N o . 3 .

A u g u s 1
t 991

Estimqtion
of the Bulk Density
of q Co:ll Stoclrpile
A. B. Yu nnd t. stqndlsh, Austtollo

Summary 1, lntroduction
It is shown that the bulk densrtyof a coal stockpilecan be The bulk densltyof coal in a stockpileis an imporlanteconom-
readilyestimatedfrom the knowledgeof the packingconditions ic parameterin the coal industry.The accuratedeterminationof
of a coal loader.The equatronsfor this purposeare formulated largeamountsof coal is generallyexpectedin operationssuch
based on the results obtainedfrom model experiments.The as coal stacking,reclarmrng and loadingof ships.But in prac-
valrdityof these equationsare checkedby comparingthe pre- tice the overall bulk density and the total weight of a coal
dictions with measurementsof real industrialstockpiles.The stockpileare usuallyestimatedby historicalor laboratorydata,
bulkdensitiesarewellwithin
resultsindicatethat the calculated which usuallygive unreliableresultsas discussedin [1]. lt is
5-7oioof the measuredbulk oensities,which is almost within thereforevery usefulto find out a more scientificmethodfor the
the errorof measurementrtself. estimation of the overall bulk densitv and hence the total
weightof a stockpile.
In principle,the bulk densityof a coal stockpileshouldbe a
Nomenclature functionof the coal properties,stockpilesize and stackingpa-
rametersinvolved,so that its estimationmay be made by con-
r1 Parliala cizo f ml
sideringthe packingof coal in a stockpile.However,the pack-
d., Medianof a coal particlesizedistribution[m] ing of a coal stockpileis the product of various phenomena
such as the compaction,deposition,size segregationand so
F@) Fraclronof parlicles less than sized on. The bulk density,as one of the packingpropertiesof a coal
g stockpile,may be affectedby a large number of variables.lt
Gravitationalacceleratron[m/s2]
would be very difficult,if not impossible,to developa theoretl-
rr Stockpileheignt[m] cal model which considersall the perlinentvariables.There-
fore, it is felt that any mathematicalmodel or equation pro-
H Heightof disengagementpoint(pad-to-boomheight)[m] posed for estimatingthe bulk densityof a coal stockpilemay
K Modrfier[-] haveto be obtainedempirically.

k Coeffrcient[-] In order to understandthe influencesof the (packtng)process

variableson the bulk density, an experimentalstudy of the
/ Stockprlelength[m] packing of coal heaps has been recentlycarried out and re-
ported in [2]. The purpose of this paper is to formulatethese
M- Moisturecontent (% dry basis)H
dependenciesso as to developequationsfor the estimationof
n parameterin Rosin-Ramm/er
Distrrbution functton[-] the bulk densityof a coal stockpile.The validityof the resultant
equationswill be checked using the measurementsfrom the
n Exponent[-] industrialcoal stockpiles.
V Conveyorbelt speed [m/s]
w Stockpilewidth [m]
2. Theoretical Gonsideration
W Mass flow rate [kgis]
W' Widthof the flow streamof particleson conveyorbelt [m] Data analysisbasedon the realmeasurementshas shownthat
the following factors influencethe bulk denstty of a coal
n Dimensronless number[-] stockpile:
p. Particledensity[kg/m3] 1. the sizeof a stockpile;

0s Bulkdensrty[kg/m3] 2. stackingmethod;
3. moisturecontentof the coal:and
4. physicalpropertiesof the coal.
] A B Yu and Prol. Dr. N. Standish,Depl. ot MatenalsEngineenng,The
"'ve.s,lvoi Worlongong.P O. Box 1144 Wollongong, N.S.W.2500,Australia. Exceptfor the moisturecontent,each of the other threefactors
}ta,,s aoout the aunhorsof thrs paper on page 766. may includea numberof variables.For example,the variables

<F_-_ For more rnformationon R E I

crrcleReaderServiceCard No. 72 605

-l--*
 voiume
1r, No.3,Augusr
1991 Slr$
HIF

such as the flow rare W, conveyorbelt speed y, width of the
flow stream of coat on the conveyorbelt W,. the heightof dis-
engagementporntH, which rs in coal loaderreferredto as pad-
to-boom herght,and so on, may be categorrzedin the group of
stackingmethoo.On the other hand, the physrcaipropertiesof
the coai are for srmplicityherereferredto the parttcledensityp,
and size consrstof coal. The latter,i.e. coal particlesize distri-
bution, rs usuallyrepresentedby the Rosrn-Rammler functron,
which is writtenas [3]
Ftdt=,-"*o[-,nr(#)"1 (1)
where
F(d) is the cumulativeweightfractionpassingparticlesized,
into accountbecauseof the drfficultyin controlhngrt. Moreover.
for simplicity,the effectsof the absolutesrzeof coal particles,
which is here representedf / the mediand6r, and accordingly,
the resistanceof air to the movementof the partrclesin a drop-
ping process on the bulk densityof a coal stockpilewere rg-
nored. lt is likelythat some other unknownvariablesmay have
also been excludedfrom that investigation.Neverlheless,to
make use of the model experimentalresultsrn [2], rt is as-
sumed that Eq. (2)can be reducedto
't,
Pe= l(w, h, W, V, H, pr, Mo gl (3)
As noted in [2], in order to make the resultsapplicableto real
situationsand to find out generaldependencyof the bulk den-
sity of a coal stockpileon the variablesin Eq. (3),dimensional
analysiswas adopted.ln this way, Eq. (3)can be transformed
to [2]

dos is the medianof a distribution, tlr = f( tts' ro' n5' n6' n') (4)

n parameter.
is the distribution
In this case, the sizeconsistof coal ts determinedbv a oair of
data (n, do d.
Theoretically,the overallbulk density, p., of a coal stockprle
;hould be a functronof all the variablesof the above four fac-
tors. That is
pB= t(1,w, h, W, V, H, Wr pp,n, dos,M,, g, ...\
where /, w and h are respectivelythe length,width and height
of a coal stockpiiewhich is schematicallyillustratedrn Fig. 1; packing densityor packingfraction[4]. The resultantinforma-
Mc is the moisturecontentof the coal and g is the gravitatronal tion can be used as the basisfor the developmentof a model
constant.In orderto obtainan explicitform of Eq.(2),it is nec- (empirical)equationfor the estimationof the bulk densityof a
essary to simplifythe problem involved.Thrscan be made by
omrttingsome variablesin Eq. (2)as drscussedbelow.
In the experimentalinvestigationreported in [2], the width of
the flow streamof particleson the conveyorbelt was not taken
I '
.L---------
Fig. 1: ldealelongaledstockptle
Table 1: Dimensroniess
numbersof a stockorle
where n, (i = 1,2, ...,7)are dimensronless numberswhich are
definedin Table 1. Sincethe angleof reposec', which may be
approximatelydeterminedfrom the knowledgeof H. and W.,
like the bulk densityof a coal stockpile,is also dependenton
the above dimensionlessnumbers,its possibleeffect on bulk
densityas impliedin Eq. (3) has been implicitlyincludedin
Eq.(4).
Therefore,the effects of the pertinentvariableson the bulk
(2\
densityof a coal stockpilecan be studiedby examiningthe ef-
fects of the above dimensionless numberson n., i.e. the ratio
of bulk densityto particledensrty,which is also referredto as
coal stockpileas discussedin the followingsections.
3. Gomparisonof Model and lndustrial
Stockpile Results
As usual, the relationshipsbetweenthe packingdensityand
other dimensionlessnumbers should be investigatedunder
controlledconditions.This is more conveniently realizedfrom a
model experiment.As mentronedabove,a modelexperimental
investigation of the packrngof coal heapshas been carrjedout
and reportedin [2]. However,sincethe modelexperimentwas
conducted under simplifiedconditions,the similaritybetween
the model and industrialstockpilesystemsshould be verified
first. This similaritycan be examinedby comparingthe model
and industrialstockpileresultsas givenbelow.
Accordingto Eq. (4),the packingdensityof a coal stockpileis
affected by a number of dimensionlessnumbers fl-able 1).
Usually,the stackingmethodused in a coal loaderis fixed,i.e.
n. and rr5may be regardedas approximately constant,so that
Eq. (a) is reducedto r, = f(no,n6, nr). Consequently,
the simi-
laritybetweenthe model and industrialstockpilesystemswas
examinedin the discussionof the effectsof the remainingthree
dimensionlessnumbers on packing density.These three di-
mensionlessnumbersrespectively implythe threefactorssuch

l
Dimensionless Number n1 fi2 tls : N4 7r5 n6 fi7
t/2
PB h v'PP
Definitron ct n H2Oo/o
Pt sH H w7
Minimum
Value' 0.03 0.o2 2.o 0.2 1.5
MaximumValue' 0.30 0.80 300.0 2.0 15.0
Th€ valuesused In the modelexDeriment[21
 'l
\c 3, A,rgusl 991 cosrl stocl(pile Bul|( Denslty

as the size of a stockpile(n.), size consist(ni and molsture

content(r').
Furthermore,as the modelexperrmentswere carrtedout under
srmphfiedconditionswhrch rs reflectedby the reductronof
Eq. (2) to Eq. (3),the absolutevaluesof packingdensrtres of
the two systems may be quite differentfrom each other' How-
ever,this differencemay be regardedas a systematlcerrorano
os4
can be modifiedin the latermathematicaitreatment.Therefore, t
€
in the followingcomparisonof model and industrialstockprle
a

results,attentronwrll be g|-en to the tendencyof the vanation '.8

of the packingdensltleswit r the abovedlmenstonless numbers H 0.52
in the two systems but not the absolute packrng denstty
values.

3.1 Stockpile Size

For an elongatedstockpileshown in Fig.1, its size is deter-
mined by its length/, herghth and width w For a usualcase, 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
the lattei is geneiallyfixed by the width of the bay. lf the stock-
piledoes no1e>nendoverthe fullbay widththen,for a grvenh' (a) h/H

Its wtdth is determinedby the reposeangleq which, likethe

packing density,is also an unknown parameteras mentioned
above.*Therefore. the effectsof the stockpilesizeon the pack-
ing densrtyof a stockpilemay be studied by examiningthe
rolesplayedby its lengthand height.
As shown rn Fig. 2, it appearsthat the increaseof the stockprle
length has littleor no effecton the packingdensity This result
rndrcatesthat the stockpileshape is not an importantvanaole 0.75
in the discussronof the stockpilepackingdensity As a result'
the model experimentalresultscan be comparedwith the In-
dustrialones in spite of the fact that the model expertments A
were carried out on conical coal heaps while the industnal
J

stockpilesare usuallyelongated(Fig.1).
It has been reportedin [2] that as shown in Fig 3(a)' with the
increaseof the sizeof a coal heap,which may be expressedas
the ratio of stockpileheightto pad-to-boom height (h/F0'the
packingdensity decreasesto a minimumand then increases'
This effbct was also observedin industrialstockpilesas shown
in Fig.3(b).lt shouldbe notedthat owing to the limitationof the
avaiiabledata of the industrialstockpiles'this similaritycan only
oe confirmedfor the valueof h/H grealerthan 0.4. 0.3 0 4 U 5 0.6 0.7 0.8 n o 1.0

(b) h/H

Fig.3: Packrngdensrtyvs nerghtrairo:

F g 2. vs. stockprlelengtn
PackrngdensLty lb) IndustnaslocKplle
(a)modelstockorre:

3.2 SizeConsist
As mentionedearlier.the size consistof coal is determinedby
the mediands5 and distrr-
a pair of data (n, dru). Theoretically,
butionparametern shouldvaryindependently. However'owing
to the existenceof a maximum particlesize there may be a
correlationbetweenn and d3, in practice.Accordingto the ap-
0.8
5 proach used in [5], this correlation,if it exists, can be ex-
pressedas
a "
douc C-1
J
whereconstantC shouldbe greaterthan unty.
-
0.7
Stockpile No:
For example,Fig.4 shows such a correlationobtainedfrom the
--<- 4.24.1
presentdata. This result suggeststhat from a practicalview-
<- 5.2-5.4 point it is reasonableto considerthat there is only one inde-
<- 63-6.7 oendentvariableof these two parameters'Therefore,the size
+ 133-13.8 consistof coal may be characterrzedby the distributlonparam-
etern only.
40 80 100 r20
Fig. 5 shows the dependenceof the packing densityon the
[:ngth, m diitribution parametern of the Rosin-Rammler function' The
good parallel between the model experiment and industrtal

607
 Volume11, No. 3, August199i SE
comparedto the moo-
stockpilesystemsis obvrous'However'
offset of the maxrma- the full stze
"i r.L.rrt., ihere is a small
of the industria|stockpi|e resu|ts berng disp|aced
.*i.,.
the lower n value' This dtfferencecan
rrig;tlyl" the teft,i.e. to

4" accounred for by the differences in the tvvo

be reasonably corre-
bv the unspecrfied different
;Jil; t6"king methods,
n and dou' o|. *'tn this offset being so small;it
lationsbetween
error'
" *iV O" simplyattributedto the measurement
/ ; .
3.3 MoistureContent
/ ./' packingdensrtyof a coal
'6 ,/ The effectof moisturecontenton the of the
"""/ stockpile n F'g O' l" *!!"1^1lle results
rspresenteo included'
measurements
and ind"ustrial are
/ modelexpenments scat-
o from Fig'6 that thereis considerable
/ / o iiIJ" o"Lo.erved because.of
/ ter of the dataof thetwo s"ystems almost.certainly
of other variablesand (ii)the-varrabilityof the
i['t["'"tf""t. in Fig' 6 show that
measurements. Nevertheless' the results
with moisture content has the
vanattonof packlngOeniity packingdensityde-
sametendency in the two'systems' viz'
do.s with increasing
creasesto a mtnlmumand ihen it increases that the range of
moisturecontent. n a[oufO be noted
parametersn and dc' In the
Fro-A: Correlatronoelween Ine
] Rostn-Bamm/er tuncllontor coal
Fio.6: PacKlngdensityvs molsturecontenl:
lunctlon
c,ds PacxrngoensrlvvS.n :^ tne Fosrn-Famrniel (b)IndustnalslocKprle
,at-ool' stockDrle:
,t, aoda, SIoCkOle\bi noustrralStOCKplle

mii[tr @nEnl

o 5.5%

1 E.5%

a
A o52
a
s a
x

0.48

0.44 1.0
0.0
n
Ou

.2
] !
A
oo 0.8 a
I
s T a
a
H
I I
a
t a a
a
^
aa
A

t
^o

0.6 0.8
0.4
n
(b)

608
LErrI

was 1-17%' wnereasIn w a t e r , w h i c h d o n o t a f f e c t t h e p a c k l n g d e n s r t y mrtumay

c h c obe
mpareo
moisturesin the model experiments water' Therefore'
wrth no data at all be- with interparticleand adhesion types' r'e rnert
siocxp'resit was 5-15%' ln coal rnto two
Hili-size realfL.also noteo ov n"fptrf io?f"tslfy the molsture
tutqvo. Thrs srmplyreflectsthe Hence'one can wrrle:
i;";
graiiRtror the moisturecontent of -"J"trr" "nO effectivemoisture
tot coat'
ili:;"i."""""pt ilesbetween6-10%'
(both "n"tgy and cokrng)
Aistratrancoals - + EffectiveMoisture'
fne fact that the present results TotalMoisture InertMoisture
wrth a sharp cut-off at f O"i'
stockpilesof a coal with 14-
include machlne ,n"ornpi"rr"d
fortunateaccident,in whtch the total moisturethat affectsthe
1so/bmotsturewas reall; "-rnort Generallyspeakrng,it is not
moisture was providedby courlesy bJt the efrectivemoisture From
the aboveors-
,# ,"""p""ted additional ;;il.;'d;;aitv
rains. effective molsture of largecoal
of the healry cussion,it is obvious tnat-the small particles'
contentscorrespondingto the .norlo oe 'eratiuervhigherthan-that-o{
Thedifferences in the morsture ;;j;];; corresponding to the
*iXitiri. p""king densities of thetwo systemsmaybe readily The differencesIn tne toitt"i contents
may be attno-
rolesplavedbv different minimumpacklng densitiesof the two systems
"ilili""o L!-"on-t,o"tinnt!: oln:t:I 7 sizesof the two system-s'
;;;; ol;;i"r rncoalaJshownrnFis' ,i"o i" in5 oiffer6ncein the absolute
used rn the modelexperr-
h;;"t" tn" "O.orut" srzesof the coal in real industrialcoal
tnose
ments were .r"n tt-ui"i inan be added to the
I io"ection should
stockpiles.Theretore, in order to makethe
moisturecontent ot "n tO*ttlal stockpile 6 and8 in[2]'
"ornpu'uoi"leti"io"tl'.o^"^olFigs'
twosystems
WAI€B ro z-r'/a'
the correctlonis approximatelyequal
ION {C} CAPTLLARY
{Al lH t ERlotr ADSOnPI
WAI ER

3.4 Comments
in the packing
rNlEnPARllCLt As noted above, there is a significantgiff::"T" stockpilesys-
and industrial
WA'€R
densityvaluesbetweenthe niodel
theg-T1v be some van-
tems. This differencesuggeststhqt
ignoredor not realizedin
ables which nave oeen u"n"xnowingly
the modelexperlmenls'
revealedthat the most likely
The analysisot tne presentdata is the ratlo
(t l aOH€SION wAIER
r8l gunFAC€ AOSORPIION dimensionless numberwhrchshouldbe considered
WAI €R
ofthesizesbetweenthecoa|stockpi|e andcoa|partic|eS|zeS.
rt' i e' the ratio of h to H'
Actually,the dimensro''tessnutOet
stockpilesizeon the
only partiallyretrecteJineeffectoithe
'p".x'.tj
has whichmavberep-
6";itt. tftneatiolutesizeof coal'
parliclesize distributionof coal'
resentedby tne meoranof a
- g ir Fcrms o.fwaterIn coal lll into,account' then we can introducea new ol-
a.-t is iaxen as the ratio of h to
is expressed
small coal parti- mensiontessnrro"r-iii"n
snowlng that packingdensityof a stockptte
Fio.8 qves the measurements is
particles'.^lt expected do5. As illustrateorn Fiq' 9' the
ill i"li?;,.J*"i"' tnan rargecoal increaseswrth tne 'nt';"t" of the stockpileheightfor a given
water in coalof
amountJ tn" iif"t"nt forms of do, in th9 rngY:lrialstockpilesare
rhattherelative
be differenlln fact'since the coal. Sincethe ratrosoi h to model experiment'it is consid-
11,fi"**p"nii,t;izes sn-ouro-aLo decreaslng particlesize' much greaterthan thoie
in thd
"'"" 'n"'""t"s with i] ine pacxing densitiesin the model
soecrficsurface the proportion
large of wa- ered that tne vatues ratioof h to dou rs
;ffi.rt,'y * oo", tne rolnoness' of surfaceandcapillary experimentscan be greatlyincteased the if
in tn" form
"''ttt
rer',n smallpartlcles
for inoustrlalslockorles
ol molslure Flg.9: Packrngdensltyvs i th d.t)
i .,a'latrono! morstureconlentwrth oartrcleslzefor the coal
:rlent of 6.80/o

l .
'i, 0.8
7r.1,^ ^ . t ^
A _
ttt
I
J.
u i^t r
@ a l
r. l.
E 0.7 I t

,h x 103
do.5
icoal stockplle Bulk Denslty

introducedin Eq. (3). But this expectationneedsto be con- 5. the combtnatron

of conditionsA2, B1, and C1:
firmedby expenmentalmeasurements.
llt = k5 ll3n' 1dn. t!-n3 lf6n4 ,!-'3 (10)
Nevertheless,the above comparisonof the model resultswith
those obtarnedfor the industrialstockprlesas givenrn Figs.3, 5 o. the combination
of conditionsA2, B'1, and C2:
and 6 has shown qurteunambiguously that the modelexperi- fi, = k6 lt3n' t!4'2 t!5f3 [6ni lt-'e ( 11 )
ment well representsreality.Therefore,model information,as
far as the princioalvariablesaffectingthe bulk densityof a coal the combtnation
of conditionsA2, 82, and C1:
stockprleare concerned,may be extendedto industrialstock- Tt. = kt lt3"' ttJn. t!5'3 [6na 'trne (12\
pileswith confidence.In fact, as will be drscussedlater,in spite
of the srmplificationintroduc.;din Eq. (3),the modelequations, the combination
of conditionsA2, 82, and C2:
after some reasonablemodirications, can give quite good esti- tlr = kB 7[3"' 'tone 1-n: 7!6nt 'I,ns (13)
matronsof the bulkdensitiesof industrial stockpiles.

The constants(k., kr, ..., kr: nr, nz, ..., na)in theseequations
4. Development of Model Equations can only be determinedexperimentally. For convenience,the
valuesof theseconstantswere optimizedby the least squares
The functronalform of Eq. (4)can be writtenas [7]: method,i.e.they were determinedfrom experimentsby solving
the followingoptimizatronproblem:
It, = k 1E3a n40 ,I5" t!60 1I2" (5)

wherek, a, b. ....e are unknownparameters

and can be deter-
mined from modelexperimentalresults. Mrnf (nT"ttu'"0 - ncarcurateo)2 (14)
However.as shown in Fig.3, the packingdensityfirst decreas-
ps and then, afterreachinga mrnimum,increases with the in- It shouldbe pointedout that the continuityof Eqs. (6)-(13)at
raseof lhe h/H ratio. Similarphenomenoncan also be ob- the loint pointsof any two segments,as constraints,shouldbe
served in the dependenciesof the packing densityon n and rntroducedin solvingEq. (14).In fact, this treatmentcan also
M". In thrs case, a srngleformulalike Eq. (5) cannot describe reduce the numberof the constantsto be determined.Usino
the effects of these dimensionlessnumbers on the packing the experimentalresultsobtainedfrom the model experimenti
density.As a resuit.more than one equationhas to be used and solvingEq. (1a),the constantswere readilvdetermrned.
and these equationscan be fitted to the experrmental data by Table3 givesthe results.
segments.For convenrence, let41 , A2,81, 82, C1 and C2 de-
note the conditionsgivenin Table2. The goodness of fit of these empiricallydetermined model
equationscan be examinedby comparingthe calculatedpack-
Table2. Conditionsfor the notatronsA1. A2. 81 . P.2.C1. C2 ing densitieswith measuredpacking densities.As shown in
Fig.10, the packingdensitiespredictedfrom Eqs.(6)- (13)are
Notation 41 M 81
in reasonablygood agreement with the measured packing
82 C1 C2
densities.This resultwas expectedsince these equationsare
Condition lt7< X'1 rr7> X1 tra3X2 tra>X 2 ne< X3 ra > X3 formulatedon the basisof the experimentalresults.The repro-
ducibilityof the model experimentsrs about SVol2l. lt is obvi-
Therefore.dependingon the combinationof these conditions, ous from Fig. 10 that the accuracyof the model equationsis
Eq. (5)should be composedof eightequationsas listedbelow: for all practicalpurposeswithinthe experrmental
error.
1. the combinationof condrtions
A1, 81 and C1: Next, we will discusshow to apply these model equationsto
(6) the estimationof the bulk densityof an industrialcoal stockpile.

2. the combinationof conditions

41 , 81, ano C2:
n, = kz 113t lt,': tt.n3 716nt t!rn5 (7)
Fig. 10: Calculatedpacktngdensrlyvs. measuredoacktngdensrlyfor model
the combinationof conditions
A1. 82. and C1: slocKpr€s

fi, = ks '!3' n.ie [5n3 r!6n4 't7ns (8)

0.70
A
the combinationof conditions
41 , 82, and C2:
l\ = ka ?I3n loia 7t5n3 l6nz lrns

Table3: valuesof rhe constantsin Eos.(6)- (13). ia ^v . o^u^

lJ

Conslanl Value Constant Value !

k1 0.596 n1 - 0.013 { o.ss
k2 0.584 o2 - 0.078
=
4 0.640 r13 0.012
U
kA 0.627 n4
f
0.035
kq 0.165 n5 - 0.163
k6 0.162 n6 0 . 0 13
k, 0.178 t17 - 0.055 0.45 0.50 0.55 0.60 0.65 0.70

ka 0.174 t1s 0.420 MeasuredPacking Density

Xl = 9.0: X2 = 0.46: ano X3 = 0.80,

610
I Dulk i':ru-e 1' No 3 Auo;s. '391
iol|.lg Cool Stoclrplle Bulk Denslty l
i lr|taaatf

5. Evaluation of the Packing Density

of an Industrial Stockpile
5.1 Mathematical Treatment
Fromthe foregorngdiscussion, it is clearthat the modelexperr-
ment weil representsreality.Therefore,the resultantinforma- v
tion as far as the principalvariablesaffectingthe bulk densityoi o 1.1
a
coal stockprieare concerned may be used with confidenc-.. odo oo
o
E o, .ooooo o -o
However,srnce the model experimentwas carriedout und,)r
a o ooo
simplrfied conditions.it is not expectedthat it can accountfor oo ooo o
atl the possiblepeninentvanables.This point of view has also 6
been made clear by the significantdifferencein the absolute
packing density values between the model and industrial
stockprleresults.On the other hand, as the modelequations
have already been formulated,jt seems sensibleto modify
them so as to makethem applicable to the reaisituations.
This
can be made according to the so-calledscaling law in the
model theory[7. 8]. Thus, Eq. (2),if expressedin termsof di- 20 30
mensionlessnumbers.can be writtenas
Stockpile Number
n, = f (lr3.r!1,r!.. n5,nr. otherdimensronless
numbers) (15)
Eq. (15)may be rewrittenas [7] F'g 1' FesurtssuooonrngK conslancvassumolton

r. = f(wztts,wa fta,w< Tt5,w5na,w, nzl (16)

where
q7 = f (otherdimensionless
numbers) (t= 3, 4, ...,7)
0.90
For a given coal loader where the operatingconditionsare
fixedwithin narrowlimits,the coefficientscan be reasonablyre- .= a
a
gardedas constant.ln this case. referringto the form of Eq. (5)
x
f; o.es o o
used in the presentInvestigation,the actualpackingdensityof o o
o
an industrialstockpiiewas obtainedsuchthat: ! e o
^ o
I 0.80 a
[lIiacluai- k w.a wa' w5' w6" w7" ,i13" 7t.o 15" noo na" I
ta
a
- -6e a a
l( a
\117\
,'/
? n7E
wherer.rooe'can be calculatedby Eqs.(6)- (13)as discussed 3 aa a l r
U
above.and the constantK rs referredto as a modifierwhich re-
flectsthe effectsof all the other dimensionless
numbers,which 0.70 a Elongatsd Slockpilo
may have been unknowinglyignored or not realisedin the o Blended Stockprle
rnooelexpenment.
0.70 0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95
5.2 Validity of the Model Equation
MeasurcdPacking Density
Two types of stockpiles,as they are commonlyused rn indus-
Iry,were investrgated.
namely.stockpiles Fig. 12: Compansonbetweenthe predtcteoano measuredpacktngoensttres
1. lor lndustnalstockptles
stackedby the stepping(elongated)
method
2. stackedby the blendingmethod. Finally,the experimentalrangeof each dimensionlessnumber
given in Table 1 should be noted.lt is not recommendedthat
The bulk densitiesof a large number of these coal stockpiles the model equationsbe appliedto the situationwhere the val-
were rnvestigated. The measureddata were used to verifythe ue of any one of the dimensionless
numbersis out of the range
presentapproachexpressedin Eq. (17). As shownin Fig. 11,
of the correspondingdimensionless numberso as to avoidex-
the relatrvevalue of modifierK for the two stockprletypes in- trapolation.Furthermore,the determination of the valueof the
vestrgatedcan be reasonablyregardedas constant.However,
modiflerK shouldcoincidewith the packingconditionsand the
accordingto the abovediscussion,the valueof the modifierfor measurementmethodsin a coal loader.
drfferentcoal loadersmay be differentfrom each other and it
can only be determined in situ, as has been done in the
presentstudy.
6. Discussion and Gonclusions
As snown in Fig. 12, there is a very good correlationbetween
the predictedand measuredresults.In fact, for the stockpile Variousstandardprocedureshave been proposedin the past
:'oes rnvestigatedthe packing density is well within 5-7% of by StandardAssociatronssuch as lSO, DlN, ASTM, BSS etc.
:"e rneasuredpackingdensity.This.as noted in
[1], is within for the determinationof the bulk densityof a coal undervarious
l^e e..or of measurementitself.Therefore.the differencein the conditjons.However,it shouldbe noted that the bulk density
acsc "te packing density values between the model experi- determinedby such a standardmethodis not the bulk density
rrell and industrialstockpilesystemscan be reasonablyac-
of that coal in a stockpile.Nevertheless,
it is often used for this
counieofor with a constant modifierand the presentmethod purpose - frequently with costly consequences when a
'or esi rnatrng
the bulk densityof a coal stockpilemay be used shortfallor an excess of a coal or the ship loadinghas to be
geie.artyn coal industry. corrected.

611
 vorume
11,No.3,August
1991 S!:E
Hht

On the other hand, rt rs likelythat the buik densityof a coal in a berrvellestimatedby the modelthoughthe valueof the modifi-
stockpileis not the bulk densityof that coat deierminedon a er for a coal loadermust be evaluate-d
sampleof that coal - no matterhow representative rn sltu. Thrsmethodolo_
the samole gy, as it can estimatethe bulk density more reliably
is, nor how largert is. than the
currentlyused methods,ls suggestedto be used generallyin
The reasonfor the above may be best understoodbv the defi_ the coal industry.
nitionsInvolved.namely,
"Bulk
densrtyof coai is the ratioof the massof a collectionof
discreteparticlesto the volumewhich it occupies,,lgl. Acknowledgements
and The assistanceof the Departnrentof primary Industriesand
"Collection- Energyrn providing_ fundsthrougha NERDDpgrant ,s gratefully
a number of oblects collectedor gatheredto_
gether,viewed as a whole' [10]. acknowledged.A.B. yu wouldalso tiketo thani CSlRdfor pro'_
vrdinga postdoctoralfellowshp.
In otherwords, the bulk densityof a coal stockpilemust always
be determinedin situ and in whole.Sincethe packingdensrty
and bulk densrtyof a stockpileof coal is affectedb! a targe
numberof variables,it is almost impossibleto developsucfia
References
standardprocedure for the determrnation of the bulk density.
This is particulariytrue if the fact that there is no standard t1l Standrsh,N.: The Bulk Densrtyof AustralianExportCoal;
method.of stackinga coal stockpilein industryis taken into ac_ NERDDPReportpN 1292,1990.
count.As a matter of fact, the stackingmethodsused in indus- t2l StandrSh,N., yu, A.B. and He, e.L: An Experimental
trialcoal loadersare usuallydifferentfrom eachother. Study of the Packingof a Coal Heap; powder Technol.,
'lowever, (rnprint).
it is difficultor impracticalif measurementrs to be
carned out each time a stockpile is made, or more coal is t3l Allen, T.: ParticleSize Measurement;3rd ed., Chapman
stackedonto it. lt is much more convenientand cheaperif the and Hall,London,i 981.
bulk densityof a coal stockpilecan be calculatedwithoutmuch
packingof Solid particles;
troubleor a need for some specialinput parameters.Addition_ t4l Gray, W.A.:The Chapmanand
ally, the value of the bulk densityso obtainedmusr oe accu_ Hall,
London, 1968.
rate. tsl Yu,A.B. and Standlsh,N.: A Study of particleSize Distri_
It is consideredthat the presentempiricallyestablishedmathe_ butions;PowderTechnol., Vot.62 (1990),pp. 101-11g.
maticalmodel does meet the aboveneedsvery well.The rea- t6l Smitham, J.B.: A Study of the Benefitsof Drying
sonsfor thrs conclusionare: - Coal in
Australia;NERDDPReport,No. 83/3247, 1993.
1. The model has been formulatedon soundtheorettcalpnn_ l7l Li, Z.: DimensionalAnalysisand Theory of Modets;Na_
ciples. tionalDefenceIndustrypress,Beijing,1992,(inChinese).
2. The mathematicalmodel does not containanv assumed t8l Boure, J.A.: A Method to Develop SimilarrtyLaws for
parametersor hypotheticalvalues. Two-PhaseFlows;ASMEpaper,7O-HT-25,1g7O.
3. All the parametersin the modelare measurablein practice Australian Standard 24 1g: Glossary
and, except for particle density, are alreadv routinelv
l9l of Terms, part | _
'standard
TermsRelatingto Cod preparation; Association
measuredfor each stockpile. of Australia,Sydney,1990.
The results presented in the paper clearly indicatethat the
packingdensity and bulk densityof an industrialstockpile [10] The Oxford^EnglishDictionary,Vot.3, Ctarendonpress,
can London,1989.

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