Experimental Study of Micronized Coal/Water Slurry Rheology at High Shear Rates

Abstract

The rheological behavior of four micronized coal water slurry (CWS) samples was studied experimentally for a wide range of shear rates between 3 and 30,000 s−1. The systematic rheological characterization of the slurry fuel shows that the rheological behavior of these CWS is very complex and depends on coal particle size, temperature, coal loading, conditioning additives, and the capillary tube diameter as well as the shear rate. This study indicates that better appreciation of the unique and complex rheological behavior of non-Newtonian CWS fuels is vital to developing high-quality slurries suitable for use in coal-fired diesel engines, and suggests that a more comprehensive data base for CWS rheology under actual diesel engine operating conditions is needed prior to using such CWS fuels in diesel engines.