Identification and Application of Wave Field Characteristics of Channel Waves in Extra-Thick Coal Seams

Channel wave seismic activity often occurs with thin and medium-thick coal seams being the main target layer. To address the problem of channel wave applicability detection in extremely thick coal seams, the propagation and identification characteristics of channel waves remain the focus of research. Therefore, this paper takes the in-seam wave exploration of a 27 m extremely thick coal seam as an example and uses the staggered mesh finite difference method to construct a three-dimensional medium model for numerical simulation. An analysis of the physical parameters of coal and rock, along with the dispersion characteristics of channel waves in extra-thick coal seams, is utilized, through the Zoeppritz equation and the total reflection propagation method, to calculate the imaging. We found the following: (1) The dispersion areas and weak dispersion areas along the detection direction are extremely thick coal seams. (2) There are apparent channel waves in extra-thick coal seams, with a waveform similar to body waves; the length of the wave train is shorter than that of the conventional channel wave, and the arrival time can be estimated accurately. The amplitude of the apparent channel wave is affected by the degree of dispersion, with lower attenuation and higher resolution. The characteristic of total reflection in extremely thick coal seams is that the incident angle is equal to the critical angle, and the dispersion characteristics are weak. (3) The channel waves with weak dispersion characteristics in extra-thick coal seams are mainly Love-type waves.