Investigation on energy dissipation and its mechanism of coal under dynamic loads

The energy dissipation of coal under dynamic loads is a major issue in geomechanics and arising extensive concerns recently. In this study, dynamic loading tests of coal were conducted using a split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) system, the characteristics of dynamic behavior and energy dissipation of coal were analyzed, and the mechanism of energy dissipation was discussed based on the fracture processes of coal under dynamic loads. Experimental results indicate that the energy dissipation of coal under dynamic loads has a positive linear correlation with both incident energy and dynamic compressive strength, and the correlation coefficients between incident energy, dynamic compressive strength and the energy dissipation rate are 0.74 and 0.98, respectively. Theoretical analysis demonstrates that higher level of stress leads to greater energy released during unstable crack propagation, thus resulting in larger energy dissipation rate of coal under dynamic loads. At last, a semi-empirical energy dissipation model is proposed for describing the positive relationship between dissipated energy and stress.