Wear 249 (2002) 914923

Wear of coal logs in pipe

S.M. Merayyan a, , H. Liu b
a

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Wayne State University, 2335 Engineering Building, 5050 Anthony Wayne Dr., Detroit, MI 48201, USA b Capsule Pipeline Research Center, College of Engineering, University of Missouri-Columbia, E2421 Engineering Building East, Columbia, MO 65211-2200, USA Received 27 August 2000; received in revised form 5 January 2001; accepted 4 July 2001

Abstract The wear characteristics of small (49 mm diameter) coal logs (i.e. compacted coal cylinders) having an approximate length of 76 mm were tested in a steel pipe in the laboratory. For each individual test, three identical coal logs were compacted from the same batch of materials under the same compaction conditions. Six factors that affect coal log wear were varied in the tests, one at a time, to assess their individual effects. These factors include: coal type, binder concentration, coal log diameter, compaction temperature, water pressure encountered by coal logs, and pipe interior roughness. The results showed that logs made of subbituminous coal were more resistant to abrasion than logs made of bituminous coal. The addition of 0.5 wt.% binder to coal mixture made logs six times more wear resistant than binderless logs. Coal logs prepared with larger diameter ratio and tested at lift-off velocity performed better than smaller diameter-ratio logs tested at the same velocity. Lift-off velocity is the minimum mean velocity of the uid (water) at which the coal logs are completely suspended (levitated) by the ow in the pipe. An optimal compaction temperature of the order 80 C resulted in more wear-resistant logs than the other compaction temperatures tested. Testing coal logs in a pressurized pipe resulted in more durable and less abrasive coal logs. Finally, coal logs tested in a rough pipe encountered more wear than coal logs tested in a smooth pipe. The results of this study suggest that coal can be compacted at coal mines into strong cylinders (logs) for transportation to power plants by using large-diameter underground steel pipelines. 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Coal logs; Coal log pipeline; Friction; Wear

1. Introduction It has been demonstrated in recent years, that with either heating or a small amount of binder, crushed coal such as that exists in coal preparation plants at coal mines can be compacted into strong solid cylinders called coal logs for transport via a water-lled pipeline to a coal-red power plant [18]. Upon leaving the pipeline at the power plant, the logs can be crushed and then burned for power generation. This new pipeline technology for transporting coal, called coal log pipeline, (CLP) has several advantages over the conventional coal slurry pipeline. They include: larger solid throughput, less water use, more economical, and much easier to dewater the coal [68]. Since 1991, the CLP technology has been undergoing intensive research and development at Capsule Pipeline Research Center, University of Missouri-Columbia [112]. Currently, a pilot plant CLP is being built in Columbia, MO, to demonstrate and

Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-313-577-3847; fax: +1-313-577-3881. E-mail address: smerayyan@ce.eng.wayne.edu (S.M. Merayyan).

test a large system of CLP in order to ready this emerging technology for commercial use. An important concern in CLP is the wear (abrasion) of coal logs in the pipe. Successful operation of CLP mandates that coal logs must be durable and wear-resistant during transportation through pipelines. Therefore, the study of the means of minimizing the wear of coal logs in pipelines is of great importance. In addition, minimizing the wear of coal logs by using optimum ow velocity (i.e. lift-off velocity), and appropriate log diameter also results in less damage to pipelines since the two are caused by the same mechanism (i.e. soild-to-soild contacts between logs and pipe). An initial laboratory study by Cheng [10] on the wear of coal logs showed that the wear of coal logs during hydrotransport through pipelines is affected by more than 30 factors. They include: the compaction process to produce durable logs, the coals chemical and physical properties, the addition of binder to the coal mixture, the pipeline material (steel or plastic), etc. A eld test in an existing 8 km long commercial pipeline having an inside diameter of 144 mm was also conducted in Conway, KS. In this eld test, large (137 mm) diameter coal logs were transported through the

0043-1648/01/$ see front matter 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 0 4 3 - 1 6 4 8 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 8 2 8 - 6

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length of the pipeline [11]. The best (strongest) coal logs lost less than 1 wt.% [11]. The current investigation focuses on the compaction characteristic of coal logs and laboratory testing factors impacting the wear of coal logs. More specically, the study focused on six factors that affect strongly the wear of coal logs: coal type, binder concentration, coal log diameter, compaction temperature, water pressure in pipe, and pipe interior roughness. The test methods and results are described in the ensuing sections; more details can be found in [12].

2. Experimental setup 2.1. Test apparatus Coal logs were prepared by placing a uniform mixture of coal particles, binder, and water inside a cylindrical mold (die). The mold had an i.d. of 48.5 mm, and a length of 254 mm. It was made of two half-cylinders coupled together by bolts the split mold. The inner surface of the mold was chrome-plated to prevent coal logs from sticking to the mold interior and to ensure a smooth and abrasion-resistant surface. An electric band heater was attached to the outside surface of the mold for heating purpose. A digital thermostat controlled the temperature of the band heater. Coal was heated inside the mold prior to compaction in order to produce stronger logs, as was demonstrated in a previous study [10]. The conguration of the compaction mold is shown in Fig. 1.

Two pistons (punches), entering from the opposite ends of the mold, were used to compact the coal mixture into coal logs. The pistons were driven by a hydraulic press. During compaction, the mold was oating suspended by chains. The compaction force on both pistons was equal, achieving double-ended compaction even though only one piston is moving during compaction. Upon compaction, the two halves of the mold were opened and the compacted log was removed from the mold. The wear behavior and quality of the coal logs were tested by circulating the logs in a closed loop of pipe made of galvanized steel. The loop had a total length of 23.3 m and a pipe diameter of 55 mm. The oval-shaped loop is shown in Fig. 2. The pipe loop consisted of several major parts. They are briey described as follows. (1) A jet pump to recirculate the water and the coal logs through the pipe loop. The jet pump was of the annular jet type that does not have any solid part protruding inside the pipe and, hence, does not impede coal logs moving through the jet pump. (2) A low-head reservoir to facilitate the insertion and removal of coal logs during the wear test, and to maintain a constant head (pressure). (3) A short Plexiglas pipe section to monitor the movement of the coal logs through the pipe loop. (4) An acoustic ow meter in the test section (Fig. 2) of the pipe loop to determine the ow rate (discharge) and velocity of the water in the pipe. (5) A heat exchanger around a section of the pipe to maintain a constant temperature of the circulating water during the wear test. Prior to testing the coal logs in the pipe, the logs were immersed in water in a set of high-pressure cells as shown

Fig. 1. Compaction mold (prole).

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Fig. 2. Top view of the 55-mm steel pipe loop used for testing coal log wear.

in Fig. 3. When pressurized, the water pressure in the cells reached 3.45 MPa. This caused rapid saturation of coal logs in water. Thus, when logs were circulated through the pipe in the wear test, they would not absorb additional water. This procedure allowed a simple and accurate determination

of the wear based on the weight loss of coal logs in the wear test. The amount of wear was determined from the logs initial weight before the wear test minus the logs weight after many cycles through the loop. If the logs were not presaturated prior to wear tests, both the weight loss of the logs due

Fig. 3. Water absorption test apparatus.

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to wear and water absorption would affect the weight of the logs, making it impossible to determine wear from weight change with time. 2.2. Test materials and procedures In two of the tests, namely the coal-typeeffect test and the compactiontemperatureeffect test, both the Antelope and Mettiki coals were used. For the rest of the tests, only Antelope coal is used. The Antelope coal was obtained from the Antelope mine of the Powder River Basin (PRB) in Wyoming. The Mettiki coal was obtained from the Mettiki mine in Maryland. The former is subbituminous lowsulfur coal, while the latter is bituminous. To achieve the desired coal particle size distribution, the test coal was crushed using a ball mill and then separated into several particle size ranges using a set of standard US sieves. The sieves were stacked in a vertical array, starting with the largest mesh size (30 mesh) on the top, to the smallest size (200 mesh) on the bottom, with a pan underneath the sieves to collect all the coal that passed through the 200 mesh sieve. Coal particles retained on each sieve were collected and stored in an airtight container to prevent changes in the coal properties before testing. For each test, coal particles from different size groups were mixed together to form a coal mixture having maximum packing density. Previous studies [1012] have demonstrated that this particle size distribution (i.e. maximum packing density) was the best for producing wearresistant and waterresistant coal logs. Table 1 shows the coal particle size distribution used in this study that approximates the maximum packing density. The moisture content of the coal mixture was determined using a moisture content balance. A watersoluble binder (03% depending on the test) was added to the coal particles. The binder was diluted in water before it was mixed

Table 1 Coal particle size distribution used Mesh size range 3050 50100 100200 200-pan Percent of weight retained (%) 29.3 20.6 14.8 35.3 Cumulative weight retained (%) 29.3 49.9 64.7 100.0

with the coal in order to facilitate mixing. The binder used was Orimulsion, which is a bitumen emulsion in water containing 70 wt.% bitumen and 30 wt.% water. Therefore, for a coal log that contains 3 wt.% Orimulsion, the binder (bitumen) contained is actually only 2.1%. After the binder was uniformly mixed with the coal, the moisture content of the mixture was redetermined. The mixture (i.e. coal particles, binder, and water) was then fed into a preheated mold (die) and kept there until the molds temperature reached the preselected temperature depending on the test conditions. The heated mixture was then compacted in the mold (die) by the two well-aligned vertical pistons (punches), one on each end of the mold. The pistons, driven by the hydraulic press, generate up to 30 t of force on each end of the coal log. This enabled the creation of a maximum compaction pressure of 138 MPa. The heating-compaction cycle diagram is given in Fig. 4. After compaction, the electrical band heater was turned off and the mold was allowed to cool down to 32 C before it was opened to remove the coal log. The log removed from the mold was measured for its diameter, length, and weight. The log was then stored in an airtight plastic bag. Two additional logs were compacted in a similar manner. The three logs were then placed in a water absorption cells (see Fig. 3) for the water absorption

Fig. 4. Typical compaction process used in this study (note: both the loading and unloading time are 7 min and 40 s, when Pmax is 138 MPa, and half of this time when Pmax is half).

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test. The logs remained in the cells for an hour at a pressure of 3.45 MPa to ensure saturation. The logs weight, length, and diameter were then remeasured to determine changes due to water absorption. Finally, the logs were soaked in a shallow pan of water under atmospheric pressure for 24 h. This allowed the logs to remain saturated under atmospheric pressure before testing in the pipe. The wear tests were conducted in the 55 mm diameter pipe loop (see Fig. 2), with three identical logs (specimens) circulated through the pipe in any given test run. The three logs were placed at a distance of about 1 m apart in the pipe to minimize any interference between the individual logs, and to test their behavior independently. The amount of wear of each log was determined by weighing each log before and after circulation in the pipe, and assuming no further water absorption during the wear test. Each log was periodically removed from the pipe loop (through the reservoir) for weighing, and then returned into the pipe loop to continue the test. Periodical measurements of the logs weight allowed the determination of the logs weight loss as a function of time (or as a function of the number of cycles) through the pipe loop. Unless otherwise mentioned, the logs were circulated through the pipe at the lift-off velocity VL [13] VL = 7.2 (S 1)ga k(1 k 2 )D (1)

the coal logs are completely suspended (levitated) by the ow in the pipe. Previous studies [4,7,911] showed that as the uid (water) velocity in the pipe reaches the lift-off velocity, coal logs become waterborne or suspended in the pipe in a nose-up (rising) position. This causes the leading end of logs to be totally suspended in water, while the tail end of logs will contact the pipe oor with minimal force. In this state, coal logs rotate freely about their own axis, causing some minor uniform wear of the edges of the tail end of coal logs. Testing coal logs at velocities above the lift-off causes excessive wear, since the strong turbulence in the pipe causes logs to vibrate violently and to have frequent contacts with the pipe walls. Therefore, in future commercial pipelines, the operation velocity should be at lift-off or slightly lower than the lift-off to minimize the wear of coal logs and to reduce the head loss in pipe.

3. Test results 3.1. Diameter ratio effect Two sets of coal logs with three in each set were compacted for this test. Three logs were compacted at a diameter ratio, k, of 0.824, and another three logs at k value equals to 0.897. Both sets of coal logs were made of Antelope coal, similar percentage of binder (3% Orimulsion or 2.1% bitumen) added, and compacted at the same pressure (138 MPa) and temperature (97 C). Each set of three logs was separately tested in the pipe loop at lift-off velocity. The test results are shown in Fig. 5. The vertical bar in Fig. 5 for

where S is the specic gravity of the logs, g the acceleration of gravity, a the aspect ratio which is the length of the log divided by the diameter of the log, k the diameter ratio which is the coal log diameter divided by the pipe inner diameter, and D the pipe inner diameter. Note that the lift-off velocity is the minimum mean velocity of the uid (water) at which

Fig. 5. Diameter ratio effect on wear of coal logs made of Antelope coal. All logs were compacted at 97 C and 138 MPa, and tested at lift-off velocity (note: each error bar represents 1 S.D. based on three specimens).

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Fig. 6. Water pressure effect on wear of coal logs made of Antelope coal. All logs were compacted at 97 C and 69 MPa (note: each error bar represents 1 S.D. based on three specimens).

each data point represents the standard deviation of the three specimens tested. It can be seen from Fig. 5, that the larger diameter ratio logs suffered signicantly less wear than the smaller diameter ratio logs. This is due to the smaller lift-off velocity of the larger logs as calculated from Eq. (1). The larger diameter logs lost less than 1 wt.% after 1000 cycles (equivalent to 23 km) in the pipe loop.

3.2. Water pressure effect Identically compacted coal logs (Antelope coal, 97 C, and 69 MPa) were subjected to three different water pressures in the water absorption tests: 3.45, 6.90, and 10.3 MPa. The logs were then circulated in the pipe loop to determine their wear resistance. Fig. 6 shows that the logs subjected to higher water pressure performed better (had less wear) than

Fig. 7. Binder concentration effect on wear of coal logs made of Antelope coal. All logs were compacted at 97 C and 69 MPa, and tested at lift-off velocity = 1.42 m/s (note: each error bar represents 1 S.D. based on three specimens).

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those subjected to lower water pressure. This means that immersing logs in water at high pressure before the wear test has a benecial effect on logs, making them stronger and more wear resistant. This implies that the high water pressure encountered in future commercial long-distance coal log pipelines will have a benecial instead of detrimental effect on coal log wear. Higher water pressure results in stronger logs because of the further compaction of logs by the water pressure. 3.3. Binder effect

interiors and joints condition on the wear of coal logs, a new steel pipe loop was constructed. The new pipe loop was identical to the 55 mm old pipe loop used in the previous tests. Two sets of three duplicate coal logs (Antelope, 97 C, and 69 MPa) were prepared for this test. Three coal logs were tested in each pipe loop (i.e. old and new loops). Fig. 8 shows that logs tested in the new loop encountered three times more weight loss than logs tested in the old loop. This is due to the fact that the new loop had rougher interiors and joints. 3.5. Coal type effect

Coal logs were compacted under identical conditions (Antelope coal, 97 C, and 69 MPa). In this test, the amount of binder added to the coal mixture was varied. Three binder concentrations were used: 0, 0.5, 1, and 2%. Fig. 7 presents the binder tests results. The addition of 0.5% binder to the coal mixture drastically improved the wear-resistant of the logs. These logs were six times more resistant to wear than logs made from 0% binder (i.e. binderless logs). However, further increase of binder (bitumen) from 0.5 to 2% resulted in only a minor improvement of logs resistance to wear. Due to the high cost of binder in coal log manufacturing, the results of this test suggest that less than 1% binder maybe sufcient in the production of coal logs in future commercial coal log pipeline. 3.4. Pipe interior roughness effect

Two different coals were used in making coal logs for this test. The Mettiki coal which is a bituminous coal, and Antelope coal which is a subbituminous coal. The two coals have distinctly different chemical and physical properties. The logs made of the two coals were prepared, and compacted under identical conditions (temperature 97 C, and pressure 69 MPa ). Three logs, made of each coal, were then tested in the old pipe loop at identical velocities (1.48 m/s). The results are shown in Fig. 9. It can be seen from Fig. 9, that the PRB (subbituminous) coal suffered less wear than the Mettiki (bituminous) coal. It was reported in a previous study [10], that the strongest PRB coal logs went through the pipe loop 14,000 cycles (equivalent to a distance of 320 km) with only 5% weight loss. 3.6. Compaction temperature effect

The repeated usage of the test pipeline resulted in smoother interiors surface and joints. This caused less wear of the tested coal logs. In order to assess the impact of pipe

In this experiment, both the Antelope and the Mettiki coals were used. Thirty-six coal logs were compacted at a

Fig. 8. Loop effect on wear of coal logs made of Antelope coal. All logs were compacted at 97 C and 138 MPa, and tested at lift-off velocity = 1.43 m/s (note: each error bar represents 1 S.D. based on three specimens).

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Fig. 9. Coal type effect on wear of coal logs. All logs were compacted at 97 C and 69 MPa, and tested at lift-off velocity = 1.48 m/s (note: each error bar represents 1 S.D. based on three specimens).

pressure of 138 MPa and at six different compaction temperatures ranging from 37 to 97 C. Coal logs made of Antelope coal (subbituminous) were compacted and tested rst in the old loop. Three samples or specimens were compacted at each temperature and then tested simultaneously. Upon compaction, the logs were cooled down to 32 C before being subjected to the water absorption test followed by the loop test.

Visual examination of coal logs prior to testing revealed that logs compacted at lower temperatures had more cracks and were, in general, of poorer quality. They also broke prematurely in the wear tests. For instance, the three logs compacted at 37 C broke in the pipe within a few minutes of wear test. The three logs compacted at 47 C lasted between 20 and 166 min. The logs compacted at 57 C broke within 30 min. The logs compacted at 67 C lasted between

Fig. 10. Compaction temperature effect on wear of coal logs made of Antelope coal. All logs were compacted at a pressure of 138 MPa, and tested at lift-off velocity (note: each error bar represents 1 S.D. based on three specimens).

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Fig. 11. Compaction temperature effect on wear of coal logs made of Mittiki coal. All logs were compacted at a pressure of 138 MPa, and tested at lift-off velocity (note: each error bar represents 1 S.D. based on three specimens).

64 and 140 min. Moreover, the logs compacted at 77 C or higher temperatures lasted the whole wear test duration 3 h (790 cycles). As shown in Fig. 10, the higher the compaction temperature, the less wear occurs during circulation. However, the benet of the temperature seems to have peaked at 77 C, as further increase of temperature to 97 C produced about the same degree of wear. This shows that good quality coal logs made of Antelope (subbituminous) coal can be produced at temperature as low as or perhaps even somewhat lower than 77 C. Fig. 10 also indicates that higher compaction temperature resulted in logs with higher lift-off velocities. The higher lift-off velocity is due to the higher density and higher specic gravity of the logs produced at higher temperature. As can be seen from Eq. (1), denser logs result in higher lift-off velocities. A similar set of tests was carried out using Mettiki (bituminous) coal at compaction pressure of 69 MPa, and at temperatures ranging from 23 to 97 C. The results of these tests are shown in Fig. 11. The circulation test period for this set of tests was set at 90 min. In contrast to the Antelope coal logs, none of the Mettiki logs, even those compacted at room temperature (23 C), broke during the 90-min test. This means the Mettiki coal is less sensitive to temperature than Antelope coal in producing wear-resistant coal logs. Still, the logs became stronger (more wear-resistant) when the temperature was higherin the range of 2387 C. However, further increase in temperature, from 87 to 97 C, did not produce signicantly better wear resistance. This means that for Mettiki coal, the optimal compaction temperature that produces good quality coal logs is around 87 C, or 10 C

higher than the optimum temperature for the Antelope coal tested.

4. Conclusions Based on the test results reported herein, the following conclusions can be reached. 1. The diameter of coal logs has a strong inuence on their wear resistance. Increasing the diameter ratio, k, from 0.82 to 0.90 can reduce wear by almost 50%. This is due to increased lift force on logs, and reduced contact friction between logs and the pipe. A larger diameter ratio also results in a lower lift-off velocity, which causes weaker impact with the pipe. However, this result should not be misinterpreted to mean that coal log wear always decreases with an increase in coal log diameter. As the diameter ratio k becomes larger than 0.90 and approaches 1.0, the log diameter becomes very close to the pipe diameter, causing the logs to have more frequent contacts with the pipe which results in increased wear. This has been shown in other experiments not reported herein. 2. Subjecting coal logs to high water pressure in a pipe benets coal logs, making them more wear-resistant. This is due to the fact that the high water pressure acts inward on the outer surface of logs resulting in additional compaction. By increasing the water pressure from 3.45 to 10.3 MPa, logs tested herein encountered about 30%

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3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

less wear. This means that the high water pressure in future commercial long-distance coal log pipelines, of the order of 10 MPa, will help to reduce coal log wear signicantly. As little as 0.5% of bitumen binder in coal logs made of subbituminous coal can increase the wear resistance of logs by as much as six times. This shows the high effectiveness of bitumen binder in enhancing the wear resistance of coal logs. Since bitumen binder also adds to the heating value of the coal, it serves dual purpose. However, further increase of binder concentration from 0.5 to 2% produces only minor improvement of logs resistance to wear. This nding may be due to the relatively short time that logs were circulated in the tests 90 min. Had the logs been circulated for a much longer time, those with less binder might have been broken prematurely, and the benet of more than 0.5% binder would have been evident. The rougher the pipe interior is, the more wear a coal log encounters in the pipe. Therefore, it is essential that future commercial coal log pipelines have a smooth interior and smooth joints. Circulating coal logs repeatedly through a rough pipe makes the pipe smoother and reduces wear as time progresses. The subbituminous coal tested (from Antelope mine in Wyoming) made stronger coal logs than those from bituminous coal (from Mettiki mine in Maryland) under the same conditions. However, this is true only for coal compacted at elevated temperatures (97 C in this case). For logs being compacted at low or room temperatures, the opposite holds. This shows that different types of coal require different compaction procedures in order to produce good-quality (wear-resistant) logs. Compaction temperature has a profound effect on coal logs quality. Generally, higher temperatures produce stronger (more wear-resistant) logs. However, the benet of temperature diminishes as the temperature exceeds a critical value, which varies somewhat with the type of coal. For bituminous coal, this critical temperature is around 87 C, whereas for subbituminous coal it is about 77, or 10 C less. This difference may have something to do with the difference in the softening points of the natural binders contained in different coals. Many other factors are known to have a profound effect on the quality or wear-resistance of coal logs, but they are not within the scope of this study. These factors include pipeline materials, uid velocity, coal log lengthto-diameter ratios, compaction pressure, coal particle

size distributions, etc. The effects of these factors on coal log wear are reported in other publications [1012]. Acknowledgements This study was sponsored by the Capsule Pipeline Research Center, University of Missouri-Columbia, which in turn received its research funding from the National Science Foundation (Education and Center Division), Missouri Department of Economic Development, US Department of Energy (Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center), and an industry consortium of more than 20 companies interested in the development of the coal log pipeline technology. References
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