Bursting Liability Criteria of Coal Mass Based on Energy Storage and Release Characteristics

[Image: see text] The bursting liability of coal, referring to the characteristic of coal to accumulate strain energy and produce impact damage, is an important factor influencing the occurrence and extent of rock burst disasters in coal mines. Two indicators—the elastic strain energy storage coefficient and energy release coefficient—are proposed based on the energy evolution characteristics of different stages during rock bursts. Twelve coal specimens from typical mines were selected for uniaxial compressive tests to analyze the damage characteristics of three types of typical coal specimens with different impact damage intensities in different loading stages. The initial kinetic energy of the coal specimens was obtained according to the principle of horizontal projectile motion. The bursting liability rating criteria according to the energy storage coefficient and energy release coefficient were determined based on the damage and motion characteristics of the coal mass, damage acoustic characteristics, and damage initial kinetic energy. The study demonstrated that the discrimination results based on the new criteria of coal mass bursting liability were consistent with the actual bursting liability level of the coal mass, thus providing a new method for determining coal mass bursting liability.