Physical Characteristics of Densified Refuse Derived Fuel and Their Impact on Flow Properties.

Abstract

This project was performed to determine which properties of densified refuse derived fuel (dRDF) have a significant impact on its flow characteristics within bins, hoppers, and silos. The properties of moisture content, size distribution, and fines content were investigated. Flow characteristics were evaluated in terms of funnel angle and bulk shear strength. This analysis showed that flow angle was the most sensitive characteristic for indicating how easily a material flows. Although the test plan did not include using bulk density as a flow characteristic, an analysis showed a correlation between bulk density and funnel angle. However, ease of flow is more sensitive to funnel angle than to bulk density. No useful relationship between bulk shear strength and flow angle was observed. Therefore, bulk shear strength should not be used to evaluate the effects of dRDF flow properties. Since funnel angle best indicates how much material will flow through a hopper, each dRDF property was evaluated in terms of its effect on funnel angle. Of the properties investigated, the amount of fines in the ample was found to have the greatest effect on funnel angle. As the amount of fines was increased from 0 to 30%, the funnel angle increased steadily. Moisture content showed less influence, with results indicating that increasing moisture increased flow angle. It was also observed that moisture content may permanently affect a sample's flow capabilities. Therefore, the moisture history of the dRDF may directly affect its flow capability. No significant effect on funnel angle could be associated with the size distribution of the pellets except for fines content. (Author)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 1982
Accession Number
ADA116392

Entities

People

  • Anslie N. Collishaw
  • Ned J. Kleinhenz
  • Richard J. Singer

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Biomedical
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Compressive Strength
  • Computer Science
  • Engineering
  • Engineers
  • Fuels
  • Geography
  • Materials
  • Measurement
  • Mechanics
  • Modulus Of Elasticity
  • Moisture Content
  • Particle Size
  • Physical Properties
  • Regression Analysis
  • Shear Strength
  • Shear Tests
  • Test Fixtures

Fields of Study

  • Agricultural and Food sciences

Readers

  • Explosive Engineering.
  • Fluid Dynamics.
  • Reinforced Composite Materials