To investigate the influence of boreholes on the energy evolution law and pressure-relief mechanism during the loading-induced deformation and failure of hard coal specimens, uniaxial compression tests and cyclic loading-unloading tests were conducted on intact coal specimens and coal specimens containing boreholes, and acoustic emission monitoring and DIC analysis were combined to examine the effects of boreholes on the mechanical properties, energy distribution, and crack evolution characteristics of hard coal. The results show that: The strength of hard coal is significantly weakened by boreholes, with a reduction range of 7.99% to 45.11%. The pressure relief effect is quantified using the strength reduction index, energy dissipation index, and strain field fluctuation degree index. Based on range analysis and analysis of variance, it is determined that the borehole parameter of Scheme 7 (10 mm diameter, 8 mm spacing, 30 mm depth) exhibits a significant pressure-relief response. The surface of coal samples containing boreholes forms three or more strain-localization bands, providing additional compensation space for energy release. Furthermore, the acoustic emission ringing counts display a multi-peak distribution, and the b-value exhibits notable fluctuations, indicating that boreholes facilitate staged energy release within the coal specimens and delay the macroscopic instability failure of hard coal. The dissipated energy within hard coal containing boreholes is predominantly released in the form of damping energy, and the cyclic hysteresis loops gradually converge and become stable, indicating that the energy-release process is more controllable. The primary functions of boreholes and tensile cracks are to induce the initiation of shear cracks. The shear cracks propagate through the specimen at different stages and form shear bands of different scales, thereby realizing staged energy release. The results indicate that borehole drilling weakens the brittle characteristics of hard coal and improves the energy-release path, providing a mechanistic basis for pressure relief in roadways within deep hard coal seams.
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