Browsing by Author "Loomis, Ian Morton"
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- Application of water mist to fuel-rich fires in model coal mine entriesLoomis, Ian Morton (Virginia Tech, 1995-03-05)As the nature of coal mInmg changes, to higher production associated with higher mechanization, the way in which mine safety is approached must also change. This situation was clearly shown in a very devastating coal mine fire in late 1984. In the absence of effective fire-fighting procedures and equipment the affected mine was quickly rendered helpless. Of particular concern with coal mine fires is the possibility of entering a fuel-rich state. In this state current practices have proven to be of little use in gaining control over the conflagration. Recent experiences with the application of water mist to industrial fires has shown that use of fog can be an efficacious agent in controlling large scale fires. The postulations of this phenomenon concern the ability of the water, as a fog, to get deeply within the fire structure. In this manner it works to remove the three legs of the fire triangle~ heat, oxygen, and fuel. The research contained in this thesis dwells in three associated areas. These are: the general theory of water mist application relative to current practices~ the design and construction of a fire tunnel for experimental work; and the results obtained from experiments with fuel-rich fires in the simulated coal mine entry. The results of this research are most encouraging, not only for the more devastating fuelrich fires, but also for application from the onset of fire fighting activities in the coal mine environment.
- Experiments Concerning the Commercial Extraction of Methane from Coalbed ReservoirsLoomis, Ian Morton (Virginia Tech, 1997-04-14)In late 1992 coalbed methane became the most significant source of natural gas produced in Virginia. This gas is held within the coal formations adsorbed to the coal matrix. The current well stimulation technology applies a high pressure fluid to the coal formation surrounding the wellbore to induce a series of fractures. The research documented in this thesis investigates several new technologies that could replace or augment the current well stimulation approach of hydraulic fracturing. The application of liquid carbon dioxide, as the stimulation agent was investigated in a series of permeability tests. These measurements were made using a radial flow technique developed specifically for this research project. The results of the tests using liquid carbon dioxide to enhance the permeability of coal samples, to methane gas, indicated a significant increase in permeability of the samples. Comparison to a reference material showed, however, that the increase was of a general nature, not by specific interaction with the coal matrix. Rather, the permeability increase was due to reduced resistance of the borehole skin. Studies of the new, radial flow, permeability measurement approach showed good agreement to a conventional, axial flow, approach for similar sample bedding orientation to the gas flow. The documented experiments also include investigations into the potential for using custom designed nitrocellulose/nitroglycerin/RDX based propellant charges to produce extensive fracturing away from the wellbore. The first series of these experiments concerned the characterization of the burn properties for these propellants and their mixtures. Utilizing an interior ballistics approach, these laboratory small-scale shots were numerically modeled with a program written as a part of this project. Using the small-scale results and the modeled data, a series of large-scale test shots were developed and fired to gain understanding of the scale effects. The small-scale constant volume bomb, and the large-scale vented bomb were both custom designed and fabricated for this project. Comparisons of the laboratory data and modeled predictions show good agreement for both the small and large-scale test series. This work concludes by presenting considerations for utilizing the propellant based well stimulation approach in the water filled wells in southwest Virginia.