction after the hydraulic reaming of #1 drill hole are
shown in Fig. 4. Within 0–40 d, the gas extraction flow reached
10–100 m3/d after hydraulic reaming. Within 40–58 d, the gas
extraction flow reached about 10 m3/d after hydraulic reaming.
Within 59–77 d, the gas extraction flow showed a significant
improvement, reaching 50–125 m3/d after hydraulic reaming.
Within 78–90 d, the gas extraction flow showed a significant
decrease, reaching 10 to 50 m3/d after hydraulic reaming. As
Figs. 6–12 show, the data on the gas extraction show a large vari-
ation after hydraulic reaming was applied.
(4) Correlation data
Because the water pressure used for the hydraulic reaming of
#3, #4, and #9 drill holes was too low, the discharge of these drill
holes was very slight, and had almost no effect on the gas extrac-
tion. Thus, #3, #4, and #9 drill holes were used as the references
for a comparison and analysis of the effects on the gas extraction
after the hydraulic reaming of #1, #2, #5, #6, #7, #8, and #10 drill
holes. The data on the gas extraction after the hydraulic reaming
of#3, #4, and #9 drill holes are shown in Figs. 13–15, respectively.
After the hydraulic reaming of these drill holes, the gas extraction
flow had less variation at 10–100 m3/d.

Fig. 5. Drill hole layout of test for site No. 1. Fig. 6. Data on gas extraction after hydraulic reaming of #11 drill hole.

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Fig. 11. Data on gas extraction after hydraulic reaming of #8 drill hole.
Fig. 7. Data on gas extraction after hydraulic reaming of #2 drill hole.

Fig. 8. Data on gas extraction after hydraulic reaming of #5 drill hole. Fig. 12. Data on gas extraction after hydraulic reaming of #10 drill hole.

Fig. 9. Data on gas extraction after hydraulic reaming of #6 drill hole. Fig. 13. Data on gas extraction after hydraulic reaming of #3 drill hole.

Fig. 10. Data on gas extraction after hydraulic reaming of #7 drill hole. Fig. 14. Data on gas extraction after hydraulic reaming of #4 drill hole.

(5) Effect analysis
As shown in Figs. 6–15, the hydraulic reaming of a drill hole
has a significant impact on the gas extraction. When the water
pressure of the jet and the quality of the coal cinder discharge
are small, the average flow rate of the gas extraction within
zero to 70 d is 10–12 m3/d. When the water pressure of the jet
and the quality of the coal cinder discharge are large, the
average flow rate of the gas extraction within zero to 70 d is
80–300 m3/d.

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(3) Data of gas extraction

#1309-1, #1309-2, #1309-3, #1309-4, and #1309-5 drill holes
were used to analyze the effects of gas extraction after hydraulic
reaming. The data on the gas extraction are shown in Figs. 17–
21. The average flow of the gas extraction after the hydraulic ream-
ing was about 10 m3/d.

(4) Correlation data

#1309-6 and #1309-7 drill holes without hydraulic reaming
were used as references for the comparison and analysis of the
Fig. 15. Data on gas extraction after hydraulic reaming of #9 drill hole.

2.4. Test at site No. 2

(1) Location of site No. 2

Site No. 2 is located 20 m away from water sump #17 in the
13091 floor rock roadway. The width and height of the 13091 floor
rock roadway are 4 and 2.8 m, respectively, and a local fan is used
to ventilate the test location. The distance between the 13091 floor
rock roadway and the coal seam is 7 m. The thickness of the coal
seam is 5–6 m, and the dip angle is 1–3°. The air flow of the venti-
Fig. 17. Data on gas extraction after hydraulic reaming of #1309-1 drill hole.
lation is small, which provides unfavorable conditions for the sec-
ond test.

(2) Test parameters

Drill holes were drilled at site No. 2. As shown in Fig. 14,

seven drill holes were drilled, with a spacing between adjacent
drill holes of 10 m, a dip angle of 60°, an azimuth angle of 0°,
and a drill hole diameter of 133 mm. Five of the drill holes were
used as the hydraulic reaming drill holes, and two of them were
used as the reference drill holes. The water pressure for the jet
was 8–27 MPa, the water flow rate of the jet was 86–292 L/min,
and the quality of the discharge was 3.5–11.5 t. The test param-
eters are shown in Table 3. The particle sizes of the coal cinder
Fig. 18. Data on gas extraction after hydraulic reaming of #1309-2 drill hole.
are relatively uneven, some reaching more than 50 mm, and
the slag discharge was relatively difficult to achieve during the
test (see Fig. 16).

Table 3
Test parameters for site No. 2.

Drill of hole number Quality of discharge (t) Jet pressure Jet flow
(MPa) (L/min)
#1309-1 3.5 8 86
#1309-2 4.2 27 292
#1309-3 7.8 27 292
#1309-4 13 25 270
#1309-5 11.5 17 184
Fig. 19. Data on gas extraction after hydraulic reaming of#1309-3 drill hole.

Fig. 16. Drill hole layout for site No. 2. Fig. 20. Data on gas extraction after hydraulic reaming of #1309-4 drill hole.

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Fig. 21. Data on gas extraction after hydraulic reaming of #1309-5 drill hole.
Fig. 22. Data on gas extraction after hydraulic reaming of #1309-6 drill hole.
Fig. 23. Data on gas extraction after hydraulic reaming of #1309-7 drill hole.
effect on the gas extraction after the hydraulic reaming of #1309-1,
#1309-2, #1309-3, #1309-4, and #1309-5 drill holes. Data on the
gas extraction for #1309-6 and #1309-7 drill holes are shown in
Figs. 22 and 23. The average flow of the gas extraction was 8 m3/d.
3. Discussion
3.1. Impact of physical coal properties on the parameters of hydraulic
reaming
(1) Impact on jet pressure
During the experiment, we found that the jet flow and pressure
have a close relationship with the structure of the coal. The jet
pressure required for test site No. 1 was 25–30 MPa, whereas the
jet pressure needed for test site No. 2 was 8–15 MPa. The main rea-
son for this is that the coal firmness coefficients for test sites No. 1
and No. 2 are similar, but the difference in the shear strengths at
the two sites is significant. The coal structure at test site No. 1 is
relatively intact and has a small degree of damage, and thus it is
more difficult to break the coal and strip the cinders from the coal
wall. The coal at test site No. 2 is broken, and the degree of damage
of the coal structure is higher, making it easy to break the coal and
strip the cinders from the coal wall.
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(2) Impact on slag discharge
After hydraulic reaming at test site No. 1, the discharge is rela-
tively smooth, and the gas extraction effect is better, whereas after
hydraulic reaming at test site No. 2, the drill hole is frequently
blocked, the cinders are difficult to discharge during hydraulic
reaming, and the gas extraction effect is poor. The results were
analyzed by contrasting the pressure and flow rates used during
the tests. Using the same conditions for the test equipment, the
flow used for the discharge and jet pressure showed a positive cor-
relation. When a large pressure and flow were used at test site No.
1, owing to the intact coal structure, the drill wall was not easy to
collapse, the slag discharge was cut into smaller cinders with an
even size by the jet, and slag discharge was easy to achieve. When
a large pressure and flow were used at test site No. 2, owing to the
broken coal structure, the drill wall was easily collapsed, many coal
cinders with a larger size block were generated in the drill hole,
and slag discharge was difficult to achieve. When a small pressure
and flow were used at test site No. 2, owing to the broken coal
structure, the size of the coal cinders was larger. Slag discharge
was also difficult to achieve for a small discharge flow and larger
sized coal cinders.
(3) Impact on gas extraction
To further explore the relationship between the jet flow and
slag discharge, we improved the jet by adding three nozzles to
the jet device, as shown in Fig. 2. The flow used for the discharge
was greatly improved under the same pump pressure. We con-
ducted a second test by adopting the improved jet device used at
test site No. 2. #1309-8 and #1309-9 drill holes was hydraulically
reamed during this test. The length of the hydraulic reaming was 6
and 8 m, the jet pressure was 6 and 8 MPa, the flow rate was 300
and 320 L/min, and the length of time for the hydraulic reaming
was 2 and 1.5 h, respectively. Slag discharge was easy to achieve,
and no blocking phenomena were observed during the test. The
gas extraction after the hydraulic reaming is shown in Figs. 24
and 25. Compared to the first test at test site No. 2, the flow of
gas extraction after hydraulic reaming shows an obvious increase.
From the data analysis above, we found that, under no-blocking
conditions, the flow of the gas drainage increased significantly
after hydraulic reaming at the same site. Under the condition of
a broken coal seam structure, when the drill hole was blocked dur-
ing hydraulic reaming, a large amount of water entered the broken
coal seam around the drill hole, which hindered the desorption and
migration of the gas in the coal seam, thereby reducing the coal
permeability and gas extraction.
To analyze the influence of water in the coal, the relationship
between the different moisture content and the permeability of
the coal sample was determined in a laboratory, as shown in Figs. 26
and 27. The permeability of the coal sample greatly reduced with an
increase in the moisture content of the coal sample.
Fig. 24. Data on gas extraction after hydraulic reaming #1309-8 drill hole.
 D. Li / International Journal of Mining Science and Technology xxx (2018) xxx–xxx
Fig. 25. Data on gas extraction after hydraulic reaming #1309-9 drill hole.
Fig. 26. Permeability of coal sample under moisture contents of 0% and 9.2%.
Fig. 27. Permeability of coal sample under moisture contents of 0% and 4.9%.
3.2. Impact of the radius of hydraulic reaming
The influence of the hydraulic reaming radius was tested at test
sites Nos. 1 and 2. The primitive diameter of the drill hole before
hydraulic reaming is 133 mm, and the final diameter of the drill
hole after hydraulic reaming is 1600 mm. The drill holes were per-
pendicular to the coal seam.
The test method is as follows:
First, cross drill holes were drilled using conventional drill pipes
(U73) and drill bits (1 3 3), as shown in Fig. 28. Two groups of drill
holes were drilled on both sides of the roadways. Each group had
three drill holes: the middle drill hole was used for hydraulic ream-
ing, and the others were used to test the influence of the radius.
Fig. 28. Cross drill holes used to test the influence of hydraulic reaming radius.
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7
The space between the two groups of drill holes was 10 m. The
spaces between the first group of drill holes were 2 and 3 m, and
the spaces between the second group of drill holes were 4 and 5
m. The drill holes used to test the influence the radius were sealed,
and connected with a flow meter and extraction system prior to
the hydraulic reaming. The influence of the hydraulic reaming
radius was estimated according to the variations in gas flow.
According to the test results, we found that the influence of
hydraulic reaming radius was 2–3 m at test site Nos. 1, and 3–4
m at test site No. 2. According to the test results, we found that
the influence of the hydraulic reaming radius was affected not only
by the final diameter of the drill hole after hydraulic reaming, but
also by the physical properties of the coal, particularly the coal
structure. When the coal structure was broken and the shear
strength was small, the influence of the hydraulic reaming radius
was larger.
4. Conclusions
(1) A hydraulically reamed drill hole was shown to have a good
effect in the Zhaozhuang Mine, and can improve the effi-
ciency of the gas extraction process to different degrees.
(2) The water jet pressure used for the hydraulic reaming of a
drill hole mainly depends on the structure of the coal. When
the coal seam is basically integrated, the critical pressure for
the water jet is larger. When the coal seam is broken, the
critical pressure for the water jet is smaller.
(3) When the coal structure is relatively integrated, discharge is
relatively easy to achieve, the blocking effect on the gas
extraction is slight, and the gas extraction is significantly
increased after the reaming is applied.
(4) When the coal structure is broken, the discharge is difficult
to achieve, the blocking effect on the gas extraction is clear,
and the gas extraction changes slightly after reaming.
(5) When the coal structure is broken, lowering the jet pressure
and improving the jet flow can significantly improve the effi-
ciency of the reaming, thereby reducing the blocking of the
gas extraction.
(6) When the coal structure is broken, the shear strength is
slight, and the influence of the hydraulic reaming radius
becomes greater.
Acknowledgments
The author thanks the National Natural Science Foundation of
China (No. 51404094), Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China
(No. 2014M561988), and Doctor Funds of Henan Polytechnic
University of China (No. B2012-026) for their support with this
project.
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Please cite this article in press as: Li D. Hydraulic drill hole reaming technology with large flow and draining of coal mine gas. Int J Min Sci Technol (2018),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmst.2018.06.003