Forecasting successful coal seam mining when vibration impact is used for coal seam preparation and final methane recovery from the seam

M.V. Pavlenko, A.E. Adigamov, E.V. Sinitskaya, I.A. Florova
National University of Science and Technology “MISIS”, Moscow, Russian Federation
Russian Mining Industry №1/ 2026 p. 130-134

Abstract: Vibration treatment is an environmentally friendly and effective method to increase the permeability of a gas-bearing coal mass, which takes into account the resonance in the coal seam when the vibration waves are excited, which in turn helps stimulate formation of pores and fractures in coals using the waves generated by low-frequency vibration. The final methane recovery from the coal mass was evaluated as part of the research in order to study the effect of the vibration frequency and its resonant effect on enhancing the fracturing of the coal seam as well as to study the mechanisms underlying the increase in coal permeability using this method. The mechanism of fracture formation and methane release from coal as the result of vibration impact on the coal mass was evaluated using literature review, laboratory experiments and field tests. Research shows that a vibration wave can increase stresses in some areas and decrease them in others. It can be stated that even a small pulsating pressure, combined with the effect of stress waves in the coal mass due to vibration, can lead to create a better fracturing effect in the formation than the conventional static stress. Assumptions are made about the impact of vibrations taking place at the contact of the vibrator and the coal seam, namely, a simple explanation is proposed for the effect of the enhanced fracture formation due to the frequency of vibration often observed in a gas-bearing coal mass. The occurrence is noted of a resonant frequency in the "vibrator + coal seam" dynamic system leading to enhanced fracture formation. Application of vibrators in various designs in the mining industry is not only one of the most efficient tools for vibration treatment of the coal masses, but is also becoming increasingly popular as a research tool due to a number of fundamental advantages over the other methods of coal preparation.

Keywords: coal seam, vibration effect, methane recovery, coal mass, vibration frequency, gas permeability, fracturing, low permeability coal seam

For citation: Pavlenko M.V., Adigamov A.E., Sinitskaya E.V., Florova I.A. Forecasting successful coal seam mining when vibration impact is used for coal seam preparation and final methane recovery from the seam. Russian Mining Industry. 2026;(1):130–134. https://doi.org/10.30686/1609-9192-2026-1-130-134

Article info

Received: 22.10.2025

Revised: 16.12.2025

Accepted: 24.12.2025

Information about the authors

Michael V. Pavlenko – Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Associate Professor, National University of Science and Technology MISIS, Moscow, Russian Federation; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Arkadiy E. Adigamov – Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Associate Professor, MISIS University of Science and Technology, Russian Federation; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Elena V. Sinitskaya – Senior Lecturer, National University of Science and Technology MISIS, Moscow, Russian Federation; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Irina A. Florova – Senior Lecturer, National University of Science and Technology MISIS, Moscow, Russian Federation; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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