Abstract
The tensile strength and other parameters of wet fine coal with various water contents were determined by tensile breakup and direct shearing tests, in which the period of aging after increasing the water content was also varied. On the basiss of the results obtained, the flowability of wet fine coal was evaluated.
The tensile strength of wet fine coal in the pendular to funicular states increased with an increase of water content. However, in a mixture of funicular and capillary states the tensile strength either stayed almost constant or decreased after reaching a maximum value. The flowability of wet fine coal (wet powders) may be better evaluated by the tensile strength and shearing force rather than the internal friction factor. This implies that the higher the tensile strength and shearing force increase, the more the flowability is reduced. Furthermore, the prolongation of the aging period improves the flowability of wet fine coal, because the tensile strength is reduced by penetration of water into the coal particles.
