Effects of saturation medium and pressure on strength parameters of Latrobe Valley brown coal: Carbon dioxide, water and nitrogen saturations

Abstract

Adsorption of carbon dioxide (CO2) into coal matrix causes significant change in its chemical and physical structure, resulting in negligible permeability values and overall strength reduction. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effects of water, nitrogen (N2) and CO2 saturations at different saturation pressures on the strength of brown coal using uniaxial experiments. A series of uniaxial experiments was conducted on 38 mm diameter by 76 mm height Latrobe Valley brown coal samples with different saturation media (water, N2, CO2) and pressures (1, 2 and 3 MPa). According to the test results, water and CO2 saturations cause the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of brown..