Effect of axial stress-induced coal particle breakage on the evolution laws of coal spontaneous combustion characteristics and limit parameters of loose broken coal

Coal particles are broken to varying degrees under the axial stress, thereby affecting the particle size distribution, which has an essential impact on coal spontaneous combustion (CSC). This work investigated the evolution behavior of the characteristic parameters and limit parameters of the coal oxidation process under different breakage degrees. Results showed that as the axial stress increased, the breakage degrees of coal gradually increased, while the permeability gradually declined. The increase in the breakage degree of particle induced by axial stress would promote the CSC process and increase the risk of CSC. The promotion effect reached the most prominent at 12 MPa and began to decrease at 15 MPa. Particle breakage and increasing specific surface area caused by stress were responsible for the change in CSC characteristic parameters. The reduction in permeability caused by stress dominated the changes in CSC limit parameters.