Numerical and experimental study on monitoring coal cracks with PZT sensor

The rupture of coal pillar can lead to spontaneous combustion or collapse of goaf, which endangers the safety of workers. To explore the relationship between the crack depth of the coal structure and the signal received by the piezoelectric ceramic sensor, the output data of coal samples were analyzed by using the piezoelectric effect, combined with the experiment and ABAQUS simulation. Based on the signal amplitude, the output signal characteristics of the coal model with different crack depths were analyzed, and the evaluation index of coal crack cracking degree (D(c)) was defined. The results show that the piezoelectric fluctuation method can effectively identify the local cracks of coal. When the distance between the lead Piezoelectric Transducer (PZT) patch and crack position is constant, the amplitude of the PZT patch output signal will decay with the deepening of the crack depth, while the value of increases with the increase of crack depth. This study provides a theoretical basis for mine disaster prevention and control.