Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
Abstract
The aim of the project was to experimentally determine the
coefficient of restitution, and static and rolling friction of Eskomgrade
coal for discrete element modelling (DEM). These parameters
will be used in further DEM studies to simulate the flow and
behaviour of coal during conveyance. For the simulation to yield
realistic results, the parameters for the different coal shapes
identified in the samples were determined. DEM uses spherical
particles, and it was found that the difference between the DEM
default parameters and those measured is significantly different, by
as much as 97%, which illustrates the importance of experimentally
determining these parameters. The spherical particles in DEM can be
used to construct the various coal shapes identified, and the
parameters measured can be used to simulate realistic results. The
conveyance system can then be optimized accordingly.The author would like to thank Anglo American Thermal
Coal’s Navigation coal processing plant and Exxaro’s Inyanda
coal mine for providing the coal samples, the University of
Pretoria for all the support, and Dr Naudé for her supervisionhttp://www.saimm.co.za/am2014ai201
