Mechanical Properties of Powdered Coal and Their Influence to Technological Processes

In recent years, growing human population is more and more dependent on production of various wares which are dependent on the functionality of manufacturing technologies. The Laboratory of bulk materials solves many problems of flow failure in different technologies and processes with particulate materials. A perfect understanding of powder behaviour is very important for optimization processes. Due different mechanical and physical properties of a wide scale of particulate materials it is very hard to design appropriate technologies. Goal of this paper is to subscribe some samples of powdered coal by the measurement of its mechanical and physical properties important for storage of the bulk solids. Experimental work was performed by the Freeman Technology FT4 Powder Rheometer and Cilas 1190 Particle Size Analyser. The device allows obtaining a considerable amount of information about powder behaviour from basic bulk density until friction or mechanical interlocking. It was found that dominant parameter in storage process is compressibility. Dependence between compressibility and the ratio of the microparticles and nanoparticles was observed. Depending on the granulometry of samples different compressibility and angle of internal friction was observed. The measured properties of powdered coal have been used for determine cohesion and easy-flowing to free flowing regime. The aim of this article is bulk solid behaviour prediction based on specific properties like compressibility, angle of internal friction, wall friction, angle of repose, humidity, cohesion and others. We need to find a way how to completely describe powders and bulk solids by a few parameters. The problem is bulk solids are very complex and wide field of specialization. Laboratory of Bulk Materials at Technical University of Ostrava is focused on measurement of mechanical and physical properties of the bulk solids and powders and simultaneously it deals with virtual DEM (Discrete Element Method) simulations of particulate matters. Nowadays we are able to predict behavior of bulk materials based on verified models in DEM simulations and flow properties measurement. These simulations are used in innovative way of designing storage and process devices in all kinds of industry.