Numerical simulation of coal-bed methane seepage flow under multi-well exploitation conditions

Adoption of multi-well mining technology to exploit coal-bed methane is still under the preliminary trial stage in China. Theoretical research on the multi-well mining technology is also insufficient, fortunately the numerical simulation can be able to provide certain theoretical guidance for coal-bed methane multi-well exploitation. The model of permeable equation considering multi-well exploration conditions is set up; and the pressure field distributions under single well and multi-well exploration conditions are simulated with finite element method. The influence of well space changes on the distribution of pressure field is studied under the well group exploration conditions; and the velocity field of coal-bed methane distribution under nonlinear seepage condition is investigated with the coal-bed methane permeable equation. The conclusions display the change rule of the seepage field and the coal-bed methane production under the multi-well exploitation conditions, and the numerical simulation result demonstrates the superiority of multi-well exploitation. The achieved results can provide significant references to the enhancement of the coal-bed methane output and coal-bed methane industrialization mining.