This paper presents an analytical method to explain the role of gas energy
in the occurrence of coal/gas outbursts. The main thrust of the proposed me
thod is to compare the elastic work to be done for outbursts to occur with
the released potential energy which includes the strain energy stored in co
al seams and the internal gas energy due to desorption and expansion of met
hane gas in coal seams. It has been found that the release of gas energy du
e to desorption of methane from the coal matrix to the pores is the major c
ause for the occurrence of outbursts. Further, the results of the numerical
analysis have been presented to illustrate the influence of various parame
ters on the energy release during outbursts. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley
& Sons, Ltd.