Powder Technology 284 (2015) 218224

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Powder Technology

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Transportability and pressure drop of fresh cemented coal gangue-y ash

backll (CGFB) slurry in pipe loop
Di Wu a,b,, Baogui Yang a, Yucheng Liu a
a
Department of Mining Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology-Beijing, Beijing, China
b
State Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Cemented coal gangue-y ash backll (CGFB) mixtures are utilized as the lling materials for backlling the un-
Received 5 October 2014 derground openings in coal mines, and the freshly prepared CGFB slurries are commonly transported into the
Received in revised form 25 May 2015 gobs through a pipeline. Thus the pipeline transportation of the CGFB slurry becomes one of the most important
Accepted 30 June 2015
issues. With the help of a pipe loop system built in laboratory, this paper carries out an experimental study on the
Available online 8 July 2015
transportability and pressure drop of the CGFB slurry through the loop pipe. The effects of solids concentration
Keywords:
as well as ratios of coal gangue to y ash, y ash to Portland cement and coal gangue to Portland cement on
Cemented coal gangue-y ash backll the pressure drop of the loop pipe ow of the fresh CGFB slurry samples are respectively revealed and discussed.
Slurry The results show that the solid contents and the mix proportions of the coal gangue, y ash and cement have a
Transportability signicant impact on the transportability and pressure drop of the CGFB slurry in the pipe loop. The obtained
Pressure drop results in this study can provide guidance for designing and preparing practical CGFB slurries with favorable
Pipe loop transportability, satisfying the required pressure drop through the pipeline.
2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction the coal-related industry. Coal is combusted in power plants to generate

In China, underground coal mines account for about 95% of total coal
production [1]. In 2008, China had displaced the United States as the
biggest producer and consumer of coal in the world [1]. On the one
hand, underground coal mining indeed contributes a signicant amount
of coal resource. But on the other hand, the underground coal mining
activity also produces a lot of mined-out gobs and solid wastes. The
existence of the gobs may cause instability of the mining workplace
and ground subsidence [2]. The main solid wastes from coal mines are
coal gangues, and they are traditionally disposed aboveground and
stockpiled in waste dumps [1,3]. This treatment not only occupies
much land, but also brings about serious environmental and social prob-
lems, such as the following[1,46]:
Spontaneous combustion of the waste dump causes air pollution or
even personal injuries.
Groundwater may be contaminated by the poisonous substance
contained in the waste.
Landslide of the waste dump may result in personal and property losses.
In comparison with the coal gangue which directly comes from coal
mining, y ash, which is also a kind of solid wastes, is generated from
Corresponding author at: Department of Mining Engineering, China University of
Mining and Technology-Beijing, Beijing, China. Tel.: +86 18710162586.
E-mail address: ustb_wudi@hotmail.com (D. Wu).
electricity, and y ash is the by-product from coal burning. The dis-
charge of y ash on land is also a hazard to the environment (e.g., dust
pollution).
However, by backlling these solid wastes (i.e., coal gangue and y
ash) into the mined-out openings, the problems mentioned above
may possibly be solved. In order to availably control the land subsi-
dence, the backlled materials are required to be self-standing and sta-
ble. Hence, the coal gangue and y ash are mixed with binder and water
to prepare a composite material, which is named as cemented coal
gangue-y ash backll (CGFB) slurry. Generally, the fresh CGFB slurry
is prepared aboveground and then transported through a pipeline to
underground by pumping. Fig. 1 schematically demonstrates the pipe-
line transportation of the CGFB slurry for coal mine backll. Once placed,
the plastic CGFB slurry begins to harden, due to the fact that the binder
reacts with water, generating hydration products to bond the aggregate.
After a given time, the hardened CGFB structure, which has already pos-
sessed certain strength, can support the overlying strata and thereby
prevent the surface land from settling.
Before the CGFB slurry is placed underground, the delivery of the
CGFB slurry is a crucial step needs to be concerned. It is certainly expect-
ed to transfer the CGFB slurry into the designated gobs efciently, with-
out the occurrence of pipe clogging. This requires that the CGFB slurry
have uent transportability. Additionally, in practice, it is also expected
that the transportation of the CGFB slurry is cost-effective. Hence, an
appropriate pumping pressure should be selected. An overly high
pumping pressure is associated with the waste of energy and the

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2015.06.072
0032-5910/ 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
 D. Wu et al. / Powder Technology 284 (2015) 218224 219

Pump Table 2
Mixer Ground surface Particle size compositions of the coal gangue and y ash used in the tests.

Element D10 (m) D30 (m) D50 (m) D60 (m) D90 (m)

Coal gangue 204.722 856.589 1952.857 2736.752 6634.312

Main roof Fly ash 10.779 43.826 82.471 112.358 400.008

Immediate roof Caved zone factors affect the pressure drop of the CGFB slurry in the pipeline. Al-
though Yang et al. [20] have considered the inuence of the internal fac-
Coal seam CGFB tors on the CGFB slurry, they have only illustrated the effect of y ash
dosage on the pressure drop of the CGFB slurry through the pipeline,
Pipeline Hydraulic support but some other factors like solids concentration and mix proportion
have not been taken into account in their study. For this reason, a pipe
loop test is conducted in the present study to investigate the transport-
Fig. 1. Pipeline transportation of the CGFB for coal mine backll.
ability and pressure drop of the CGFB slurry, and an attempt has been
made to reveal the effects of mix proportion and solids content on the
pressure drop evolution of the CGFB slurry in the pipe. The purpose of
increase of cost. On the contrary, a too low pumping pressure may not
this study aims to provide information for practical design, preparation,
overcome the pressure drop through the pipeline to pump the CGFB
and transportation of the CGFB slurry, as well as for layout of the CGFB
slurry to the destination. As a result, it is essential to understand the
slurry backll system.
transportability and pressure drop of the CGFB slurry through the
pipeline.
Several studies have been conducted on the pipeline transportability
and pressure drop of various slurries. Cooke and Lazarous [7] have ana-
lyzed the pipeline transportability of dense phase tailings slurries for
gold mine backll. Some other studies [810] have been conducted to
focus on the rheology of tailings slurries. The objects of these studies
are all tailings slurries; therefore, the obtained results are not applicable
to the CGFB slurries in the current study. Kumar et al. [11] have conduct-
ed a research to investigate the effect of particle gradation on pressure
drop of ash slurries in the pipeline, and a model has been proposed in
their study to predict the pressure drop and solids distribution of the
slurries. Knezevic and Kolonja [12] have revealed the inuence of ash
concentration on the pressure drop of ash slurries through pipeline
transportation. Senapati and Mishra [13] have developed a non-
Newtonian pseudo-plastic power law head loss model to predict the
pressure drop of ash slurries through pipeline transportation. Yang
[14] has analyzed the pressure drop of highly concentrated coal ash
slurries in loop pipe. Verma et al. [15] have investigated the rheological
behavior of highly concentrated y ash slurries. Although the aforemen-
tioned studies on ash slurries have achieved important results, these re-
sults cannot directly apply to the CGFB slurries, since the ash slurries are
essentially different from the CGFB slurries in terms of material compo- (a) Coal gangue
sition. There have been very few studies on the CGFB slurries. Zhang and
Wang [16] have carried out a slump test to evaluate the uidity of the
CGFB slurries. Although Wang et al. [17] and Zhang et al. [18] have con-
ducted a study on the pipeline transportation of the CGFB slurries for
coal mine backll, but they have not discussed the pressure drop of
the CGFB slurries. The transportability and pressure drop of the CGFB
slurry vary, depending on two factors. One is the external factor, such
as the roughness of the pipe inner wall, the pipe diameter and the
pumping pressure. The other is the internal factor for the CGFB slurry it-
self, including the particle size distribution of the constituent materials,
the slurry concentration and the CGFB mix proportion. Wu et al. [19]
have revealed the effects of external factors (pumping pressure, pipe di-
ameter and volumetric ow rate) on the pressure drop of the CGFB slur-
ry through loop pipe. However, they have not shown how the internal

Table 1
Chemical compositions of the coal gangue and y ash used in the tests.

Chemical component Al2O3 SiO2 S K2O CaO TiO2 Fe2O3 Total

(b) Fly ash
Coal gangue (wt.%) 23.43 41.86 3.70 0.82 23.74 1.36 5.09 100
Fly ash (wt.%) 31.89 56.89 0.66 1.39 1.84 1.95 5.38 100
Fig. 2. Particle size distributions of the coal gangue (a) and y ash (b) used.
220 D. Wu et al. / Powder Technology 284 (2015) 218224

Table 3 Table 4
Mix proportions of the fresh CGFB slurry samples. Effect of solids content on TPD and PPD.

Mix proportion (wt.%) Value Mix proportion (wt. %) Solids content TPD PPD
Coal gangue:y ash:Portland cement: (wt.%) (kPa) (kPa)
Coal gangue:y ash:Portland
HPMC:water
cement:HPMC:water
46:20:10:0.05:23.95 76.05 32.16 3.11
Different solids contents 46:20:10:0.05:23.95 76.05 wt.%
47:20:10:0.05:22.95 77.05 32.85 3.42
(or ratios of solid to liquid) 47:20:10:0.05:22.95 77.05 wt.%
48:20:10:0.05:21.95 78.05 33.97 3.87
48:20:10:0.05:21.95 78.05 wt.%
49:20:10:0.05:20.95 79.05 34.78 3.95
49:20:10:0.05:20.95 79.05 wt.%
50:20:10:0.05:19.95 80.05 35.89 4.26
50:20:10:0.05:19.95 80.05 wt.%
Different ratios of coal gangue 40:30:10:0.05:19.95 1.33
to y ash (CG/FA) 45:25:10:0.05:19.95 1.80
50:20:10:0.05:19.95 2.50 distribution of the y ash. The maximum particle size of the coal gangue
55:15:10:0.05:19.95 3.67 (after being crushed) is smaller than 15 mm. The particle size of the coal
Different ratios of y ash to 50:20:10:0.05:19.95 2.00 gangue selected for this study is relatively large. The reason for this se-
Portland cement (FA/PC) 50:21:9:0.05:19.95 2.33
lection is that, increasing the size of the coal gangue particle is benecial
50:22:8:0.05:19.95 2.75
50:23:7:0.05:19.95 3.29 to the decrease of the particle specic surface area and thus the binder
50:24:6:0.05:19.95 4.00 used. The cumulative volume percentage for the y ash particles
Different ratios of coal gangue 50:20:10:0.05:19.95 5.00 under the size of 45 m is determined to be 31.75%. This indicates that
to Portland cement (CG/PC) 51:20:9:0.05:19.95 5.67 the particle size of the y ash used in this study is fairly large [21]. Fly
52:20:8:0.05:19.95 6.50
53:20:7:0.05:19.95 7.57
ash is a pozzolanic material that has no or few cementing properties,
54:20:6:0.05:19.95 9.00 but it can chemically react with calcium hydroxide to form compounds
possessing cementing properties [22]. Hence, y ash is commonly used
as a mineral admixture being mixed with cement to make blended ce-
2. Materials and methods ment. The ner the y ash particles are, the more favorable it is for
them to diffuse and thus participate in the chemical reaction to create
2.1. Materials cementitious products. The accumulation and precipitation of these
products in the CGFB mixture will have a negative impact on the trans-
Coal gangue, y ash, binder and water with different mix propor- portation of the CGFB slurry. For this reason, the y ash with relatively
tions are used to prepare the CGFB slurry specimens. As coarse aggre- large particle size is selected in the present study. Currently, the y
gate, the coal gangue will not react with the water, but act as the ash is used as ne aggregate rather than mineral admixture, aiming to
skeleton in the CGFB mixtures. The coal gangue samples used in this adjust the particle size gradation of the aggregate and thus achieve
study are provided by a coal mine in northwest of China, and the y favorable transportability and workability in the CGFB slurry.
ash samples are obtained from a power plant near the coal mine. Ordi-
nary Portland cement Type I is used as the binder. Tap water is used to 2.2. Preparation of the CGFB slurry
mix the coal gangue, y ash and binder. The chemical compositions of
the coal gangue and y ash samples are both tabulated in Table 1. According to the data in Table 1, contents of Al2O3 and SiO2
The particle size compositions of the coal gangue and y ash samples contained in the coal gangue are respectively 23.43 wt.% and
are listed in Table 2. Furthermore, Fig. 2a shows the particle size distri- 41.68 wt.%, while those in the y ash are separately 31.89 wt.% and
bution of the coal gangue used, and Fig. 2b displays the particle size 56.89 wt.%. It is well known that the participation of Al2O3 and SiO2 in

1-Slurry pump 2- Mixer 3- Slurry tank 4, 5, 6, 7- Pressure taping

8, 9- Differential pressure transducer 10- Observation chamber 11- Electromagnetic flow meter
12- Sampling probe 13- Test valve 14- Drain valve 15- Discharge outlet

Fig. 3. Layout of the test loop system.

 D. Wu et al. / Powder Technology 284 (2015) 218224
Fig. 4. Effect of solids content on p/l of the CGFB slurry through the loop pipe.
the chemical reaction (i.e., cement hydration) contributes to the gener-
ation of ettringite and C-S-H [2325]. These hydration products that
have cementing properties precipitate among the coal gangue particles
and integrate them together. The settlement of these cemented solid
particles is unfavorable to the delivery of the CGFB slurry. Thus in this
study, hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) is added into the slurry
to prevent the sedimentation of the solid particles, and the CGFB slurry
that contains HPMC can thus be regarded as non-settling slurry. The
content of the HPMC admixed is 0.05 wt.% for all the CGFB slurry
samples.
The fresh CGFB slurry samples are prepared by mixing the coal
gangue, y ash, Portland cement Type I, HPMC and water, based on
the designed mix proportions shown in the following Table 3.
2.3. Loop test
The pipeline transportation experiment on the CGFB slurry samples
is carried out on a test loop system. The test loop system is schematically
illustrated in Fig. 3. The length of the whole pipe loop is 35 m, and the
inner diameter of the pipe is 120 mm. The coal gangue, y ash, cement,
HPMC and water are blended in the slurry tank (3 in Fig. 3) by the mixer
(2 in Fig. 3) to form the CGFB slurry. The mixer is kept working all the
time, for maintaining the slurry at homogeneous state. The power for
circulating the CGFB slurry through the loop pipe is supplied by the slur-
ry pump (1 in Fig. 3), which possesses a maximum pumping pressure of
12 MPa and can maximally pump 80 m3 slurry per unit hour. The slurry
volumetric ow rate can be measured by the electromagnetic ow
P (Pumping pressure)
Inlet
Lv
Bend
Lh
Fig. 5. The schematic plot for the derivation of Eq. (2).
221
Table 5
Effect of CG/FA on TPD and PPD.
Mix proportion (wt.%) CG/FA TPD (kPa) PPD (kPa)
Coal gangue:y ash:Portland cement:HPMC:water
40:30:10:0.05:19.95 1.33 27.36 3.32
45:25:10:0.05:19.95 1.80 31.23 3.91
50:20:10:0.05:19.95 2.50 35.89 4.26
55:15:10:0.05:19.95 3.67 39.58 4.87
meter (11 in Fig. 3). During the testing process, the volumetric ow
rate of the slurry through the loop pipe remains at about 60 m3/h.
The differential pressure between the pressure tapings 5 and 6 is ob-
served as the partial pressure drop (PPD), while the differential pressure
between tapings 4 and 7 is investigated as the total pressure drop (TPD,
including the PPD). The distance between the pressure tapings 4 and 5 is
1400 mm, while the one between 6 and 7 is 4510 mm. The curvature
radius of the pipe between the pressure tapings 5 and 6 is 500 mm.
The data of PPD and TPD are respectively collected by two differential
pressure transducers (8 and 9 in Fig. 3). The pressure drop of the CGFB
slurry through the pipeline per unit length (p/l) can be determined
by the following equation:
TPDPPD
p=l 1
L45 L67
where L45 is the pipe length (1.40 m) between the pressure tapings 4
and 5, and L67 is the one (4.51 m) between 6 and 7.
The observation chamber (10 in Fig. 3) is equipped to visually ob-
serve the ow state of the CGFB slurry, and the sampling probe (12 in
Fig. 3) is used to investigate the concentration prole of the CGFB slurry.
Until the CGFB slurry ows continuously and uniformly, the pressure
drop data can be assumed as valid and thus collected and recorded. Dur-
ing the loop test, the drain valve (14 in Fig. 3) is closed and the test valve
(13 in Fig. 3) is opened. It should be noted that with the elapse of time,
more and more binder hydration products are generated, which will
signicantly affect the transportability of the CGFB slurry. In order to
minimize the time effect on the test results, as well as allow sufcient
time for collecting and recording the data, the time period for one
loop test is within half an hour in general. In this period, the data of
TPD and PPD are respectively recorded in triplicate, and the average
values are taken. After completing the loop test, the test valve is turned
off while the drain valve is turned on, and the waste CGFB slurry is
drained out from the discharge outlet (15 in Fig. 3). The corresponding
Outlet
Fig. 6. Effect of CG/FA on p/l of the CGFB slurry through loop pipe.
222 D. Wu et al. / Powder Technology 284 (2015) 218224
Fig. 7. SEM observation of the y ash used.
experimental results are presented and discussed in the following
sections.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Effect of solids content
The solids content, formed by the percentage of coal gangue, y ash,
cement and HPMC, is a signicant factor affecting the pipeline trans-
portability of the CGFB slurry. According to Table 5, on the condition
of using the same y ash, cement and HPMC contents, and by means
of changing the coal gangue and water contents, the CGFB slurry sam-
ples with different solids contents (76.05, 77.05, 78.05, 79.05 and
80.05 wt.%) are prepared. The pipe loop tests of these fresh CGFB slurry
samples are conducted on the test loop system (as shown in Fig. 3), and
the corresponding TPD and PPD values are obtained and presented in
Table 4.
By taking advantage of Eq. (1), the p/l values for the fresh CGFB
slurry samples with varied solid concentrations are achieved, and the
results are graphically demonstrated in Fig. 4. Fig. 4 reveals the develop-
ment of the p/l in the loop pipe versus the solids content of the CGFB
slurry. As expected, the p/l value increases with the increase in the
solids content of the fresh CGFB slurry. This is due to the fact that the in-
crease in the solids content is associated with the decrease of the water
a- Pipe b- Slurry c- Fly ash particle
Fig. 8. Schematic plot showing the role of wheels that the y ash particles play.
content. The water acts like a lubricant when the CGFB slurry ows
through the pipe. Therefore, the decrease of water content makes it
hard for the CGFB slurry to ow and thus, it becomes difcult for the
CGFB slurry to be transported. This is the reason that increasing the
solids content will signicantly increase the pressure needed for
transporting the CGFB slurry.
The results illustrated by Fig. 4 are signicant to the practical trans-
portation of the CGFB slurry. In practice, adequate solids content should
be selected for the CGFB slurry to achieve favorable transportability. In
addition, the p/l value of the slurry should also satisfy the practical
situations (such as the processing capability of the slurry mixer and
the pump capability). For instance (as schematically shown in Fig. 5),
if the pumping pressure is P (103 kPa), and the length of the transport
pipe is L (m), including the vertical part Lv (m) and the horizontal
one Lh (m). The value of p/l should be less than or equal to that of
(p/l)max, which can be calculated by the following Eq. (2), otherwise
the slurry can never be transported from the inlet to the outlet.
gLv PLPD
p=lmax 2
Lh
where is the slurry density, g is the gravitational acceleration, and LPD
is the local pressure drop (namely, the pressure drop through the bend).
According to Fig. 5, Eq. (2) and the curve of p/lsolids content of
the CGFB slurry, there exists a critical value for the p/l, which is exactly
the (p/l)max, and this corresponds to a critical value of the solids con-
tent. In practice, it is expected to design and prepare an ideal CGFB slur-
ry with the critical solids content, ensuring the successful transporting
of the solid waste to the appointed location underground at the maxi-
mum amount.
3.2. Effect of CG/FA
As discussed before, in this study the y ash is used as ne aggregate.
Therefore, the ratio of coal gangue to y ash in the CGFB mixture mainly
represents the ratio of coarse aggregate to ne aggregate, which is an
important factor affecting the owing properties of the CGFB slurry. Ac-
cording to the mix proportion presented in Table 5, the CGFB slurry
samples with different CG/FAs (ratios of coal gangue to y ash) are pre-
pared and tested. When the slurry ows at steady state, the TPD and PPD
data are measured in triplicate, and the average values are also listed in
Table 5.
 D. Wu et al. / Powder Technology 284 (2015) 218224 223

Based on Eq. (1), the p/l data for the CGFB slurry samples with
various values of CG/FA are obtained, and the relationship between
the p/l and the CG/FA is graphically demonstrated in Fig. 6.
It is noticed from Table 5 and Fig. 6 that, the coal gangue content in-
creases while the y ash content decreases, the combined outcome is
the increase of CG/FA, resulting in the increase of the p/l value. The rea-
son for this result is that, from the microscopic perspective, y ash par-
ticles are mostly glassy, solid and spherical (as graphically shown in
Fig. 7), which is benecial to the improvement of the workability and
uidity of CGFB slurry [2628]. In other words, most of the y ash par-
ticles shaped like glass beads exert lubricating effect on the transporta-
tion of CGFB slurry. The y ash particles between the CGFB slurry and
the pipe inner wall are like wheels (as schematically demonstrated
in Fig. 8), and this is in favor of reducing the resistance loss of the slurry
during its ow through the pipeline. For this reason, the pressure drop
of the CGFB slurry through the loop pipe increases with the decrease
of y ash content.

3.3. Effect of FA/PC Fig. 9. Effect of FA/PC on p/l of the CGFB slurry through loop pipe.

The CGFB slurry samples tested using various FA/PCs are prepared
according to Table 6, and the TPD and PPD data obtained from the loop
test are also tabulated in this table. It is found out in Table 6 that,
when the FA/PC increases from 2 to 4, the value of TPD decreases from
35.89 kPa to 22.42 kPa, while the PPD value declines to 1.94 kPa from
4.26 kPa. The p/l data for each CGFB slurry sample can be gured out
by Eq. (1), and the variation of the p/l values with different FA/PCs is
illustrated in Fig. 9.
It is observed from Fig. 9 that, the p/l of the CGFB slurry in the pipe
loop decreases with the increase of the FA/PC. The reason for this result
is as follows. The increase of the FA/PC is caused by both the increase of
the y ash content and the decrease of the Portland cement content. As
explained above, the y ash particles exert lubricating effect on the
pipeline owing of the CGFB slurry. Therefore, raising the y ash content
in the CGFB slurry results in the decrease of the pressure drop. On the
other hand, reducing the Portland cement content also leads to the de-
crease of the pressure drop. This is due to the fact that the cement chem-
ically reacts with the water to form hydration products, which possess
cementing properties and can bond the aggregate together. The precip-
itation of the cemented aggregate in the CGFB slurry reduces the uidity
and transportability of the slurry. As a result, the decrease of the cement
content is associated with the decrease of the pressure drop through the
loop pipe.
3.4. Effect of CG/PC
As tabulated in Table 7, ve ratios of the coal gangue content to the
Portland cement content are selected for this analysis. The CGFB slurry
samples tested are prepared according to the ve different CG/PCs,
and the TPD and PPD values of these slurries through the loop pipe are
measured and summarized in Table 7. According to Eq. (1), the p/l
value for each slurry sample is worked out, and the relation between
the p/l and the CG/PC (for each slurry sample) is illustrated in Fig. 10.
Fig. 10 demonstrates that the CG/PC signicantly inuences the p/l
of the CGFB slurry in the pipe loop. Increasing the CG/PC (i.e., raising the
coal gangue content and reducing the Portland cement content at the
same time) results in the decrease of the p/l. This is ascribed to the
fact that, with the decrease of the cement content used, the hydration
products formed in the CGFB mixture also decrease. Although the coarse
aggregate (i.e., coal gangue) content increases, the cementing com-
pounds (i.e., hydration products) decrease. Hence, the amount of the
cemented aggregate also decreases, which helps to improve the uidity
and transportability of the CGFB slurry through the loop pipe. This ex-
plains the reason that the pressure drop decreases with the gain in the
CG/PC. The results demonstrated by Table 7 and Fig. 10 also indicate
that, the effect of reducing the PC content on decreasing the p/l is
more signicant than that of raising the same CG amount on increasing
the p/l.
4. Conclusions
Based on the present study, the following conclusions have been
drawn:
(1) As expected, increasing the solids content leads to the increase of
the pressure drop of the CGFB slurry through per unit length of
the loop pipe (p/l).
(2) Increasing the ratio of coarse aggregate to ne aggregate (i.e., the
coal gangue to y ash ratio) results in the increase of the p/l
value.
(3) The ratio of the y ash content to the Portland cement content in
the CGFB slurry has a signicant inuence on the pressure drop
of the slurry in the pipeline. The cement exerts a negative effect
on the transportability of the CGFB slurry, by chemically reacting
with water to form hydration products. While the y ash has a
positive effect on the uidity of the CGFB slurry, by physically act-
ing as a lubricant. Therefore, the increase of the y ash/cement
ratio decreases the pressure drop of the CGFB slurry in the pipe
loop.

Table 6 Table 7
Effect of FA/PC on TPD and PPD. Effect of CG/PC on TPD and PPD.

Mix proportion (wt. %) FA/PC TPD (kPa) PPD (kPa) Mix proportion (wt.%) CG/PC TPD (kPa) PPD (kPa)
Coal gangue:y ash:Portland cement:HPMC:water Coal gangue:y ash:Portland cement:HPMC:water

50:20:10:0.05:19.95 2.00 35.89 4.26 50:20:10:0.05:19.95 5.00 35.89 4.26

50:21:9:0.05:19.95 2.33 32.74 3.34 51:20:9:0.05:19.95 5.67 33.27 3.68
50:22:8:0.05:19.95 2.75 29.33 2.95 52:20:8:0.05:19.95 6.50 30.86 3.27
50:23:7:0.05:19.95 3.29 26.65 2.48 53:20:7:0.05:19.95 7.57 27.19 2.68
50:24:6:0.05:19.95 4.00 22.42 1.94 54:20:6:0.05:19.95 9.00 23.57 2.16
224 D. Wu et al. / Powder Technology 284 (2015) 218224
Fig. 10. Effect of CG/PC on p/l of the CGFB slurry through loop pipe.
(4) Raising the coal gangue content in the CGFB mixture leads to the
increase of the p/l, and reducing the cement content results in
the decrease of the p/l. However, increasing the coal gangue
content and simultaneously decreasing the same content of ce-
ment (namely, increasing the coal gangue/cement ratio) will re-
duce the p/l, due to that the cement has a more dominant effect
than the coal gangue on the pressure drop of the CGFB slurry
through the loop pipe.
(5) The present study can provide useful information for under-
standing the transportability of the CGFB slurries in various
solid concentrations and mix proportions.
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank the National Natural Science Foun-
dation of China (Grant No. 51404271) and State Key Laboratory for Coal
Resources and Safe Mining, China University of Mining and Technology
(No. SKLCRSM13KFB05) for their nancial support.
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